ThinkPad at the Races – Williams F1 team use Lenovo ThinkPad T Series laptops
March 30, 2008
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Why are the Williams Formula One team using ThinkPad Laptops?
Alex Burns, Chief Operating Officer of the Williams F1 team sums it up very nicely when he says that “IT is fundamentally important in Formula One; our business is all about the design, development and operation of racing cars and we use IT in every step of the process”.
“We run our motorsports business like our cars – fast, accurate and innovative, We’ve relied on Lenovo to diagnose, repair and push the limit on racing performance. In an ongoing battle to be next in the victory lane, Lenovo’s new Think Station workstations will help change the way our engineers work with faster interaction and design simulation to produce the next winning car.”
Lenovo PCs help start the car
That’s why the Team has now integrated over 30 ThinkPad T61p laptops into the start up sequence of the race car.
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Sensors on each AT&T Williams car measure engine and gearbox parameters such as the pressure and temperature of oil, water and air. Before the car is started, the engine is turned over with no electrical spark. Data from the engine and car is downloaded to the Lenovo notebook PC. If the engineer determines that all parameters are within limits, then a spark is applied and the engine started.
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TheThinkPad T61 prevents damage to the car during the start-up process. If the engine is started without appropriate oil pressure, for example, the engine is ruined; the bearings will not survive.
“In Formula One, teams are highly reliant on PC technology. With Lenovo’s record of innovation, reliability and performance in ThinkPad notebooks and Lenovo desktops, we are confident that our team is lined up with the very best,” said Alex.
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ThinkPad Engineer takes T61 Apart!
March 28, 2008
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Ever wanted to upgrade stuff in your ThinkPad? Watch a Lenovo Engineer as he takes every current model ThinkPad apart. Then put them back together again! It takes him about 10 minutes to disassemble a ThinkPad T61!
I have just discovered the Lenovo Maintenance and Training Site and was absolutely amazed to watch videos of Lenovo Engineers stripping down and re assembling all of the current ThinkPad model range.
The videos are broken down into segments so whatever you want to do is covered. Want to replace the battery, hard disk drive, memory DIMM or even the backup battery? It’s all there.
How about replacing your ThinkPad T61 Modem Daughter Card, Keyboard Bezel or even the CPU?
These videos go into incredible detail and not only cover all of Lenovo’s current range of ThinkPad models, they also give you the complete breakdown for the Lenovo 3000 range. The archives cover both the ThinkPad 60 and 61 series machines as well as the brand new Lenovo ThinkPad X300.
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There is a great intro to the ThinkPad X300 by Ian Frid, the Worldwide Service and Support Curriculum Manager for Lenovo.
All in all a superb resource for the ThinkPad engineer and service technician. Oh how I wish we had this sort of instructional video in the days of the T20! Can’t tell you how many of those we have taken apart and repaired for clients!
This must be Lenovo’s best kept secret.
WARNING! Do not do this at home. Use this wisely and only if you are qualified. Tinkering with your brand new ThinkPad may invalidate the warranty. Don’t go taking your T61 apart and then send it back to Lenovo for re assembly!
The links to these resources are for informational purposes only.
ThinkPad cleans up in PC World ‘Customer Satisfaction’ league
March 27, 2008
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ThinkPad Tops ‘Customer Satisfaction’ league
Lenovo, manufacturers of the leading ThinkPad T Series and X Series laptop brands have cleaned up and topped a Windows Laptop Manufacturers ‘Customer Satisfaction’ league table.
Other major manufacturer’s such as Avertec, HP, Compaq and Toshiba hit the bottom 4! Read more
Lenovo ThinkPad R61 - Outstanding value so Go Configure!
March 20, 2008
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If you’re looking for a real viable alternative to the ThinkPad T61 Series but you’re on a budget, then look no further than the ThinkPad R61. Lenovo have developed the R Series ThinkPad line to the level where it is fast becoming the only serious ‘budget’ competitor to the T61. Read more
Lenovo keeps taking the Tablets! - ThinkPad X61 hands out the medicine
March 18, 2008
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Let’s cut to the quick here, (and I know we’re biased!), but the ThinkPad X61 Tablet PC is the best incarnation of this form factor that money can buy, period!
Why? Well, it’s been designed and engineered with such an incredible amount of thought that makes it stand head and shoulders above the competition. Read more
Honey I Shrunk the ThinkPad! - The X61 Ultraportable
March 18, 2008
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IBM had an illustrious history of producing small form factor, light weight laptops with the ThinkPad 220 and 230 Subnotebooks which were produced for the Asia Pacific market in 1993/94, through the innovative ‘Butterfly’ 701 to the stunning 560/570 all the way back in May ’96.
The real breakthrough in a long and illustrious line of Ultraportable came in September 2000 when IBM introduced the ThinkPad X Series. Read more
Lenovo ThinkPad T61 – It’s a pride of ownership thing!
March 13, 2008
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If you own any late model T Series Laptop you’ll know what pride of ownership means. The brand just engenders a loyalty that brings out a fervour in its loyal following. The ThinkPad T61 is no exception. It feels rock solid, well built and engineered and exudes the kind quality that other laptop manufacturers just don’t seem to be able to emulate. Read more
