This is a sequel to Part 1.
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The T510 is replete with ports, including 2 standard USB ports; one powered USB port (more on that later,) Ethernet and modem ports; DisplayPort and VGA ports; Firewire 4 pin; and a nifty USB/ESATA combination port.
The Firewire was a pleasant surprise, as it's not listed on Lenovo's site. I was more than happy to pass my recently-purchased Firewire card adaptor off to a friend.
The powered USB port was also a pleasant surprise; as per the site it's not supposed to be there either. The basic concept is that the "always on" port lets you charge your iPod when you are plugged in and/or when you are in sleep or hibernation mode. (If your laptop is both unplugged and shit down, the port isn't powered.) Because your laptop battery is so much larger than most peripherals' batteries, i don't think it is a cause for worry. That said, I wouldn't use that port for unlimited-drain items such as fans, coolers, and such.
ESATA is more useful than it seems. It's always best to back up your computer regularly, and especially so for a laptop: not only can your unit develop "normal" problems such as viruses, but it is susceptible to being lost, stolen, or physically destroyed.
ESATA is a significantly faster data standard than is Firewire or USB 2.0, and the inclusion of an ESATA port means that users will be able to do seroius backups with ease. It's a good choice for a business unit.
VIDEO:
The Thinkpad offers a VGA output, as well as a DisplayPort output. The DisplayPort is a relatively recent standard that purportedly offers many of the benefits of DVI and also includes functionality for HDMI.
I have yet to test it, but apparently the DisplayPort in the T510 is not capable of carrying simultaneous audio. If you want to play hi-def videos, you will need to run a separate audio cable to the unit.
Frankly, I don't see that as a problem. Audio cables are cheap and widely available. Besides, if i imagine using the laptop, it seems just as likely (if not more so) that I'd send the audio to a separate amp, thus requiring an audio port anyway.
