Brand Loyalty

     I'm a Thinkpad man. I love my Thinkpads. They are workhorses, and they put up with abuse. More than that, they are fixable workhorses. I've had my T61P for over 5 years. I've replaced the keyboard twice (hazards of being a writer), keyboard bezel, swapped out the primary hard drive twice (because I'm a data paranoid kind of guy), upgraded the RAM, upgraded the OS, replaced the monitor hinges (which I'm about to do again), and I'm about to replace the DC power jack.
      Some may say that's an awful lot to go wrong on laptop, but it's not, and I take care of my electronics. Laptops generally don't have a usable lifespan beyond two years. Mine is over twice that, moving on to three times, and I intend to get it there.
      I'd also prefer not to go the warranty route. I don't want to have to send my computer in to get it fixed after spending an outrageous amount for a warranty service, then to have to wait to get the computer back. Thinkpads allow me to fix them. Lenovo (and IBM before) publish technical manuals for people to download, and even put out videos demonstrating how to repair their machines.
      I discovered the manual when in the beautiful unfrozen north of Juneau Alaska for grad school, and my laptop's monitor died. I had to order a replacement and install it with my trusty keychain tool. Because of that manual, I was able to work out my graduate essays on my own computer instead of fighting for one of the computers in the lab.
      So as I'm looking out at the new ultrabooks, there's really only a couple of  choices for me, the x230 with its smaller screen and better portability, or the x1-carbon, with its sveldt frame. Decisions, decisions.