How IBM’s ThinkPad Became a Design Icon (2017)
I'm amazed that there is no mention of the sheer repairability of these devices.<p>I don't think I will ever encounter a laptop line that is generally so user-accessible.  A couple of regular screws and you pop the case.  A few more and you can replace the entire keyboard.  The hard drive was held in by a single screw in most models and you could easily swap it in without even popping the entire case.  The RAM had it's own bay that you could access by removing a single crew.  The Ultrabay mechanism was also a huge nod to the design philosophy of making the user feel like the hardware was his/hers to do with.<p>It's incredibly sad to me that we've abandoned that for the sake of "thinner".  I wish I had a legitimate use for older hardware so I could justify picking up one of the IBM-era Thinkpads from eBay and just maintain it into perpetuity.  Like the cars of yesteryear that you could mend with some string and a brick.  Sure they're not "sexy" and it won't get me likes, but it's actually <i>mine</i>.