Today would have been the 126th birthday of the seminal modernist architect, Mies van der Rohe. Although Mies is my favorite architect, celebrating his birth was not on my radar until I saw this morning's Google logo. Thanks for the reminder Google. I really like how they transformed their logo into an abstraction of 1956's Crown Hall at IIT. If you click on this link you can watch an interesting Google Doodle animation and learn more about Mies. Mies did not like the railings that were added to the porch and stairs As a designer, I really admire the work of Mies and how he took simplicity and ordered perfection to the highest level possible. He broke new ground with buildings that celebrated structure rather than hid it. The Wikipedia claims he called his buildings "skin and bones" architecture. He used rationale ideals to guide the creative process of architectural design. One of his most famous quotes is quite simply "God is in the details". I've never seen a building he designed that looks dated or out of step with my own design thinking. He was a true pioneer in the field of architecture. One of my design professors, Len Singer, was actually the last person to have graduated with a degree from IIT under the direction of Mies. Maybe that's where I discovered a passion for Mies and his work? The

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We are very fortunate at Lenovo these days.  In addition to growing our market share we are also growing our employee base.   So I dediced to tap into that growth and talk to one of our newest option and accessory new hires.   Chad's feedback was great, so I've decided to incorporate it into a blog. From Chad:   I’m new to Lenovo’s Options Team, but I’ve been a user and consumer of backpacks, laptop cases, mice, keyboards and the like for decades. Now, as part of my initiation I’ve be able to test drive many of Lenovo’s offerings. Let me tell you which are my top do-more options.   19+ Slice Battery - Never in a million years would I have thought my top computer accessory would be a battery, but I’m a convert. My first real life experience with this trim offering was on an international flight with a poor movie section. The 19+ Slice, when coupled w/ my X220’s internal battery, gave me all-flight computing; allowing me to work and play from wheels up to wheels down. What’s more, I move around the office quite a bit, going from floor to floor for meetings. The 19+ Slice makes me the envy of my power-cord-schlepping colleagues who fight for the last remaining outlet in the conference room. The marginal amount of height and weight the 19+ Slice adds to my PC is easily worth being able to avoid the corded cage match. ThinkPad Ultrabase Series 3 - As a child my...

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CES 2012 Lenovo Lounge

Ah, CES. The crowds, the aching feet, the complete and utter lack of any moisture in the air. But the lovely, lovely gadgets and toys make up for all of that. I'm not sure what constitutes being a CES veteran but this is my 4th one so, if I'm not a veteran, at least I'm not feeling like a noob any more. As you would expect, I spent most of my time in and around the various Lenovo facilities talking about our new products. Many of them have already been covered in depth, but I'll add some personal commentary distilled out of my interactions with our customers, business partners and the press about one of my favorites. And by that, I mean that while I obviously know the SPECS of our systems and may have even physically seen them once or twice before CES, over the course of talking to folks about something for 5 days, it really gives me a chance to live with the machine for a while and really figure out how I feel about it and whether it's something that speaks to me personally. Now onto the A720, our new IdeaCentre all-in-one PC. If you haven't seen it or heard about it, have a look here.  While I certainly do get the utility/usage model/attractiveness of All-in-One desktops, they are not anything that's ever been at the top of my personal purchase list, mostly because I've always considered myself a laptop (or fully-expandable desktop) kind of guy. Even if they did tilt a bit , touchscreens on traditional...

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Enhanced Experience 2012

Where is the Enhanced Experience at CES this year?  Rest assured we have some great technology we are working on for our 2012 systems.  But in the interim, I’d like to highlight one particular co-engineering effort that’s timely and a great example of what the Enhanced Experience is all about. One of the best parts of my job at Lenovo is collaboration with partners who share a dedication to providing the absolute best customer experience possible.  Take AuthenTec, for example, the company that makes the fingerprint sensor solution that ships on many Lenovo ThinkPad laptop PCs.   They understand one of the tenets of the Enhanced Experience development philosophy – never be satisfied, always strive for improvement.  With the advent of their new TCS5D smart sensor with the TCD51 biometric companion processor we looked together at ways to further improve the performance of the Power-On Authentication feature which allows users to quickly boot or resume their system from standby with the swipe of a finger.  Power On Authentication eliminates the typical delay and interruption of the laptop’s pause and the need for the user to enter a Windows password, enhancing the customer experience while also providing the protection of biometric security.  Any small improvement we could identify would translate directly to faster time-to-productivity for the end user. Here is a side-by-side video of the...

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IdeaPad A1 Tablets

It’s officially down to crunch time to finalize your holiday shopping list. Still haven’t found everything you need? Have no fear, Lenovo has a true cornucopia of stocking-stuffer toys to please everyone on your list. The Little Tablet That Impresses The IdeaPad A1 tablet has been turning a lot of heads – it’s a mere 7 inches, comes in four fun colors (black, white, blue and pink) and has all of the fun multimedia capabilities you  want on an Android tablet. Plus, the price is just right starting at only $249. Accessorizing Your Tablet Keep your new ThinkPad Tablet warm, cozy and clean with one of our tablet cover sleeves or cases. ThinkPad Tablet case sleeve – Sleek, soft and designed to fit your ThinkPad Tablet perfectly, this neoprene constructed sleeve is just $17.99.

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