[21:16] <mwhudson> ibeardslee: hey, did you know that you can configurate (at least some) lenovo laptops with no os on their site now?
[21:17] <ibeardslee> in NZ?
[21:17] <ibeardslee> got a link?
[21:18] <mwhudson> yeah
[21:18] <mwhudson> http://www3.lenovo.com/nz/en/laptops-for-home-deals/X1C5-NZ-CN3/p/20HRCTO1WWENNZ2?configuratorMode=compact#tab-customize
[21:18] <ibeardslee> interesting
[21:19] <olly> and more amazingly still, it actually saves a significant amount
[21:19] <mwhudson> yeah
[21:20] <mwhudson> to both
[21:20] <ibeardslee> been chatting with Ascent, will find out if what they have done has 'caused this', their prices are also cheaper than Silicon, but I need to find out why.
[21:20] <olly> enough to e.g. double the ram and uprate the CPU
[21:21] <mwhudson> hm it's only on that sku it seems
[21:21] <mwhudson> ah uh no, it's on the top two options, not the cheapest
[21:21] <ibeardslee> there may be some others, Ascent have given us a bunch of options .. let me dig further
[21:22] <mwhudson> so you can get 16gb top end x1 no OS for about $3000
[21:22] <mwhudson> not bad really
[21:22] <mwhudson> my 2yo x1 is still doing fine though
[21:24] <mwhudson> would be nice if my x1 supported nvme properly and not that bastardized ahci/m2 thing
[21:29] <ibeardslee> only a 1yr warranty
[21:33] <ibeardslee> or original X1s are still chugging along, although batteries are getting a bit tired now in the first gen (2013 ones)
[21:33] <ibeardslee> s/^or/our/
[21:37] <ajmitch> mwhudson: that's good to see, it's probably about time I replaced my laptop
[21:38] <ibeardslee> "Our contact did actually discuss with his web team while getting the answers for us originally, so he says that as a result, they might be experimenting with re-introducing noOS on the high-end range. He said he wouldn’t expect this across the board though."
[21:39] <mwhudson> ibeardslee: hopefully it sticks this time
[21:40] <ibeardslee> the problem with the high end range is that not everyone interesting in a linux laptop is able to afford a high end laptop
[21:41] <ibeardslee> ajmitch: your zareason?
[21:41] <ajmitch> yeah, it's lasted fairly well
[21:41] <ajmitch> keyboard has some issues now though
[21:42] <ibeardslee> mine is still working, but the bezel around the screen is now broken at the hinge
[21:42] <ibeardslee> still has the retarded space bar
[21:42] <ajmitch> it's not just the space bar that has issues for me now
[21:43] <ajmitch> several of the keys, especially in the top area of the keyboard, require several key presses for it to register at times
[21:43] <ibeardslee> mine is probably going to end up with the screen removed and attached to the TV as a 'media PC'.
[21:44] <olly> my 9 year old laptop is still serving well in that role
[21:44] <ajmitch> my old HP laptop already does that
[21:44] <ajmitch> just not with the screen removed
[21:44] <olly> screen backlight's dead, keyboard's iffy, and I had to resolder the power adapter cable
[21:45] <olly> amazinly, the battery is still useful, despite being on charge continuously
[21:46] <ajmitch> the zareason's battery is still holding 2-3 hours of charge after 4+ years