The Framework Laptop • Hacker News Board

Re: The Framework Laptop

#111

Post by nrp » Thu, Feb 25, 2021, 4:28 PM UTC

f6v wrote: post #45

psalminen wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From the article: "In addition to releasing new upgrades regularly, we’re opening up the ecosystem to enable a community of partners to build and sell compatible modules through the Framework Marketplace." Maybe I am misinterpreting it but it sounds like its not a completely proprietary system?

A marketplace for an extremely narrow market? Who’s going to invest their money to develop hardware for this platform? They better do everything themselves in the beginning.

Definitely! It's on us to make the ecosystem work by building a large enough install base for other hardware developers to see a reason to come in. We're going to continue to develop modules ourselves until that point, and past that point too!

Re: The Framework Laptop

#112

Post by teekert » Thu, Feb 25, 2021, 4:30 PM UTC

likesfwlaptop wrote: post #91

nrp wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We will be releasing specifications and reference designs for the Expansion Card system under a permissive license. We want to make it easy for both other companies and members of the community to develop their own cards and sell them through the Framework Marketplace. That is something we'll be detailing and sharing between now and the time we start shipping out the product. We'll also provide documentation around i…

Hello, glad you're here but I'd urge you to remember that while a minority at HN is highly knowledgeable and technical, hn is an hive-mind opinionated niche and hope that you'd make decisions that widen your reach among general populace so that your firm survives to make money and eventually more such laptops. (Also, hopefully your laptop will play with linux as well as Lenovo's at some point in future).

Did you find they don't work well with Linux? That'd be a big shame, I think the Foss crowd likes these kind of initiatives.

Re: The Framework Laptop

#113

Post by nrp » Thu, Feb 25, 2021, 4:30 PM UTC

ndiddy wrote: post #96

nrp wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

How is the trackpad? Does it support Windows Precision? What material is it made out of? How does it compare to an Apple trackpad?

It's a Windows Precision Touchpad with a matte glass surface, and it feels pretty good!

Re: The Framework Laptop

#114

Post by gregmac » Thu, Feb 25, 2021, 4:30 PM UTC

sho_hn wrote: post #80

Eric_WVGG wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They're just USB-C dongles that snap into the chassis.. You can see better shots here: https://frame.work This is an unpopular opinion, but I think this proves that Apple was right to dump legacy ports. This solution is sort of clever but it sacrifices a ton of internal space that could have been spent on a bigger battery. USB-C, and the correct cables, are all anyone needs. (the Nespresso analogy is ridiculous, a la…

> the Nespresso analogy is ridiculous Well, sort of :-) Nespresso is a famous implementation of a "your basic machine stays static, you swap out a different element of the system based on temporary/current needs, but you can only buy those elements from one vendor" pattern. Printer ink cartridges are another. Yeah, add-on cards to a computer aren't consumables per se - but the entire premise is that as time goes on y…

I don't understand this criticism. On every other laptop on the market today, if you want different ports you either buy dongles or buy a whole new laptop.

Every laptop I've ever owned has at least one port I never use, and after a couple years it's missing some other port I'd rather have. This one seems to solve that problem, extending the life of the machine and/or avoiding dongle hell.

Re: The Framework Laptop

#115

Post by malkia » Thu, Feb 25, 2021, 4:30 PM UTC

Huh, not sure but site was not available through my company's VPN. It works though outside of it.

Re: The Framework Laptop

#116

Post by iFire » Thu, Feb 25, 2021, 4:31 PM UTC

Will you support Thunderbolt 3?

The use of going portable and then docking in with a top of the line video card, monitor and proper keyboards is so exciting.

Re: The Framework Laptop

#117

Post by nrp » Thu, Feb 25, 2021, 4:32 PM UTC

pmontra wrote: post #62

Nice project. However I see no Gigabit ethernet port. USB dongle for the one of us that prefer the performance and the predictability of a cable over Wi-Fi's whims?

A Gigabit Ethernet Expansion Card is on our roadmap, though it is going to look a little goofy compared to the other cards, since it won't fit entirely in the current envelope.

Re: The Framework Laptop

#118

Post by ndiddy » Thu, Feb 25, 2021, 4:34 PM UTC

nrp wrote: post #113

ndiddy wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How is the trackpad? Does it support Windows Precision? What material is it made out of? How does it compare to an Apple trackpad?

It's a Windows Precision Touchpad with a matte glass surface, and it feels pretty good!

Thanks for the info!

Re: The Framework Laptop

#119

Post by cortexio » Thu, Feb 25, 2021, 4:35 PM UTC

Why does the lady on the homepage keep changing the same parts? I mean how long is the video? i'm 1 hour in.

Re: The Framework Laptop

#120

Post by bryanlarsen » Thu, Feb 25, 2021, 4:35 PM UTC

Eric_WVGG wrote: post #71

sho_hn wrote: post #60

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…

They're just USB-C dongles that snap into the chassis.. You can see better shots here: https://frame.work This is an unpopular opinion, but I think this proves that Apple was right to dump legacy ports. This solution is sort of clever but it sacrifices a ton of internal space that could have been spent on a bigger battery. USB-C, and the correct cables, are all anyone needs. (the Nespresso analogy is ridiculous, a la…

Is it a useful form factor on other laptops? The market for RJ45 dongles is a lot larger than the market for framework, so if a vendor can hit both markets with the same product they'd be more likely to do so.