When I ordered a custom Lenovo ThinkPad W500 (specifications) last month, the estimated ship date was 22 March. I was therefore delighted when on 22 February I received an e-mail indicating my new computer was on its way.

The slim box arrived via UPS on 24 February having flown across the ocean from China, spending two days in US Customs along the way. My excitement only grew as I extracted the notebook from its minimalist packaging, connected the battery and fired it up for the first time.

My first impression of the factory software install was positive. There was a minimum of third-party applications installed and no pop-ups or prompts to buy or install anything. A temporary partition with recovery media images was included in lieu of a DVD. The only annoyance was having to use Lenovo's clunky application to extract the data before reclaiming the disk space.

Fortunately, I have no real need for recovery media. I copied the contents of a Windows 7 Professional 64 DVD to my SanDisk Cruzer Micro USB flash drive and booted off it. Windows was installed and operational in eleven minutes. There were a few pieces of hardware that required vendor drivers but that was a simple matter to resolve, especially with Lenovo's System Update 4.

Over two weeks later, I continue to be impressed by the performance and stability of my ThinkPad. Applications like Firefox, Photoshop, Outlook, 7-Zip and Google Earth run quickly and smoothly, even when under high processing loads. Furthermore, the speed of the computer is not affected while multiple processes consume system resources. Multitasking, indeed.

I have found numerous sites and forums where people share their Windows Experience Index score as computed by the Windows System Assessment Tool. WSAT quantifies the performance and capability of a system's processor, memory, graphics card and hard drive, producing a subscore for each. The lowest of these subscores, which at present range between 1.0 and 7.9, is also the reported base score. These are the results of my assessment test.

As you can see, the W500 performed excellently during these tests. I was a bit surprised at the 2D graphics score (5.9), but the Mobile Intel 4 video chipset appears more than adequate in real world use. When graphics performance is required, the ATI Mobility FireGL (6.4) takes over. I was most entertained if not unsurprised by the scorching hard drive performance score (6.7). I definitely made the right decision by selecting the solid state hard drive.

Instead of using additional benchmark tools to spit out more figures, I decided I would time the boot and Windows loading sequence. For starters, POST takes four seconds from pushing the power button to when the OS starts to load.

With the wireless network and Bluetooth adapters turned on, it took Windows thirty seconds to get to the login screen. With the wireless and Bluetooth turned off, the time was reduced to 17 or 18 seconds.

Windows is immediately ready to use after I log in, with all services and start-up applications loaded and running in under eight seconds. The ThinkPad W500 and Windows 7 seem to be a match made in heaven. Only time will tell if the reputation of the ThinkPad line stands, though based on what I have seen thus far I have no reason to doubt it.

Stepping outside the office to take a break on a not-so-cold day about a month ago, I noticed a co-worker's sweater had a familiar logo on it. Most people, the wearer included, would immediately recognize the logo as that of the New England Patriots North American football franchise.

This was not my first thought, however, as my former high school sometimes uses the very same logo. Lake Brantley High School in Altamonte Springs, Florida, is home of the Patriots, where they used to "meet the challenge" but now apparently "make the difference."

While the mascot, school seal and other official materials contain original works of art, the New England Patriots head logo and script typeface "Patriots" are/were featured on athletic uniforms, t-shirts, websites and documents. I explained all this to my co-workers and wondered how this never resulted in a lawsuit for trademark infringement.

I suppose it is not outside the realm of possibility the National Football League decided not to take action because it was a high school, not to mention one with a well-established football program. Then again, of those copyright and trademark holders most inclined to sue I would think the NFL would rank highly.

The Tale of Two Patriots: New England (left) and Lake Brantley High

When I was at Lake Brantley (1995–1999) the registrar was Regina Klaers, a kind and professional woman with whom I was fortunate to know. She was promoted to the County level before I graduated, but I made a point to stop and visit her from time to time.

She has no idea¹, but she just answered this long running question for me in a one-sentence quote in the Orlando Sentinel: "The NFL does not have a problem with schools using the logos as long as there are limitations on it." The same article goes on to note that as long as no competition is involved with NFL licensed firms, "teams often are happy to have high schools emulate them."

The quote was prompted by a recent situation involving Lake Mary High School, home of the Rams. For reasons past understanding, Lake Brantley has long been high school rivals with Lake Mary. I remember their logo being a bighorn sheep standing with the word "Rams" in script below it. They still use this version apparently but a few years ago started using the Dodge ram head logo on uniforms, benches and even the gym floor.

Tipped off by an anonymous citizen, Chrysler sent a cease and desist letter to Seminole County Public Schools and threatened to sue. The district decided to comply, intelligently concluding the financial resources could be better spent on students then on a hopeless legal battle, and Lake Mary must eliminate the infringing logo by the end of the school year.

Two Rams Not Better Than One: Dodge (left) and Lake Mary High

In response to criticism over their move, Chrysler spokesman Mike Palese told the Sentinel, "it is a course of action we have to take to protect our trademark rights. If we don't approach these kinds of things with dilligence [sic]², we can lose our trademark rights."

