New Work Laptop - Thinkpad Yoga... awful!

[cptwhite_uk]

Lenovo Thinkpads are lovely devices

[Biscuit]

I'm kinda understanding the whole MUI thing aswell now that it's on touch. It's still extremely clunky in comparison to android or ios but I kinda get it. Definitely solidified my opinion that it doesn't work as a replacement for a start menu though

[cptwhite_uk]

Right

For a desktop PC, Metro and touch is completely pointless. I think that's true for a laptop as well. Only when you get to hybrids, or Win 8 tablets does metro make sense. Still Windows needs a fully functional desktop for when hooked up to a dock or in traditional laptop mode, imho of course

[Biscuit]

I agree. Im using startisback as its the most lightweight way to get the start menu back, although its more focussed on making the environment more singular to the desktop and kind of removes the need for the start screen all together. This laptop is pretty powerful with its i7-4500u and it is a hybrid so there is a function for the MUI. I might give start8 a go instead as it seems to help blend the two environments together a bit better and might give me a bit more flexibility when it comes to the different ways that the buttons and gestures work.

[cptwhite_uk]

So where's the review Biscuit

[Biscuit]

Haha sorry mate, been too busy playing with the damn thing! Sketchbook pro trial has kept me busy getting back into a bit of art when im not working

I will do one in good time.

Installed virtualbox today and been running a W7 box for testing. Im a bit of a noobie with VMs but is it normal to have to turn off Hyper-V to use the accelerations within other VM software?

I didnt have great results with Start8 either, the different operations when in 'tablet mode' feature didnt work. Im wondering if perhaps the yoga doesn't have any sensor to detect if you are flipped over. Seems unlikely given that the mouse doesn't work when you're flipped.

[cptwhite_uk]

You'll have to ask someone more software minded than me, never used a VM before, out of curiosity which are you using?

[Biscuit]

oracle virtualbox. It's open source, free and dead easy to set-up for a newbie! Create the VM, mount the installation iso, install the OS, install the "guest additions" (basically drivers for the extensions/acceleration) and you are off!
The shared folders feature is pretty useful for me aswell.

[Biscuit]

Ok i have noticed some issues this evening. The one link dock seems to disconnect at irregular repetitions. Seems to be a common issue unfortunately. If anyone is thinking of getting a new Lenovo device device that uses a one link dock, i would advise waiting until this has been solved.

Im going to cause as much fuss as i can with this, may well even return the whole thing for a refund if i dont get the answers i want.

[Biscuit]

Well they have sent me a patch, then a new dock and the problem is still there. Looks like the whole thing is going back to Lenovo

Such a shame it really is, I love the laptop but being able to dock with minimum fuss was a particular selling point over some of the alternatives.

[MrRockliffe]

What about the new dells - the XPS range offers greater than Full HD I believe.

Also, I'm going to have to say it, but the MBPr is just about the best laptop I've spent more than an hour on. It's quite beautifully built, screen is phenomenal (like you would expect from a 2560x1600 display), super quick and outstanding battery life.

Worth having a look at the Thinkpad?

Only read the last few posts and noticed you already have a laptop - how is it?

[Biscuit]

The laptop itself is great, if you think Macs are well built then have a crack on one of the new thinkpads. It really is exceptional! The docking station is utter turd, the connection between the dock and the device is basically displayport and USB. The USB handles the audio and the ethernet and it drops out all the time. The word on the forums is that its just a driver/software problem but it makes the dock unusable.

Im also having issues with a USB 3G dongle and i don't know if that's related to the USB3 drivers

[MrRockliffe]

My father has a thinkpad from work, and although it's solid (it's a T430 I think, but don't quote me on that) is just not the same. What are the complete specs you went for? Do you know if the laptop is upgradeable?

[Biscuit]

Sorry i thought i had replied to this... kinda not too surprised it didn't work.

I went for the i7 4600u, 8GB Ram, FHD Touch with digitiser, 256GB SSD, 7260ac dual band wireless and the one link dock.

Unfortunately, i have had issues with the wireless aswell. I also made sure to point out a couple of pretty minor quality issues i have had over a complaint email ( which obviously which highlighted the other issues i have had) and I have informed them i wanted a full refund. They showed no interest in offering me any further assistance besides taking the hardware to a depo for a diagnostic and repair, which is of no interest for me when its a brand new, reasonably expensive laptop, and they threw terms and conditions of the warranty at me.... yep its come down to the good old sales of goods act unfortunately.

So much for Lenovo and their best in class customer service.

[MrRockliffe]

Never heard about customer service being good for them..

I'd stay way away from HP too.

You definitely give the vaio pro a go.

http://icap.me/i/bVwe0KQsf8.png

Looks like a solid laptop with 256 GB PCIe Flash SSD and nice battery life.

[Biscuit]

Never heard about customer service being good for them..

I'd stay way away from HP too.

You definitely give the vaio pro a go.

Im fairly sure their customer service has won awards. From what im hearing, i doubt they willl be retaining any titles.

Might give the Sony a shot but i really want a dock-able laptop which limits my options somewhat.