Windows 7 and ThinkVantage Technologies

Some information on the ThinkVantage technologies and how they will and will not operate with Windows 7…

http://lenovoblogs.com/insidethebox/?p=270

 

Thanks for the info BinkNR. I am reading the info now. I myself am using Power manager in Vista and find that the most useful one. I am also using Active protection and that is a more silent one, meaning that you only see its usefulness when there is a fall. I am having a HORRIBLE time with access connection. I really would like to use it, but it is not working for me at all. The last version was fine(i.e. It worked without problems but I didn't check how resource intensive it was) but this current version 2.0 is just not working. It auto connects to my Wifi when I choose for it not to and other weird behavior. Vista's Wifi manager is working perfectly for me. I will play with Access connection a little more and if it doesn't work, then unfortunately I will have to ditch it

I feel like Lenovo didn't give the whole Thinkvantage suite as much attention as it should have. They sort of didn't keep up with the times with it.

 

For what it’s worth, I use as little of the ThinkVantage software as possible. I can see where it makes sense in a corporate setting, especially where consistency of management across operating systems is helpful, but often enough I try to keep my system minimal and without bloat. The ThinkVantage software is helpful, sometimes very much so, but it often does more than I need and tends to lack the same quality assurance that goes into the native Windows utilities it’s designed to replace. Too often I suffer subtle and not so subtle bugs in the ThinkVantage software—and, as a result, they wind up becoming more of a hindrance than a help. The only ThinkVantage software I installed with my new Windows 7 RTM installation is the Power Manager software—and this is only because it has some additional minor features such as the voltage meter, recalibration and related. Outside of this, I find it to be a bloated slow pig and the last thing I need is for the wheel to be reinvented. I would much rather had Lenovo simply extend the existing Power Options facility built into Windows with their own enhancements rather than create a whole new UI and everything else. I really don’t need two tools to manage my power settings when one already does 90 percent of what I need.

 

Yes, I can see where you are coming from and I have heard the same sentiments for others as well. For me I used Linux on my T61p primarialy and didn't get much of a chance to use the Thinkvantage software. Now with my X200 I am using Vista exclusively(at least for now ) and want to try out some of these tools. After trying them out, I might come to the same conclusion as you. As mentioned I use some of the Thinkvantage tools, but not most of them. I agree with you though, it would have been nice if they somehow integrated their software with Windows to extend the capabilities. I also hate the idea of having 2 pieces of software that overlap in a lot of features.

 

I installed Power Manager and Active Protection on Windows 7 (RTM). I don't see the point of installing anything else, there is just no need for them (as a private user), just like BinkNR pointed it out.

BinkNR, I don't know if you noticed, but you can now launch certain Power Manager features from the Windows 7 Power dialogs. They appear as options on the left side of the window, where there are these "actions" you can perform. So they are indeed extending the default dialogs. Although I am a developer myself, I don't know if it is possible to extend the dialogs more than adding these quick links to Power Manager features. But as the Lenovo Windows 7 support is still in beta, lets see what they make up for the final release.

 

Yes, I did notice this and found it welcome, but all these are are pointers to the bloated Power Manager.