dont buy lenovo!

[stj]

bastards!
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/08...irmware_nasty/

[c_hegge]

Re: dont buy lenovo!

So? It's all fixed now. At least they did the right thing by fixing the problem, rather than just shoving it under the carpet and pretending it never happened. I'd have very little hesitation about buying a new Thinkpad, in spite of this. They are still one of the few laptops left with 3-button Tackpoints (other than a handful of Dell Latitudes)

[ratdude747]

Re: dont buy lenovo!

^Dell latitude for the win. Screw lenovo, they inherited IBM's dirty tactics and made them worse (whitelisted bios, blacklisted wifi cards, etc.). Add shitty build quality and I don't see any good reason.

Then again, they did get Ashton Kutcher for a spokesperson (a lot of the Yoga ads at least)... so if you buy lenovo, you got Punk'd!

[stj]

Re: dont buy lenovo!

they didnt fix anything.
they put a tool online to disable (NOT remove) the function if you actually find it.

why didnt they put it in a bios update?
because they didnt want to remove it.

[c_hegge]

Re: dont buy lenovo!

Add *censored* build quality and I don't see any good reason.

Half agreed. That's true of the IdeaPads and other consumer-oriented products, but Thinkapds (particularly T series) are built like tanks - even more so than modern Dell Latitudes IMO. I hate the way that Dell shaft retailers too by not allowing any of their products to be sold except through them directly. They are worse than Apple in that regard.

they didnt fix anything.
they put a tool online to disable (NOT remove) the function if you actually find it.

That's good enough IMO. As long as it's not active I couldn't care less.

[diif]

Re: dont buy lenovo!

They fixed it by removing it from newer laptops.

Over here we can buy Dell from supermarkets and third party sellers you don't have to buy direct.

[Per Hansson]

Re: dont buy lenovo!

they didnt fix anything.
they put a tool online to disable (NOT remove) the function if you actually find it.

why didnt they put it in a bios update?
because they didnt want to remove it.

Umm, updated BIOS files are right there in the article you linked
https://support.lenovo.com/us/en/pro..._bios_notebook

[Mad_Professor]

Re: dont buy lenovo!

^Dell latitude for the win. Screw lenovo, they inherited IBM's dirty tactics and made them worse (whitelisted bios, blacklisted wifi cards, etc.). Add shitty build quality and I don't see any good reason.

Then again, they did get Ashton Kutcher for a spokesperson (a lot of the Yoga ads at least)... so if you buy lenovo, you got Punk'd!

Half agreed. That's true of the IdeaPads and other consumer-oriented products, but Thinkapds (particularly T series) are built like tanks - even more so than modern Dell Latitudes IMO. I hate the way that Dell shaft retailers too by not allowing any of their products to be sold except through them directly. They are worse than Apple in that regard.


That's good enough IMO. As long as it's not active I couldn't care less.

I don't know about that. I like my lenovo y480, it seems pretty well built, doesn't flex, and the screen doesn't feel like it's going to break off it's hinges and it's held up pretty good for last 2 years; unlike the flimsy toshiba's and hp's I've worked on and repair numerous times.

[stj]

Re: dont buy lenovo!

it sounds like we need a tool to display what's in this bios table - and maybe edit it.
and not just for lenovo.
think of the evil company's could get upto with that function!

install win10 and it could copy the win10 installer into the bios to stop you downgrading to 7 afterwards.
that's just one possible (miss)use.

[diif]

Re: dont buy lenovo!

it sounds like we need a tool to display what's in this bios table - and maybe edit it.
and not just for lenovo.
think of the evil company's could get upto with that function!

install win10 and it could copy the win10 installer into the bios to stop you downgrading to 7 afterwards.
that's just one possible (miss)use.

Who is we ? the common user that doesn't have a clue or professional techs that are now aware of this. A tool to edit the BIOS is just another attack vector for miscreants to abuse.
What needs to be done is a way to disable WPBT or not have it in the first place.

[stj]

Re: dont buy lenovo!

it's all about the bios, if some scum like ms has had the bios compromised then your shit-out-of-luck because it's the first thing that gets executed.

you want to talk about "attack vector for miscreants to abuse." then i give you the UEFI bios.
that can have extensions installed by trusted sources. IE: windows.

[goodpsusearch]

Re: dont buy lenovo!

I am shocked by Dell policy about the AC adapter. A client brought in a Latitude for service. Among other issues, the battery wasn't charging. I already knew that Dell and HP had this 3rd identification pin and when the cable breaks the laptop would start complaining if you are lucky or stop charging the battery.

What I didn't know and found using the laptop is that the bios locked the centrino dual core 2.2GHz processor at......... 600MHZ!

This is terrible. none should have the right to do that. When you buy a product you pay for a certain cpu, RAM hdd, gpu etc. This lockdown of speed makes the laptop a completely different product.

The worst part is that more than 90 percent of users won't even notice what happened and would continue using the laptop but their everyday user experience will change dramatically.

From yesterday I advise everyone that I know against buying a Dell laptop.

Notice that this happens with the original ac adapter, not with a third party and that the signal cable and pin are ridiculously thin and fragile.

[kevin!]

Re: dont buy lenovo!

How sad...
With how good they were the IBM ThinkPad at the time ...

I now trust only on portable MSI, Acer, Asus.

between malware Internet Explorer, and now this BIOS, will run out of customers.
To my Lenovo he has died.

^Dell latitude for the win. Screw lenovo, they inherited IBM's dirty tactics and made them worse (whitelisted bios, blacklisted wifi cards, etc.). Add shitty build quality and I don't see any good reason.

Then again, they did get Ashton Kutcher for a spokesperson (a lot of the Yoga ads at least)... so if you buy lenovo, you got Punk'd!

When you change the wifi card in my HP, I found that it was not compatible ...
Upon seeing the tactics of HP and DELL with their BIOS, stop buying these brands.
Bye

[budm]

Re: dont buy lenovo!

"why didnt they put it in a bios update?
because they didnt want to remove it."

Owners of LSE-afflicted computers urged to update their firmware
A tool quietly released on July 31 will uninstall the engine if it is present in your machine: it is available here for notebooks, and available here for desktops.

On Tuesday this week, Lenovo published a full list of affected desktop and notebook models. Desktop machines built between October 23, 2014 and April 10, 2015, with Windows 8 preinstalled, have the LSE inside them.
http://support.lenovo.com/nz/en/downloads/ds104373

Think-branded PCs did not include the LSE, we're told.

[stj]

Re: dont buy lenovo!

What I didn't know and found using the laptop is that the bios locked the centrino dual core 2.2GHz processor at......... 600MHZ!

standard "feature", runs the cpu at lowest frequency, refuses to charge the battery.
going into the bios gives a message about unrecognised charger.

i'm surprised nobody has released a patched bios yet though.