xplanetFX renders high quality wallpapers of mother earth on your desktop. An extensive GUI (GTK) provides a lot of features and settings. Various templates place the planet inside different scenes and make shure your desktop never gets boring again. With realtime light, shadows and clouds!

traGtor is a graphical user interface for the awesome conversion tool ffmpeg. With multi streams, presets, multi language and a lot of other features traGtor is a handy tool for converting all audio and video formats through ffmpeg. traGtor is based on GTK and Python.

Calf studiogear is an extensive and high quality plugin pack for professional audio production under Linux. It provides a lot of synthesizers, effects and signal processing for the use with LV2 audio production suites (like Ardour) or as stand-alone through JACK.

Calf with all of its new features and processors isn't officially released by now so you have to grab the GIT-repository from sourceforge.net until we are ready for a stable release.

» calf.sourceforge.net

guess is a tool to launch (and kill) different setups of programs. It was invented to startup all needed synthesizers, audio suites, MIDI sequencers and stuff with the correct source files on the right desktop for a single audio production with just one click.

xplanetFX - series: Mit xplanetFX ganze Bilderserien erstellen

oRainge Theme: GTK-, GDM-, Metacity-, Icons-Theme

oRainge gDesklets: Sprechende Uhren, Kalender, System-Widgets (manual)

photogen:c SVG-Icons: Diverse High-Quality-Icons im SVG-Format

traffick: Serverumgebungen testen. Durch skalierbares Threading erzeugt traffick Unmengen an Suchanfragen und Webseitenaufrufen, um ein hohes Maß an Vorratsdaten Netzwerkauslastung zu simulieren.

GIMP Plug-In “Moderated Blur” for Tilt Shift and Depth-Of-Field Effects

stuff (de) guess calf traGtor xplanetFX

Lenovo Thinkpad W540 – the very last Thinkpad in my life – Lenovo sucks.

Notebookcheck: denting the case above the ExpressCard slotI have to admit that I was blinded by some positive tests in the relevant platforms and media and – which was much more cruicial – my own experience with high class ThinkPad machines. So nothing to euphemise – that’s what you get when you blindly trust a big business concern like Lenovo. It’s completely my fault that I’m a displeased owner of an expensive but  cheap piece of plastic. Sadly there seem to be no replacements on the market atm, either significant parts like a trackpoint, enough USB ports  or a high resolution display are missing, the casing is even more worse than the one of this rattletrap or the internals are too lame to sell them as a „workstation“.

Oh, and not to forget: http://thenextweb.com/insider/2015/02/19/lenovo-caught-installing-adware-new-computers/

Update: Those suckers really don’t seem to give a fuck for their customers

Update: Aaaand Another one.

Update: Oh dear. Really? Not charging batteries not found to be „genuine“? You guys at Lenovo *really* suck big time.

Anyway. Now that I own this crappy piece of downgrade I feel like I have to make my concerns public to prevent at least a couple of people to get trapped by some clever PR.

Suppo(o)rt

I was such an idiot and paid a lot of money for the „award-winning“ „Next Business Day“ warranty – which is a hilarious joke. The first problem a couple of weeks ago was a broken wifi chip. It took a week to discuss that it’s *not* the antenna and another one until the part was shipped to me. And guess what – I had to disassemble and install it by myself. Award-winning my ass.

Actually I have a broken clickpad which renders unusable when temperatures or humidity goes up – it triggers only right clicks everywhere. The „award-winning“ support told me how to reset my Windows to factory defaults and closed the ticket. \o/ Shortly after complaining I got a call from a „specialist“ who told me that it can only be a software problem and Lenovo isn’t responsible for the software on this machine. He didn’t understand my concerns that it happens in different operating systems. So he wanted to send me a service technician – for „only 380“ bucks. Fuck you Lenovo! Update: I shed the hope for a fix for my problem. But today I got a call from one of Lenovos contractors who brought me a brand new palm rest (which contains the click pad) – Unbelievable! But what should I say – he is as pissed by Lenovo as I am – it was quite a mutual chat.

For the german speakers: http://forums.lenovo.com/t5/Allgemeine-Diskussion/bd-p/Allgemein_1

13 Pages of „Shitty Support!“, „Complaint!“, „Bad Service!“, „Complaint!“, „Lenovo half-arsed“, „Complaint!“ and „Complaint!“

I’m such an idiot to not have read this shit before I threw my money down the drains…

Hardware

The following list sometimes refers to a comparison which implies the ThinkPad t61p, my last and dearly beloved notebook made by IBM/Lenovo.

Positives of the ThinkPad W540

  • Processor is fast
  • Display is very nice (after writing my own software for calibration)
  • Fan noise is bearable even on higher rpm
  • Wifi adapter seems strong and fast
  • The weight is great for this over-powered device
  • The battery lasts very long

Neutrals

  • The mechanics of the keyboard seem to be the same
  • It’s kind of usable after one moth configuring, compiling and coding
  • It boots. After checking a new SSD.

