The old computer X200 Diaries
A Productivity Experiment with a Classic ThinkPad
May 1, 2023 - Willem L. Middelkoop
As part of a greater plan to optimise my entire workflow, I am doing a little experiment this month: using a 15-year old ThinkPad X200 laptop as main computer. It’s from an era before “the cloud”, popular among free/libre software enthusiasts. What can we learn from this antithesis of modernity?
Continue reading![Work in progress - my X200 experiment](/blog/2023-05-01_working-offline-first/images/i_09_Work-in-progress-my-X200-experiment_500px.jpg)
![The ThinkPad’s keyboard is a dream to type on and features a “hate or love it” TrackPoint (I’m in the “love” department!)](/blog/2023-05-01_working-offline-first/images/i_04_The-ThinkPad-s-keyboard-is-a-dream-to-type-on-and-features-a-hate-or-love-it-TrackPoint-I-m-in-the-l_500px.jpg)
![The ThinkPad X200 from 2008](/blog/2023-05-01_working-offline-first/images/i_00_The-ThinkPad-X200-from-2008_500px.jpg)
![See pixels on a greyish black background - the X200’s display is no match for modern HiDPI micro led or OLED monitors](/blog/2023-05-01_working-offline-first/images/i_08_See-pixels-on-a-greyish-black-background-the-X200-s-display-is-no-match-for-modern-HiDPI-micro-led-o_500px.jpg)
![The modern $6499 costing MacBook Pro is one of the few laptops available that can be configured with 8TB flash storage today...](/blog/2023-05-01_working-offline-first/images/i_06_The-modern-6499-costing-MacBook-Pro-is-one-of-the-few-laptops-available-that-can-be-configured-with-_500px.png)
![Plenty of hardware ports, including a PC-card slot, integrated gigabit ethernet, USB-A and a hardware switch to disable WiFi](/blog/2023-05-01_working-offline-first/images/i_05_Plenty-of-hardware-ports-including-a-PC-card-slot-integrated-gigabit-ethernet-USB-A-and-a-hardware-s_500px.jpg)