Hardware: The THINKPAD STACK !!!!!!

YES, I got my hands on the Thinkpad Stack !!!!

Information:

• Thinkpad Stack Pro:4XH0H34189
• Shop site
• Support site
• Software Download

I will like to review each of the modules I got.

1) Bluetooth Speakers -  ThinkPad Stack Bluetooth Speaker

This is no-brainer, it has its own internal battery, so it can work disconnected to the battery module.
You connect your device as a Bluetooth speaker and it works.

There is almost no setup, just hold the power button until it flash to get it into pair mode. Then it is works like a normal Bluetooth speaker to pair it to the PC, phone or tablet.

2) The 1TB HDD drive - ThinkPad Stack 1TB USB3.0 Hard Drive.

Also, this module is no problem. It is a HDD device that comes with his USB 3.0 cable that you can connect to your laptop. When you press the button it will light up to show the charge of it.


It can work together with the "Battery Module" and the "Wifi  Module".

Maybe the only thing that you need to know is that you require the Thinkpad Stack software to surf inside the files of you HDD driver in wireless mode.

3) The Battery - ThinkPad Stack 10000mAh Power Bank.

It is very easy to use, it is a battery that connects to USB port devices for charging, but the idea is it also gives power to the Access Point, Wifi Router and HHD drive.

You can use it charge your phone or tablet and if you press the power button it will light up to let you know the charge level. 

4) The Access Point - ThinkPad Stack Wireless Router

 

This module looks like a good tool for the "road warrior" or for some user with some specific needs.  For example, if you go to an hotel and want to extend the Wifi to other device, or want to connect the Ethernet port and create a wifi network on your room, it works fine.

The only way to set it up is with the include application available for Window, Android or iOS. You can not set up this device with a web interface like most wifi router, so this is good and bad at the same time.

The software that comes with the device (the installer is on the HDD and web site)  has some interesting points. Setup is very easy with the application and here are some screenshots so you can see how it works.

It is the basic thing you need to configure the router.

It will allow you to surf the files of you HDD if you are connecting via Wifi.

It will also give you information about the Batter. 

And you can adjust the volume of the Bluetooth Speaker. 

What I will like to see in future versions?

Maybe for a next version or firmware improvement:

1: Wifi Router: You can not access the router in Bridge mode from the main wifi network. It may be a security feature, but when you are bridging your home wifi (a trusted network) it may be interesting if you can disable this security.

2: Wifi Router with 1TB HDD: It can be interesting if the 1TB HDD can have all the functionalities of a wireless/wired HDD disk. In this case I can not access the files of it without the Thinkpad Stack software (with the admin password) .  I will like to be able to connect to it as a Windows network drive with Samba and other common protocols.

It may be hard since you will need all the function to register user on your HDD so not everybody will have access to your files via wifi. 

Pictures

So many years... and it was the cable

I have an LG E2360 for several years now (2011). I was changing my PC mainboard at that time and I wanted something bigger than the usual. At that moment the HDMI port was a novelty on PCs (or at least here in Ecuador) and I wanted to have it. So I make sure that my PC had the HDMI ports, got a cable and start using the monitor.

The monitor worked great, sharp image, nice, love it, etc. But it has one issue, when the OS turned off the monitor to stand by mode, the monitor didn't wanted to go to stand-by, it showed me the message that it lost connection and I need to turn it off with the power button.

I tried different machines with the same results. The VGA port of the monitor worked fine and went to the stand by mode without issues. I thought it was a limitation of the monitor with the HDMI port, I looked around on the forums, checked the same issue and nobody reported that problem.  So with time I got used to always turn off the screen when I walked away from the PC.

Today I was trying some USB-2-Video adapters and I took a different HDMI cable for testing. In some point the laptop went to stand by video and the monitor just worked as it used to be. It was the damn cable that I used for the last six years.

The funny things is that I always suggest people to try different HDMI cables and adapters when they have problems with the HDMI monitor. Now I need to get used back to don't turn off the monitor when I leave the PC.

Hardware: Lenovo Y Gaming Precision Mouse

 

Information

• Part Number :  GX30J34225
• Model: M800
• Windows Hardware ID: HID\VID_17EF&PID_6078&REV_1920&Col01
• Hardware ID: 17EF:6078
• Support Site: Lenovo Y Gaming Precision Mouse
• Buttons: 7 Buttons
• Special: 4 DPI available that can be change with center button. (Customizable DPI)

Driver:

Windows 10 - 64bits: Version 1.19 

What is the back for?

I didn't know what the back of the mouse was for...

...until I saw the weights.

 

Mouse DPI and its importance?

Dots per inch (DPI) is a measurement of how sensitive a mouse is.  If the DPI is high the mouse will travel faster on the screen, so a high DPI is better to have more mouse sensitivity while playing games. But having a higher DPI is not always better, different gamers like different DPIs according to the game and taste.

This mouse has the "center button" that is called "2 Dots per Inch (DPI) switch button".

So with this button you can switch between:
- 1200 dpi
- 1600 dpi
- 2000 dpi
- 3200 dpi
It will show you on the top of the screen the DPI you switched, so you can choose what you like at the moment you want. You have four DPI settings by default, but you can also personalize it with the software that comes bundled with it.