Negatives of the ThinkPad W540

Casing:

  • The overall hunch is far more cheap
  • The material of the palm rest gets scuffed easily, even by other plastic material
  • It wobbles if you put it on a table and open the lid which also causes well-audible taps on typing on the righ side of the keyboard when it hits the table
  • Palmrest on the right rattles which sometimes is audible on typing
  • Lifting the device with one hand on the left corner causes the casing to open on the whole left side
  • Not a single locking mechanism to prevent the display lid from opening
  • Display lid is easily bendable which leads to scratches from the keys on the glossy surface of the screen
  • Lid doesn’t close completely on the left side
  • No bevelled edges any more (which prevented irruption of small pieces of paper on transportation between lid and keyboard)
  • Not a single LED showing any state like HDD, Wifi, sleep, battery, mains, CapsLock, …
  • Frame for main HDD looks like it will not survive 100 times changing the drive
  • No ThinkLight any more which was more than a simple keyboard light, e.g. pidgin-thinklight
  • Finally I put an overall of three pieces of toilet paper into the house to keep the whole thing from rattling and clattering
  • Main plug is  sloppy
  • No hardware switch for Wifi

System:

  •  Vertex 2 OCZ SDD prevents the device from booting

Sound:

  • The sound is a joke without the Dolby Theatre stuff from Windows, I would expect something like that in a 300€ machine. But even with this proprietary sound enhancer the sound is low, thin and tinny.
  • No extra media buttons (try to turn volume down with a cell in your hand)
  • The integrated mic/headphones-plug needs an unneccessary adapter to be used with conventional gear

Clickpad:

  • Clicking the clickpad creates loud noise and sounds/feels cheap
  • Clickpad rattles when hitting the keyboard a little harder
  • Missing buttons cause wrong button detection on clicks that are not clearly located in the correct area of the pad
  • Try to explain how this thing works to a temporary user – in under 30 secs
  • If the humidity/temperature rises the clickpad loses the „buttons“ areas and everything triggers a right-click suddenly. Rebooting helps.

Keyboard:

  • Keyboard clatters, had to put two stripes of thick paper and a piece of toilet paper under it
  • No multimedia keys like play/pause/prev/next
  • No sleep key, not even with Fn + F-key
  • Print key between AltGr and right Ctrl
  • No CapsLock state
  • No NumLock state
  • Keyboard illumination leaks far more than it lights the symbols
  • Removing the keyboard from the notebook is far more intrusing and sophisticated
  • Let something sticky drip into the keyboard and try to wipe it away under this useless plastic cover
  • And not to forget – t61p keyboards were about 30 EUR and guess what – the new fancy lit one is at about 100 EUR.

This list will be updated likely because there’s so much about this device that sucks that sometimes I forget some minor but distracting details.

  1. 6 comments on “Lenovo Thinkpad W540 – the very last Thinkpad in my life – Lenovo sucks.”

  2. maltris

    Im shocked. 😮

    Im currently owning an T420. And im planning to own it at least 2 more years. After that i might switch to an HP EliteBook or some seemingly robust Dell-Notebook…

  3. Markus Schmidt

    Hey Maltris,

    Dell seems to become my next device, too. Lenovos days are numbered.

    Cheers, Markus.

  4. ikhider

    I have used the Thinkpad X140E and thought it good while it lasted, it was built for children so that is why it is stronger than most Lenovo models. Even so, I had to take it for repair more than once because of structural issues, the chasis would come apart. Luckily it was still in warranty. The best part was the long battery life and the re-enforced back of the screen. As for software, running the native Windows OS seems to be asking for trouble. I use AMD machines because I do not like how Intel is part of the occupation of Palestine. I used to use HP, but learned that HP designs the weapons systems deployed against Palestinians. This sort of narrows my choice of laptops. I looked at the newer Lenovo models and it does seem to be slim pickings. AMD is problematic in that the ATI Radeon drivers are proprietary. I wrote to the AMD CEO and asked that she do something about that, but have not heard back from her. Manufacturers like System 76, ThinkPenguin, Purism all use Intel CPU’s. Though openlunchbox.com seems rather interesting. Nvidea makes laptop CPU’s. but the choices are limited. There is Lemote, but they are several years behind the likes of AMD/Intel.

  5. Markus Schmidt

    „I use AMD machines because I do not like how Intel is part of the occupation of Palestine. I used to use HP, but learned that HP designs the weapons systems deployed against Palestinians.“

    WTF – wasn’t aware of it. Seems I have to ask my favorite search engine about, thanks for the hint.

    „wrote to the AMD CEO and asked that she do something about that, but have not heard back from her.“

    Surprise .)

  6. ikhider

    There are many links if you search. Here are some links:
    http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/HP-s-role-in-Israel-could-lead-to-political-5588387.php

    https://bdsmovement.net/2014/freedom-and-justice-for-gaza-boycott-action-against-7-complicit-companies-12386

    For the spin doctors, being against Israel’s occupation is not being anti-Jewish as many Jews are against Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine. Amira Haas, an Israeli who writes for the Haaretz, wrote ‚Drinking the Sea at Gaza‘, thus some Israelis are against the siege against Palestinians. Nor is being against the Israeli occupation being ‚anti-Semetic‘. If anyone refers to an etymology text s/he will find that a semite is a ‚desert dweller‘ which includes Arabs, Palestinians, and Jews among other races that live in the desert. You will be labeled anti-Jewish and anti-Semetic if you question the occupation, but knowledge helps counter those claims.

    For the Mac users, this is for you:
    http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/activate/2011/09/201194144739197637.html

    : – )

  7. Lenovo Support Number

    At our workplace we use ThinkPad and one thing that i really dislike is its keyboard, I think typing should be smooth and keys are really hard .my hands starts paining. I use an external keyboard.

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