Almost 6 months ago Yours Truly bought his first laptop. An IBM ThinkPad r50e. It is an ugly black box of a machine, I spent more on it than I would on a more.. powerful laptop by another company, and I love it. Its an IBM.. it feels SOLID.. it feels like I could drop it and still use it (not that I am about to test THAT anytime soon).. I also made sure that it was made by Lenovo for IBM instead of Lenovo for Lenovo.

Lenovo has been making machines for IBM for quite a while. Then they bought the entire IBM production system. That was, for many of us, the end of the road as far as IBM machines went. Lenovo 's new machines are complete crap according to the buzz on the net. And I for one have long decided I would not buy one of them.

When I buy an IBM its because I know I am using a hard core machine that can take the pounding that I am about to give it.. In fact it is more likely to laugh at me saying "is that all you got punk? Your mama hits harder than you!"

I am not sure what Lenovo would do.. probably run away crying like a little bitch.. and I mean the ass-raped-in-prison kind, not the brass-balls-on-high-heels kind..

Many ThinkPad users are hard core. And by this I mean people who demand a high level of quality and engineering and are willing to put down some extra cash to be assured of it.

And they are NOT your average mom n pop users. A young kid whose parents bought him a lapper would not be running around with a TP. These machines are as lacking in bling as IBM can make them. AND WE FUCKING LIKE THEM THAT WAY!!! One ugly ass black box with the Big Blue logo on it that makes sure you're known as a hard core geek.

And then came the Lenovo TP. I keep hearing bad things about the construction, the quality.. all of it. But the thing is also here. They stopped supporting Linux. Now THAT is blasphemy of the highest order.

Most of us who own TPs run Linux. IBM made sure that getting a Linuxed out TP was an option and was supported. Lenovo on the other hand is in league with the Redmond crew, and have announced that they will no longer support Linux.

My answer to them .. FUCK YOU!! Fuck you AND the horse you rode in on..

The thing is, Lenovo just shot themselves in the foot. The people who run Linux on TPs are geeks. We are the people who make/influence purchasing desisions in LOTS of places. Companies, organisations, people on the street..

Lenovo is not getting any more business from me or anyone else I come in contact with. The same applies to all my geek friends who treasure their IBM TPs.

So Lenovo, it's been swell, but the swellings gone down.

The REAL question is.. what do I buy next?