Access Connections and related updated—and some official blurb on the T400’s new keyboard

“Access Connections is now @ version 5.0, and I don’t really notice any difference on my XP system. … (If you’re running Vista, it’s a must have upgrade.)”

...

“Yes, there is quite a visible change when you pull the keyboards off of a ThinkPad T400 system and look underneath. However, I have seen some data from our ThinkPad Engineering team that shows that the keyboards still have the same strength as the previous generation.”


Full details on the Lenovo blogs… http://lenovoblogs.com/insidethebox/?p=155.

 

Interesting.


_____

 

Interesting response to the keyboard situation.

 

You mean the sky is not falling after all?

 

we can finally put this to rest! hopefully =)

 

Not sure how the engineers come to that conclusion when both materials are thinner, each part by itself flexes more, and both parts combined flex more. What has the same "strength" exactly... the plastic keys themselves?

I can definitely say I am not the only one who has noticed this so far. Considering that the T400 and T500 use the same design and share the identical keyboard part number there will be a big enough sample pool of people on this board to see this in no time.

 

well the thing is materials durability is not defined by flex because that characteristic can ironically improve durability. We need some engineer students regurgitate their Materials Course. Because basically in my eyes... materials that are built with the characteristics of solidity gets it's strength from molecular bonding. So the breaking point is basically going beyond that threshold. But this molecular bonding strength could be equal to some other material that doesn't carry the same level of solidity. Some also would correlate weight with strength. So, a good example would be the strength of carbon fiber, just touching and lifting it people would think it's "weak" but it's actually a strong material that are in sports cars.

But ya... I understand everyone's concerns... because it's uncomfortable knowing that the keyboard flex more than previous models. It's just the whole flexing idea can be disturbing... but just like the article said, there's no reason to question Lenovo's engineers at the moment. If it really is an issue, then it's awesome how people were able to take the T61's keyboard and swap it. So luckily it's not to big of an issue to resolve. That's my 2 cents lol.

Happy Typing!

 

Truly an interesting comment since AC 5.00 is not available for Vista http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/document.do?sitestyle=lenovo&lndocid=MIGR-4ZLNJB and AC 4.52 never worked right WITH Vista.

 

Well, I'd rather question the business unit than the engineers.

The old keyboard was a job well done, the new one is (I'd take any bet) just cheaper - less metal used. There was no need to replace or re-engineer the old one. And in addition: Some day the old keyboards won't be available anymore.

The Thinkpad is a rock solid "premium" notebook that stood/stands above the competition for some of it's parts - for which people in the western world are paying an extra dime or even two (in a reasonable range). The (probably) saved dime on the keyboard does (probably) not outweigh 1 lost customer in 1000.

So in conclusion my quibble is that in this particular case (keyboard) the business guys just did it wrong when they compared cost and value.

 

I don't mean to insult, but that's crap in this case. A keyboard is a rather cheap thing on the notebook, can be easily replaced ant is (much?) less likely to fail compared to other parts. The marketing of Lenovo might be in alignment with the science here, but user satisfactory and failure rate over several years of use keyboard use is most probably not. My 2 cents.

 

Yet more on the keyboard topic from Lenovo blogs:


“The historical stiffener plate was removed because we discovered a superior method to provide overall keyboard stiffness. We shifted from a stiffener plate to a stiffer chassis. The net impact is a more rigid keyboard and less weight. Who wouldn’t want that? It was not done as a cost saving play. We would never trade off keyboard feel for such a small cost saving opportunity.”

…

“This test yielded an average temporary deformation of no more than .73mm. When compared to previous systems the new design is superior by .03mm.”


Full details on the Lenovo blogs… http://lenovoblogs.com/designmatters/?p=228.

 

No insult taken, this is just a friendly debate / opinionated advice. So, in my opinion, Keyboard is not considered relatively cheap. Do you realized companies try to optimize cost to the point where the number of screws used is considered? (i know this because i have family in electronic companies for audio/video/computers etc). So if screws are that important think about keyboards. I just want you to realize... most consumer do not realize half the stuff that goes behind the whole engineering and design of electronic devices.

Consumer satisfaction of course is important but also durability. What's the point of the consumer being satisfied if the device is not durable. Keyboards failure rate should not be taken lightly. It's one of the most used device on the laptop, with a lot of moving parts, and is exposed to (human sweat/dust/dirt etc etc) and COFFEE! lol Coincidentally, my keyboard on my Asus laptop is starting to fail, my "1" key isn't consistent in registering my key press.

There's a lot of things you can also bring up about keyboard design with regards to flex vs. more solid approach. This probably seems negligible or lame... but one must consider travel distance (key unpress vs. key press), the impact force it returns when you press down. etc etc.

In the end, the user might just be typing way to hard.

That's my 4 cents.

 

Based on the picture from the official review on this site, the new plate has a lot of holes, I truly believe this is to save the weight, not the cost, since punching those holes will absolutely cost more as far as manufacture process is concerned. my 2 cents

 

hm... how can i post pictures on this forum... i should show everyone the holes in my Asus keyboard.

 

Another quote from the Lenovo blog:

"It’s important to understand that this functions as a combined system, not individual components. For example plastic laminate for a counter top is bendy and floppy until it is glued to the sub-structure. Together they are very strong and rigid."

A lot of people already stated that the new keyboard flexes, enough to see a tendency. Maybe the manufacturing process in mass production for this "combined system" is problematic.

 

Does anyone know when Access Connection 5 will be released ?

 

That’s what I’m thinking…

 

Awww, did anyone else see this post by "Nicolo"

Hurts my feelings. Anyone who has kept up with my posts probably knows that I am a Thinkpad geek at heart. My dad has a X61, made my sister buy a T61, and I have a T60 and C100 (used to have a z60m). You guys also probably know that the keyboard flex still wasnt enough to keep me from wanting to buy the T400 as a new notebook.

 

Anyone who has read your posts, including myself, easily dismissed “Nicolo” because he clearly doesn’t know what he’s talking about (you). He himself is not a “ThinkPad lover” as any true ThinkPad lover knows “boring business notebook” is good.

This is clearly one of those cases where you can easily ignore your critics.

 

Sorry to hear that someone took your one line comment so seriously, when it was obviously meant as an opinion of those people who are not laptop brand saavy.

In fact almost everyone I know thinks of thinkpads as boring business notebooks. They don't know about the great keyboard part, but you can't blame them since unless they know someone with thinkpad they can't type on it (or hear about it's great keyboard).

I appreciated your in depth review (although it made no impact on my buying decision since I had already ordered one prior to the publication of your review!), and have kept up with your posts while you were in the process of writing it so I know how much of a Thinkpad aficionado you really are.

Anyways, and once again, thanks for the great review!

 

well said BinkNR

 

http://forum.lenovo.com/lnv/board/m...&view=by_date_ascending&message.id=1665#M1665