The Software

It comes with a utility software to let you set the buttons and profiles.

It has an interesting Macro Editor which you can set to a button, a ey, or combination of keys.

You can also personalize the DPI settings for each of the four "memories" it has on the "center button".

Website Feedback

I had been reading some of the feedback on the Lenovo page to see what are the most common issued of the mouse.

1) Macros and Configuration not being saved on the config program.
 I had been trying version 1.19 of the Driver and software and all configuration is getting saved and works correctly.

2) Scrolling not running when running programs as administrator.
I tested and it is right. For example on Chrome and Firefox, it will not scroll if you run the software as admin. This is fixed with a simple workarround on running the Lenovo Y Mouse software as administrator too.

You can modify on the Windows Task Manager to make the application run as administrator when it runs, like the following picture. I worked for me (sorry, it is in spanish, but I hope you get the idea).



3) It is a big a mouse, it requires big hands to move it.
Not necessary, even that how you feel your mouse fits your personal behaviour, a good trick for the people with small hands is to increase the DPI level, so the mouse will move faster with less effort. Also you can take off the weights if you think it is too heavy for your hand. 

 

Pictures

The robots built in China will help take away China's Jobs.

It sounds like history repeating:

• A company that creates animated movies hired a lot of animators on the US to create their movies.
• After some years they found out that animators salaries are expensive and that they can outsource it's animators to other countries. 
• So the company reduce it's size, it only depends on creative people for the story and some high level animators to set the road for the overseas animator's outsourced army. 
• After some time, technology evolves, and movies can be created by a smaller group of animators behind a computer. 
• The outsourced army of animators are fired, the jobs get back to the US, but now with a reduced team. 

Today China may be the factory and workforce of the world. They produce the good products and the bad products too, the expensive stuff and the cheap things. With the coming of mechatronics maybe China's last creations will be the one that take away their jobs.

It is the CFO dream to reduce a factory of 1000 workers to an outsourced cheaper factory, but it is his wildest dream on earth to reduce the 1000 outsourced workers to a one shot machinery expense and a group of 20 people to operate those.

Just imagine the an hypothetical logo on the next device you will buy on the future:

(Original Source: Despair.com)

So, Mechatronics may be the future, but the humans also needs to evolve to do more complex jobs. Just like Charlie's fathers on "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory", it is not a high paid job for humans to just screw the toothpaste cap, but when he returned to fix the machine that fired him, that was "payback".

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Checking out the Levono Miix 510

So I got my hands on the Levono Miix 510. The first thing that I will like to tell is that feels a lot more "high end" that other Lenovo Miix tablet that I had tried on the past.

Information

• Model Number: 510-12ISK
• Support Site: Miix 510 Support Site
• Website: Sales site. 

Hardware Specs

• Processor: Intel Core i5-6200U
• Memory: 8GB RAM
• HDD: 512 Solid HDD 
• Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 520

BIOS

I access the BIOS the same way of the Miix 700, by pressing "Volume Up + Power".
The things that I liked (and I appreciate a lot) on the BIOS are:
1) You can disable Secure Boot
2) You can put Legacy mode on UEFI, it is important if you want to try a different OS.
3) You can Enable Intel Virtualization. (I will try my VMs on the future)

Pre-Installed Software

I think that with all the past issues that Lenovo had has with "Super fish" and other software that was included, this time Lenovo didn't want to run into any more risk and it almost didn't included any strange software on it.

It is very clean and the only Lenovo software that you see at once is "Lenovo Companion" which it is useful to update the firmware and drivers of the machine. 

Mouse

Even that I complete dislike the touchpad mouse (I'm a Trackpoint guy), this time Lenovo improved the touchpad. If I compared it with the one on the Miix 310, the Miix 310 touchpad was very unreliable and lack precision in my opinion, the one included on the Miix 510 offers you a better mouse movement. 

Pen

This model didn't came with a Pen, but it uses Wacom technology to support one. I grabbed my "Lenovo ThinkPad Pen Pro" (4X80H34887) and it worked like a charm.  Even that it didn't came with "Lenovo Write It" pre-installed I just download it from the site and start using it with the pen.

An important issue of the Miix 510 is that when you tried a tablet of this quality you don't want to go back to use a "lower-end" one. For what I have tested it I'm very happy with it, but I still want to try more the USB-C port and the BIOS properties (just because I like to touch everything).

The tablet does not has a pen holder, I was just trying on the next picture to see if you can hold the pen with the magnet. Since the  "Lenovo ThinkPad Pen Pro" came with an USB holder, I also tried it on the tablet.

Keyboard

The keyboard has backlight !!

You can put the keyboard on two positions if you like to press the keys a little higher. All grabbed with the magnet that the keyboard has.

USB

It has two USB ports, one USB-C and one regular.

The hinges 

The hinges to hold the back side are very similar to the newer Lenovo Yoga hinges. It is like a cropped version of it, since it does require to be full reversible like a laptop.

The Jacket?

It came with a bag/jacket to store it. It is very simple and it has a little part to hold a pen there.

...and that's all.

Let's see is this year's holiday I can make it run OS/2 Warp.