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The Framework Laptop

frame.work

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Re: The Framework Laptop

#401
I'm a Mac user, mostly because I like the simplicity of the hardware.

If/when I return to Windows, a Framework laptop is definitely appealing. I'd rather change the ports than deal with a handful of dongles and adaptors.

One thing to consider:

I really want to try a laptop that comes with a good, well-supported Linux installation. (I haven't tried desktop Linux since the early 2000s.) I'm less concerned about "distro of my choice," because I really just want something that works well out of the box and is easy to learn.

Re: The Framework Laptop

#402
post #35

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…

Any plans to support movable keycaps? I'd love to actually have the physical keys match my Colemak layout

Re: The Framework Laptop

#404

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Key travel isn't everything. The layout is important as well. This is the best layout humanity ever invented: https://www.notebookcheck.net/fileadmin/_processed_/c/0/csm_... Classic arrow keys, separate volume buttons, separate back/forward/pageup/pagedown, F1-F12 as the primary functions, …

See, I disagree, I use home/end/pageup/pagedown all the time, and having them separate in an awkward spot is annoying. I prefer having them overlaid on the arrow keys, with fn to access them. IMHO that is the one area laptop keyboards can superior to full size keyboards.

We probably need laptops with configurable keyboard layouts then, so that you can choose a variant when purchasing it and then replace it with different one if you find out you don't like it.

(And then, let's not forget that keyboard layouts are somewhat configurable in software. It's easy to bind pageup to mod-uparrow and pagedown to mod-downarrow. But it can't be done if the physical keys are missing, so physical keyboard layouts with more keys are preferable to those with less keys. Unfortunately fn-combos are usually hardwired in the Embedded Controller and can't be changed easily in software.)

Re: The Framework Laptop

#405

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Pretty rude and then you ask them to focus on Perhaps there are more urgent tasks for "targeting the general populace to reach profitability".

I think you've interpreted the comment you replied to completely backwards.

You sure? It's a new account and it's a totally weird comment without any real value.

Ps. That's why I hate potential sarcasm.

Re: The Framework Laptop

#407

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I hope this business of yours works out because a laptop that isn't a piece of junk with too much stuff I don't need inflating the price is something I've been wanting for a long time.

I've still never seen a PC with a sane touchpad. That's the first issue in a long tail of grievances with the PC laptop ecosystem. EDIT: This isn't a generic "pro-Mac" dig, I want a nice PC laptop because I like dabbling with Linux; however, even the high end trackpads are clunky, even with the pre-installed Windows (never mind the eternal sadness that is Linux trackpad configuration).

I’ve never understood why people⁰ care so much about trackpads. For working with text (including code) keyboards are better, and for gaming mice are better. Where I'm less sure is graphics and video, but it seems to me like specialized mice, graphics tablets, and other tools (eg. https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/davinciresolve/key... and https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/davinciresolve/pan...) are better. The only thing trackpads seem good at is browsing¹, which IMO should be a slightly glorified text task where Pentadacyl/luakit/qutebrowser/etc.² vi-style keybindings³ are best.

Edits to respond:

My point is that most tasks are either ① best done in a good text editing / development environment that works well with a specialized text input device — a keyboard — or ② would be better done with a specialized non-keyboard, non-trackpad input device (eg. a gaming mouse, graphics tablet, etc.)

⁰especially here on HN ¹including scrolling through PDFs and other documents ²or Zathura or less ³and/or/including PageUp/Down, Home, and End on luxurious large keyboards. Space and Shift+Space are okay on smaller ones.

Re: The Framework Laptop

#409

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nothing stopping just installing linux on the preassembled one when you get I though, I assume. Although I guess you may have to pay for a Windows license in that case...

Yes, and that's the issue with most computers today: there's no way to opt out to Windows. Whether you like it or not, licensing cost is blended into the computer and even if you don't use Windows you're somehow supporting a company that you might not want to support. I undertand in 99.9% of cases people just want to buy a laptop, turn it on and have it working. But I also think there should be an easy way to opt out…

My understanding is that companies are worried about being perceived as tacitly supporting piracy if they ship with no OS. I know, for example, HP will not sell you a laptop with no OS, but they will sell you one with FreeDOS.

Re: The Framework Laptop

#410
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…

This might be a silly question, but it looks like the adapters are just usb-c/thunderbolt devices with a nice case. Is this the case? I'm not knocking it if it is, I personally think it'd be pretty clever, but it means being able to use them in other places (like pretending the storage expansion thing is just a usb-c flash-drive) and it would have interesting implications for making them.

That's correct. That is one of the intended use cases for our Storage Expansion Cards. You can use it on your Framework Laptop, pop it out, plug it into an other machine that supports USB-C, and transfer files at high speed.
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