I got myself a new toy - a Thinkpad X1. I wasn't really sure whether I should get the X1 or a Macbook Air. The main reason I decided to get the Thinkpad is because I prefer Linux for coding and I actually prefer the style of the hardware. It looks like a hackers tool and not like a shiny fashion accessory, but that's of course just my taste. It's also a lot more powerful in terms of CPU and connectivity (RJ45 jack, HDMI out, USB3, built in 3G modem). The downside is the display, the IPS displays Apple uses are just SO much better. But hey, I'm a developer not a designer.

This post describes the tweaks I did to make this notebook even better. They are also a documentation for myself. It targets advanced users.

TL;DR

Everything works out of the box, but a few tweaks make it way more awesome.

Thinkfan

The default fan settings are very aggressive and result in a lot of noise. I use thinkfan for manual fan control. This reduces the noise significantly.

#/etc/thinkfan.conf
sensor /sys/devices/platform/coretemp.0/temp1_input
sensor /sys/devices/platform/coretemp.0/temp2_input
sensor /sys/devices/platform/coretemp.0/temp3_input
sensor /sys/devices/virtual/hwmon/hwmon0/temp1_input

(0,	0,	60)
(1,	60,	70)
#(2,	76,	61)
#(3,	52,	63)
#(4,	56,	65)
#(5,	59,	66)
(7,	70,	32767)

Note that those are pretty extreme settings, use with caution and don't blame me.

Reducing power consumption

In order to improve battery life and to keep the device cool I tweaked some settings and disabled all unused devices in the bios. The changes save almost 10 watt!

#/etc/default/grub
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash i915.i915_enable_rc6=1"
# run update-grub after change

#/etc/rc.local
echo 1500 > /proc/sys/vm/dirty_writeback_centisecs
for i in /sys/bus/usb/devices/*/power/autosuspend; do echo 1 > $i; done
echo min_power > /sys/class/scsi_host/host0/link_power_management_policy
echo min_power > /sys/class/scsi_host/host1/link_power_management_policy

Also you should consider using flashblock for firefox/chrome. Flash will drain your battery. If you don't believe it just look at the cpu wakeups it creates using powertop.

SSD TRIMing

I use an Intel SSD in the Notebook. The installation was a bit fiddly but the performance is just incredible. The thing boots in seconds. In order to get TRIM support I added discard to the partition options in /etc/fstab.

#/etc/fstab
UUID=b38561bd-9ca9-44a6-848d-ec90f31e1955 /               ext4    discard,errors=remount-ro 0       1

Wireless

802.11N seemed to create problems with my WLAN so I disabled it.

#/etc/modprobe.d/_wlan.conf 
options iwlagn 11n_disable=1

HDAPS

HDAPS offers you access to the accelerometer and advanced battery functions. It's simple to install:

sudo apt-get install tp-smapi-dkms
sudo modprobe -a tp_smapi hdaps
# get battery details
grep -r . /sys/devices/platform/smapi/BAT0/
# load on boot
echo "tp_smapi" >> /etc/modules
echo "hdaps" >> /etc/modules

Conclusion

With all those tweaks done the Thinkpad X1 becomes a durable, light, quiet and fast notebook with a lousy screen.

I'm using elixir nanoweb strings for quite some time now, and I'm very happy with them. So I'll write a review about them.

Technology

Elixir strings are steel strings coated with what they call a nanoweb. When I first read about them I thought oh that's just typical marketing bla bla. But it caught me attention anyway. By looking up the corresponding patents I found out that this nanoweb is a thin layer of PTFE (Polytetrafluoroethylene) also known as teflon. It's commonly used to coat frying pans. But it was also used to build nukes in the Manhattan project. PTFE has the second lowest friction coefficient of any solid material known. Only diamonds are less sticky. PTFE is also very resistant to corrosion. That would mean that elixir strings won't rust because of sweat and are very slick. So in theory this is a great material for coating strings. So let's look at how good they are in practice.

Feel

These are clearly the most slick strings I know of and I love it. In comparison other strings will feel like sandpaper after a few days of use. This makes slides easier and smoother. I guess it does also reduce unwanted string noise.

Sound

Their sound seems to be a little bit less brilliant and more mellow than a fresh pack of D'Addario EXL strings. When playing with distortion I didn't notice any difference.

String life

The D'Addario's I used before began to sound dull and feel sticky after just a few days. The elixir strings will last until their coating is severely damaged which, in my case, takes several months. A user of the german musiker-board made interesting pictures of damaged elixir bass strings. Because of the super slick surface there will be less dirt sticking to the strings. I'd say that for me elixir strings last about 4 times longer than normal nickel coated ones. I haven't broken a single elixir string so far. But if you are a frequent string breaker the longer string life won't be of any use.

Conclusion

The thing I love about elixir strings is their feel and that they last so much longer. They cost about 3 times more than the D'Addarios but they last about four times longer. Now add the time you need to change the strings and do the math. Unless you tend to break your strings (in which case you should check your guitar) very often you should consider this strings.

Guitarmasterclass.net teaches you various techniques, licks and songs through video lessons. Each lessons is divided into several short videos. The lessons contain tabs and often also backing tracks and guitar pro files. Every lessons features 2 free videos the other ones are for registered membery only. There is also a free lick of the day worth checking out!

The quality of the videos is quite variable. There are really great lessons, but there are also some incomplete or confusing ones. Still there are more than enough of great lessons. Just pick the ones that suit you best.

Because of licensing issues there are no lessons on songs from popular bands. There are interesting "In the style of some artist" lessons however. From these "in the style of" lessons you can learn more about the artist than by just playing his songs.

Most lessons consist of some licks/riffs and tabs without much talking or theory. I'd personally like to have more explanations and theory.

The Site site isn't very structured. You'll have to figure out what lessons to learn on your own.

But for me, personally, there is one very important thing about this website. It is fun. It's fun to pick a video, look at it and then just play it and improvise on top of it.

Plus

• It's fun!
• Lots of videos
• New videos
• Backingtracks
• GuitarPro files
• Cheap compared to other websites
• Some free lessons

Minus

• Unstructured
• Small Videos
• No licensed songs

Who is it for

I think guitarmasterclass.net is a great site to learn some new licks and to get some inspiration. However I don't think that it is enough to learn how to play guitar from scratch.

If you are just beginning you should also consider different websites or a real teacher.

If you do already take private lessons you should really consider guitarmasterclass.net. It's a great addition to private lessons for a small price!

If use the link bellow to sign up you'll be granted a 10$ discount!