---
title: "i bought a thinkpad"
published: 2019-12-05
---

there are reasons the older thinkpads are so popular among certain
technology-enthusiast subcultures. in case you don't know about this "hype"
(for lack of a better word) or know it exists but don't know the reasons for
wanting one, here's a quick list off the top of my head:

- **durable**
- **cheap** ***if you buy at the right time***
- **modular**
  - **easily reparable**
  - **easily upgradable**
- **keyboard**
- **trackpoint**
- **decent specs**
- **libreboot/coreboot compatibility**
- **docks** ***(you can even buy a battery it docks into)***

basically, they are laptops that were built to last a very long time and to be
easily reparable and upgradable by the owner. and customisability is a natural
byproduct of that, of course. i've wanted one for a long time but never saw
any of the specific models i wanted at a price even close to what i'd heard other
people had gotten theirs for. `[insert generic filler sentences where the
punchline is the title of the blog post]`

### from the listing:

> **Lenovo ThinkPad X220 12.5” Laptop Core i5-2540M, 8 GB, 120gb SSD, IPS**
> **panel, Dock + Extras. Condition is Used.**
>
> **Comes with**
>
> **Laptop**
>
> **2x 90w Lenovo chargers**
>
> **2x extended Lenovo batteries**
>
> **1x USB 3 card**
>
> **1x Docking station**
>
> **The keyboard is amazing. The ssd card is in the MSATA which means the hard**
> **drive bay is open to add another 2.5 inch hard disk for storage! `[…]`**

there was no `buy it now` option so i had to bid on it. there was a little over
a day before the auction ended when i happened across it. 

### so what did it cost you?

that's the question i'd be asking if i were reading this instead of writing it,
because of my limited budget. it ended up costing, in <b style="color: lightblue; background-color: red">u</b><b style="color: red; background-color: white">s</b><b style="color: white; background-color: blue">d</b>, roughly `$130` **+** `$25` *shipping* **=** <mark style="font-weight: bold">~$155</mark> in total.

i will be blogging about my impressions of the actual laptop some time after it
arrives (`eta: 12 december 2019`). i am kind of hoping to actually write *that*
blog post on the thinkpad itself, so it may take some time before i have
everything configured on there. i may even be able to get two blog entries
(excluding this one) out of this. one about the laptop itself, and one about
installing the os and such. 

## とにかく

i'm trying to keep these short enough so that you don't get bored. but, i do
have tendencies to ramble quite a bit. having a blog is a way to post my
ramblings on the internet in case anyone finds something in them interesting. 
if they are too long they probably aren't formatted well and walls of text
isn't something i think many people find very interesting.

> on that note

i am going to make an optimistic prediction: that **my next post will be
written soon** <mark>※ this is the optimistic part</mark> and **its
topic will be something anime related**. but until then, my nectarous
readers:

**stay tasty o/**