I’m going see if I can get through this whole, entire post without flipping out – I’m going to see how calm I can be. This has been bugging me for a long time now, and I think its about time I addressed it. Something happened that really upset me recently (as in “I’ve had just about enough this”) and I pretty much lost it…it hit pretty close to home.
I love ThinkPads. I love them to death. They mean the world to me. They’re like my sons, friends, brothers, etc. They helped me become a better person because of their human-like nature. They helped me get through some tough times. Not only that, but it seems to bring people close together – a chance to bond, get to know each other better, and all that good stuff. I’ve been a ThinkPad lover ever since I discovered them at the age of 11.
The ThinkPad/Lenovo community is like a big close family. So when somebody leaves the ThinkPad AND Lenovo brand for another one, I feel betrayed. I feel a sense of sadness and anger. I even sit down and cry like a baby sometimes (this mostly happens when a close friend decides to do that). But never in my life have my emotions felt more intense since when Lenovo acquired the old IBM PC Division. Ever since that happened, there’ve been a lot of people doubting Lenovo, saying how Lenovo is going to ruin the ThinkPad brand, or how they’ve already ruined the brand – all of which is a bunch of nonsense. Lenovo has said (and shown) time and time again that they’re never going to do that – and they’ve kept that promise. But the doubters still insist that Lenovo is “ruining” the brand.
Even worse is when some knucklehead comes along a says something mean about a ThinkPad and Lenovo, I get really angry. It feels like they’re insulting my “family”. I understand they’re angry – since this is a ThinkPad/Lenovo and they were expecting better – but that doesn’t give them the right to be rude! Its like, why can’t they be more civil and courteous about it? This whole thing feels like a civil rights movement – namely the LGBTI+ rights movement (which is basically the civil rights movement of our time) – where you’re fighting to end the hate and discrimination being thrown at you. One huge example of the hate that is going on right now is in the ThinkPads.com forum. If you go there, you’ll notice that all of the current ThinkPads are listed in their “Non-Classic Lenovo Hardware”. Like these ThinkPads aren’t “classics”. Ridiculous! It just shows you the hate & “discrimination” of current ThinkPads. Its disgusting!
Ever since 2005, I’ve worked hard to defend Lenovo because I really believe in them – and still do to this day. I’m so sick of hearing nonsense like what I meantioned above. The only reason why those so-called ‘old school’ ThinkPadders are complaining is because Lenovo is being entrepreneurial – unlike IBM. They’re only doing whats best for the brand. IBM no longer wanted to be in the PC business so they sold it to Lenovo. I don’t know about you, but they’ve done a great job. I think that ThinkPad was worse off with IBM (since they no longer had the passion they had in the past for computers). Something that people need to remember is that Lenovo is still a young company. This is would have to be the reason why they’re so entrepreneurial. They’re still learning – they’ve made some mistakes (and who doesn’t) but have learned from them. They’ve shown that they’re willing to learn. So think about that the next time you bash Lenovo.
I’m betting you that the vast majority of these haters (who just love to call themselves ThinkPadders) haven’t even tried one of the new ThinkPads, so they have no right or reason to say that trash. They’re just spewing hate and ignorance and this must be stopped! I don’t want them “poisoning” the next generation of ThinkPadders minds. They need to be more open-minded and try new things out (I mean, that’s what Lenovo is doing…Something that IBM would have never done). As the saying goes, “don’t judge a book by its cover” – but those haters are doing the exact opposite.
This stuff can be so mentally and emotionally taxing (because it is). You have to deal with a bunch of ignorant, narrow-minded, uncivilized people. This is why I rarely read the message boards – because I can’t handle that stuff (and its not just Lenovo and ThinkPads – our society as a whole has dumbed down). But despite that, I prevail – my passion for Lenovo and ThinkPads is just too strong to ignore.
My plea to everyone who’s hating is simple: stop the hate. Stop being so ignorant and open your mind. Lets just get along and stop this nonsense! Lets get back to enyoing one of our favorite “pastimes”: ThinkPads!
Elipalooza 