Interestingly enough, Chrysler will stop using this logo itself in 2010 opting instead for a text-only logo. Quickly working to distinguish corporate decisions from their family owned and operated dealership, Orlando Chrysler Jeep Dodge has offered to redesign the Lake Mary logo for free. In the meantime, the old bighorn sheep just have to do.

Believe it or not, I am writing this article on the Gateway Solo 2500 notebook I customized and purchased, or rather had purchased for me as a graduation present in May 1999. It arrived at my house in early June while I was vacationing in San Francisco and was the only thing enticing me to return to Orlando.

This system has provided reliable service to me for 10 years and 8 months now, but is obviously slow and underpowered for my current needs. My philosophy on buying a new notebook is simple: upgrading them can be difficult and expensive so I get the most powerful one I can afford. Although prices have fallen and technology improved in the past decade, my philosophy remains valid for modern desktop replacements.

Entering the 21st century, Gateway hit hard times and the quality of their offerings lessened. In the meantime, my line of work has provided me the chance to use a variety of business notebooks from Dell, Toshiba and HP/Compaq. By far the most impressive notebook is the well-designed ThinkPad by IBM, acquired by Lenovo in 2005. I have logged incalculable hours on the ThinkPad T43p and T61 and am continuously impressed with their quality and performance.

Yesterday afternoon, I placed an order for a custom build ThinkPad W500. The W Series is a recent line of systems designed as upgraded successors to the popular T Series and could probably be referred to colloquially as the Cadillac of ThinkPad notebooks. The W700 even comes with a secondary flip-out LCD panel and built-in tablet. Now that is overkill for me, but I am saving nearly $1000 on the W500 between a sale price and coupon discount.

My ThinkPad W500 will be equipped with the following components:

• Intel Core 2 Duo P9500 Mobile Processor
• ATI Mobility FireGL V5700 Video Card
• 8 GB PC3-8500 DDR3 SDRAM Memory
• 15.4" WSXGA+ CCFL TFT Display
• 128 GB Solid State Hard Drive
• Intel WiFi Link 5300 Wireless Network Card
• Bluetooth PAN
• Camera
• 8x DVD/CD Recorder
• 7-in-1 Media Card Reader
• TouchPad, TrackPoint and ThinkLight
• Windows 7 Professional 64

Needless to say, I am fairly excited to get my hands on this computer. I will likely be compelled to run and post some speed tests and boot-up times. I have yet to use a solid state hard drive, but I am preparing to be blown away based on the performance results I found online. With any luck, the shipping estimate I was provided—22 March 2010—is highly conservative and it will only be a matter of weeks before it arrives.

Update: I received an e-mail on 22 February that it would arrive on the 24th and it did. I will elaborate at a different time, but for now it is sufficient to say this notebook is the fastest I have used and I absolutely love it.

I have been thinking about classic diners in Florida after recently discovering a good one in High Springs. Since I could only think of two more, I will also recommend a nearby non-diner for each.

But first a recap of High Springs' Fleetwood Diner, 615 NW Santa Fe Boulevard. As I noted before, Fleetwood (formerly Floyd's) offers classic diner favorites, homestyle dinners and breakfast anytime they are open. The meatloaf dinner with mashed potatoes and corn and the patty melt with fries are both excellent.

Within walking distance of the boardwalk, pier and typical Daytona Beach junk shops is the Starlite Diner, 401 North Atlantic Avenue. Featuring a medium-sized menu with breakfast, burgers, sandwiches and homestyle dinners, the Starlite sits in the shadow of modern condominium skyrises but maintains its charm with stainless steel and neon. I recommend the patty melt sandwich with fries, but also enjoyed the breakfast plate with ham steak, eggs, homefries and toast.

A few blocks south is Hog Heaven Bar-B-Q, 37 North Atlantic Avenue. Like the Starlite Diner, Hog Heaven does a swift lunch business due in part to the nearby hotels with meeting spaces. The service was prompt and professional regardless. The menu includes BBQ favorites like beef, chicken, ribs and pork. I enjoyed the pulled pork lunch plate with fries, cole slaw and garlic bread. The indoor dining area is nice enough, but I recommend a table in the covered outdoor area.

Two-hundred fifty miles to the south and not far from Fort Lauderdale beach is Lester's Diner, 250 West State Road 84. From their large menu of classic dishes, I took a chance on and was pleasantly surprised with the open-faced roast beef sandwich with mashed potatoes and corn. This diner classic is often fatty and drowning in gravy, but this version was great. The building was looking a little worn at the time and the waitress was grumpy, but good roast beef goes a long way.

Down the street is the must-visit Old Heidelberg German Restaurant, 900 State Road 84. Featuring a comprehensive menu of old world favorites and import beer, Old Heidelberg is quaint, dimly lit and heavily decorated with art and beer steins. I still have dreams about the Oktoberfest combo: bratwurst, thüringer, knockwurst, smoked pork chop, meatball and kielbasa with red cabbage, sauerkraut and mashed potatoes. The waiter was polite and attentive, plus the live accordion player was a nice touch. If you really enjoy your meal, walk next door and pick-up some sausages and meat from the Old Heidelberg Deli, which features the products served in the restaurant and much more.

Please note it has been around five years since I last visited the Starlite Diner, Hog Heaven Bar-B-Q, Lester's Diner and Old Heidelberg. If you have more recent experiences, please share them.