IBM ThinkPad(Middle/Late 90's)-Quite Significant to Apple?

[uniserver]

Does anyone remember why the IBM Thinkpad was significant to Apple ?



And I hope this doesn't raise the value of them, I would like to get one soon.

Hint: But it's not going to be running Windows or Linux

By the way credit for this goes to "mcdermd".

 

[BlastoiseBlue]

PowerPC?

 

[mcdermd]

I think I know where you're going with this but there's no real proof one way or another of exactly which Thinkpad model(s) may have been involved. One machine that for sure fits the significance you're hinting at is one of the Thinkpad 760s as it's actually been documented to have been configured as such.

EDIT: I love my 560E. It's thin, light and feels a lot like a polycarbonate iBook.

 

[Gorgonops]

I think I know where you're going with this

I was about to say the same thing. The only "evidence" for a 560 seems to be speculation on various forums that "there might have been one of them involved too because it fits the time period".

Somehow I doubt such a minor association is going to do much for the value even for the models where there *is* documentary evidence linking them to the thing you're thinking of. It's a bit like saying that every 1975 Ford Escort GL left in the world is now worth $690,000 because the one particular unit that once belonged to some other guy with hordes of devoted followers is "worth" that much. Only if you can lay your hands on one with verifiable fingerprints still on it will it be a different story.

I would say if you *do* actually want one get it quick before the last ones end up being burned for scrap in some dirty third-world metal recycling facility. Laptops that old are starting to get a little thin on the ground. It won't cost you much, the hard part will be finding a working unit.

 

[mcdermd]

I think I paid about $40 for mine in nice shape with a two-minute battery.

 

[uniserver]

before someone gives the answer you might find info about this

@http://www.applefool.com

:-D

 

[Anonymous Freak]

Could you be referring to the fact that after Steve Jobs came back to Apple in '97 with Apple's acquisition of NeXT, he used a ThinkPad running NeXTstep rather than the Mac OS until OS X came out?

Yeah, that's not enough of a "link" to drive up prices on ThinkPads of that era, sorry. (Unless you happen to get a ThinkPad directly owned by Steve, of course.)

 

[mcdermd]

In regard to the iBook comment, here's what I'm talking about. In terms of size, weight, etc, they could be spiritual siblings:

 

[Cosmo]

Seen those 560X's around a few lately but seems that they have diffent video and audio chips:

http://www.ertyu.org/steven_nikkel/thinkpadspecs.html

 

[Unknown_K]

I have a 560X (somewhat working battery too), how well does it run NEXTstep anyway?

 

[mcdermd]

The video chipset is really important as you'll have a pretty limited set of video drivers.

Some perusing of this thread should help on selecting a laptop candidate:

http://nextcomputers.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=1094

 

[uniserver]

darn you mcdermd, you make my collecting sickness worse!

 

[uniserver]

Here is the video chip in the 560E

(Trident Cyber 9382)

Back in the day, I was never a fan of (Trident or NeoMagic) in Laptops.

 

[uniserver]

In january I am going to get one,

I really want to install and use openstep for some reason…