Volition

I have been dithering about buying a new notebook all year now. I was very seriously thinking about it early last week and ended up settling on a specific IBM Thinkpad T42 (what is the problem with big computer companies with online stores and big broken URLs, by the way?) Back then, clicking on that link took you to IBM Australia's website. Now it still does, but it is Lenovo branded instead.

Eeek! This breaks the third Law of Purchasing Notebook Computers:

3: You will puchase from a big, fuck-off manufacturer.

The reason being you will be able to get it fixed pretty much anywhere in the world, locally and quickly. There is nothing worse than being without one's notebook for weeks on end. Yes, the hardware is exactly the same, but how long will IBM's infrastructre be around to fix it? Will the service be the same? Will the three year warrantly outlast the service center in Adelaide? Admitedly, they just shipped it off to the east coast, but it was sent overnight, both ways and I did not have to worry about it myself.

In the event of a nuclear holocaust, the only survivors will be cockroaches and IBM. But Lenovo? Who knows what they will be like in a few years? I know this is so much FUD, but back when I bought my trusty T21, I knew it would be good (or at least repairable) for years to come. I was sure in the same way about the T42 last week, I am not sure now.

While I knew all about the Lenovo buyout, for some reason I thought the transition was going to be gradual, over the course of years. The plan was to get one more Thinkpad then switch anyway, but now I may need to do that sooner rather than later.