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The Framework Laptop

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Re: The Framework Laptop

#51

Post by ceocoder »

nrp wrote: post #35
ceocoder wrote: post #15

I’ve added my name to preorder list, happy to pay premium for a laptop with high build quality and hardware. Please don’t screw up the keyboard. Please. And a fingerprint reader would be welcome addition if possible.

Keyboard feel was high on our list of priorities. We engaged one of the bigger keyboard suppliers and worked with them on a custom one with 1.5mm key travel. We've built a fingerprint reader into the power button using a just-released sensor that has been performing really well in our testing so far. We're seeing False Reject Rates lower than the typical fingerprint readers built into laptops while keeping the right…

Awesome!

Best of luck and please let me know if you want someone to dogfood things as an outsider. My email is my HN username

Re: The Framework Laptop

#52

Post by f6v »

nrp wrote: post #5
adenozine wrote: post #2

No information about pricing?

Framework founder here. We'll be announcing pricing shortly before we open pre-orders this spring. We won't be asking consumers to pay a premium for longevity, and will be setting pricing to be comparable to other popular notebooks using the same silicon.

So in other words it’s going to be 2k for i7, 16 Gb RAM, and 512 Gb SSD?

Re: The Framework Laptop

#53

Post by wongarsu »

SloopJon wrote: post #33

One of the repair challenges is access to old parts. The drain hose on our three year-old washer sprung a leak. When I called a repair man, he at first said that Samsung doesn't make that part anymore. Fortunately, he was mistaken, but if that's something that happens for a simple hose, imagine trying to replace the "high-end headphone amp" expansion card on this laptop five years from now. Even if I'm not too excite…

On the other hand in the laptop space I've never had problems with part availability. With brands like Dell or Lenovo there are plenty of new and used parts available on ebay or your trusted reseller, and official service handbooks are easy to download.

The real value-add of the framework laptop is imho the upgrade path: you can swap in newer components without replacing nearly everything. Usually that's limited to just SSD and RAM, with everything else being on one huge mainboard assembly.

Re: The Framework Laptop

#55

Post by burlesona »

Well, HN will love this. Moddable laptop with a good webcam? Nice.

But:

- I really dislike the arrow keys not having the air gap above left and right. You’d think they’d learn that from the MacBook butterfly keyboard era.

- it’s a little disingenuous to say “no adapters” when in fact their little expansion cards are merely adapters that insert into the chassis of the laptop. Only four I/O ports is a little tight (despite Apple deeming it to be “enough”)

- that laptop looks pretty thick and heavy by today’s standards.

It’ll be interesting to see how people respond, when many (especially in this crowd) have been clamoring for this kind of thing. How many will actually vote with their dollars, and will that be enough for Framework to survive and become a viable competitor in the laptop space?

I hope so, as I welcome the diversity and innovation that would represent. But I admit I’m skeptical as to their chances.

Re: The Framework Laptop

#56

Post by burlesona »

grenoire wrote: post #49

Is the upgrade system proprietary, i.e. will I be able to get in new parts besides RAM and disks when Framework is no more? Will we ever get a laptop component system that's as robust and modular as the desktop ecosystem?

> Will we ever get a laptop component system that's as robust and modular as the desktop ecosystem?

No.

The robust desktop ecosystem is powered by a bunch of categories that don’t really want laptops: gamers, business, research, some developers, etc.

Desktops are “work trucks” while laptops are mostly “cars.”

Re: The Framework Laptop

#57

Post by nrp »

nightowl_games wrote: post #34

Honestly this is exactly what I want (quality, repairable, upgradable), but I'm not all in yet. I feel like this space is extremely hard to break into, and I'm worried about their ability to pull it off. Is there massive capital in this corp? Will the price be really high? I'd pay a premium for this kind of thing, but if they start crowd funding it's gonna seem like a red flag.

We have the funding we need to bring the product to market (an odd downstream benefit of Oculus getting bought by Facebook), but we will be taking pre-orders with a deposit prior to shipping to make sure our SKU mix and production rates are matched to actual demand.

We won't be asking consumers to pay a premium for longevity, but it's nice to hear that you'd be willing to!

Re: The Framework Laptop

#58

Post by gillesjacobs »

Great initiative, but the proprietary expansion cards are entirely counter-productive to maintainability.

The expansion cards will only be available for as long as your company provides them. Using the most-commonly used, mass-manufactured standard interfaces for components would provide more long-term repairability and upgradeability.

The trade-off would be in design resulting in more bulk and in the economics of your company, of course. It seems cynical to me to sell maintainability while starting a walled-garden ecosystem of proprietary hardware.

Re: The Framework Laptop

#60

Post by sho_hn »

I don't see any information on the licensing of the adapter card / inter-module interfaces.

Can others build a Framework laptop without approval? Can others build cards without approval? Will it be a platform?

Tell me how this isn't a Nespresso machine for silicon pods. :-)

Edit: To be clear, even a "we have a generic base laptop and you can pick your I/O" concept is potentially a nice value prop, but it'd be good if the picture (and roadmap) was clear.

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