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On Mon, 26 Aug 1996 22:30:59 -0700 Randy Whittle wrote: > SCREEN: > It appears to me that they could quite easily extend the screen size > by another 1/2" diagonal I heard that the final word on screens within the A4 parameter for notebooks is 13.3", so perhaps that is down the road? > SCREEN WEIRD ALERT: I don't know why, but upon selecting 24-bit > color mode (which required me to reduce screen size to 640x480--leaving lots > of blank black space around the screen), Win 95 went goofy on reboot. The > screen was all screwy. I ended up having to reboot to "safe" mode and > switch it back to 16-bit color (64K colors) just to see anything again. > Does anyone have a clue and could perhaps tell me why it did this? It has > installed on it the proper video driver...any other 560 owners that can > enlighten me? I did the same thing, playing around with the display. I didn't explore this in detail with IBM, but they suggested looking on the IBM BBS in case there was a driver there. Incidentally, when playing around with a monitor attached I had no difficulty getting various larger resolutions, but didn't try 24-bit at 640x480 - perhaps IBM didn't think anyone would want 640x480 on the laptop display? > BATTERY LIFE: > It uses a Li-Ion battery. Can anyone tell me about the care & > feeding of Li-Ions? Do I need to discharge them fully before recharging, or > is that bad? Typical life & charging cycles? In the manual, it advises to discharge and charge the battery 3-6 times before the battery will reach its maximum capacity. Don't know the whys or wherefores but as I always do everything they tell me to do in the manual... > RAM: I was idly looking on IBM's website and saw they have modified the technical specs for the 560 in that there is now a 64MB RAM module also available (URL: http://www.pc.ibm.com/thinkpad/ths6015f.html - look under Selected Options and accessories, and note 8 to the document). What's your best price, Bill? :-) > CONTROLS: Here's where I'm *really* disappointed, as it seems IBM > took a giant step backward. When I got my 701C, I was delighted to see that > IBM had integrated a lot of controlling mechanisms right into the BIOS > level--from power management to screen brightness to bringing up the BIOS > setup screen at any time. The 560 has NONE of this. A flick of a button on > my 701C and I saw my battery guage. Does anyone know how to make sure that the settings you specify in Thinkpad Features eg shutting off power to the PC Card Slot can be 'remembered' so that you don't have to reset it after a reboot? > One problem: The back rubberized cover for the ports--is *not* hinged or > connected in any way! So accessing the parallel, serial, or monitor port > might cost you a cover if you're not careful to keep track of it. Really > dumb, IMO--especially after such nice touches on the other port covers. I think that this part is one that many people break off a lot. So much so that on my previous Toshiba they had NO cover at all! Nothing to break... I personally like the rubber cover as being a good solution between having something that breaks or no cover at all. > The crucial mistake I think IBM is making with the 560 is in > positioning it as a "cheaper" machine than they had done with the 701. In > the first place, the warranty period being cut from 3 years (701 and all the > rest of the 7XX series) to 1 year (the cheaper junk IBM makes, which > apparently the 560 fits into now) doesn't give me the same vote of > confidence in this machine as in the other two 7XX ThinkPads I've owned. Yes, I hope that the 1 year warranty isn't IBM's opinion as to the 560's robustness. After all, the 365 series also only has a one year warranty and has been reportedly troubled with difficulties. Apparently the rival Compaq Armada has already had bugs in it prompting a further delay of its arrival in the marketplace. But it's interesting that the 'Big Three' (Compaq, IBM and Toshiba) now have a similar lineup of cheap, 'lightweight' and fully-featured as your three basic choices. Now, the only question is how to get IBM to produce a docking station for the 560... Jayan Patel patelj@essex.ac.uk