I never worked on an X301 but in many ways it is the precursor to this little guy. If so, it probably was a nice machine. Lenovo installs less crapware than most, but it still is there. The Win10 installation is brutal.

Buckeye, I have rebuilt my X61 tablet for years now. Ultimately it just got too slow for modern needs. IBM/Lenovo manuals are superb. This little X1 Carbon is wonderful. I'd get one for MrsJ, but she just is not a nipple user. That' for me. :)

I have to say, this tiny Lenovo is wonderful. Their consumer lines are junk, but the Thinkpad and X-series are great.

Thanks for your feedback, fdcol63. We probably won't go that way, but a recommendation is appreciated.

Let me offer a concrete example. I built a computer for my (now late) mother-in-law for general purpose use. Once she passed, we got it back, and it now does audio measurements for me. Free software. It is not available on the Mac. It will also become my audio server. Macs just do not allow for that flexibility. It is an irony, since the Mac uses FreeBSD userland, which is hardwired into my fingers.

jimmyk, MrsJ wants to use the computer on her lap. My understanding is that the Surface doesn't to that well. Otherwise it seems like a fine machine. No more Apple products because the ecosystem is too closed.

No more Apple products here. Sorry.

MrsJ wants a laptop to use by the stove during the winter. She's not a Lenovo person (she has no use for the "nipple"); I was thinking about a Dell XPS 13. Any other suggestions?

peter, I've never tried Bing -- surprising perhaps. Microsoft is better than Google as a Company, but not much.

I've been trying to keep Google off of my new laptop. Sadly, DuckDuckGo is not a good search engine. Does anyone have an alternative?

Mary Rose, You may find this amusing. I have had a single introductory Biology course as an undergrad. No more. I taught the rest to myself. So now I am a Biological Chemist as much as anything. Teaching is overrated. Particularly when most of it is junk.

Maybe, Iggy. I live mostly in the abstract world. I can tell you that when the muse whispers, I write brilliant things. When she is quiet, nothing useful results. It is the same with scientific insight, math, and the rest. I wish I could control it, but it seems to some and go. Business operations are different, of course. But that's a different set of brain cells.

JiB, I can only speak for myself. Scientific innovation, math, writing, business operations, and music seem to come from different sources. Maybe they are united many, many layers deep, but they sure seem different to me. Humans are complex things.

JiB, I've no idea. The State Math prize finalists were all in the Jr. Symphony, one other friend excepted. Maybe there's something to it.

I'll add that I grew up with Italian Opera on Sundays. MrsJ grew up with the Grand Ole Opry. We have a mixed marriage. :)

We are ending the harvest season here too. It is early for us, but years do vary. Mary Rose, "classical" music has been a part of me since Jr. High. So were other forms, but the classical part stuck. It is like breathing to me, it is so much part of my life.

MrsJ spent the day working in the yard. It is wonderful to see her energy come back.

MrsJ and I are considering a Midwest swing early next summer. Tentatively, we'd spend a few days near South Haven, a day in my home town, some time at Niagara Falls, which she hasn't seen and is worth it (on the Canadian side), and some time in Rochester and Toronto. The Lake Michigan beaches are outstanding. It will be interesting to see how things have changed.

Buckeye, I'm sure that is true. I still like the big Bevs in the background. Sibelius at the moment.

It occurred to me that listening through this silly laptop was ill advised, when I have the big Beveridges in the background. Corrected.

Catsmeat, In spite of the rumors notwithstanding, I am thrilled with the next generation. My experience uniformly has been good.

Ok, so here is the final movement of Sibelius Symphony #2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQxqoW52r-4 Ashkenazy is not my favorite, but he does a pretty decent job here. The laptop speakers are not terrible. Surprising.

Catsmeat, Egmont is fine, particularly if it is an inside joke. I'm partial to the Piano Sonatas, but that's just me. Orchestral? Beethoven Symphony #3, or Brahms #4. Mendelssohn Hebrides is fine too, as is Smetana. And many others (Sibelius?).

narc, Gilels does things to a piano that I only do with a woman. It is wonderful. I wish I could play that way.

narc, It is middle-period Beethoven. I have nothing else to say about that.