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The Framework is the most exciting laptop I've used

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Re: The Framework is the most exciting laptop I've used

#201
post #25

It feels like for years we were constantly told by these corporations "it's impossible to have slim, tiny laptops and make them customizable", and I guess at some level I believed that, and just accepted that laptops with upgradable components were a thing of the past. After seeing the framework, I'm more than a little annoyed that I fell for this. They proved you can have a slim, clean laptop that's somewhat modular…

The Framework has half the battery life of similarly sized alternatives. No one was lying to you.

Can I get a citation for that?

The only laptop for which that seems to be true is the MacBook, but no x86 laptop will come close to that. From what I've seen the Framework has a mostly uninteresting battery life, outperforming some likely competitors (like Dell's XPS 13 and MS's Surface Laptop) and outperformed by others (like HP's ProBook x360 and ASUS's Zenbook 13).

Re: The Framework is the most exciting laptop I've used

#202
post #25

It feels like for years we were constantly told by these corporations "it's impossible to have slim, tiny laptops and make them customizable", and I guess at some level I believed that, and just accepted that laptops with upgradable components were a thing of the past. After seeing the framework, I'm more than a little annoyed that I fell for this. They proved you can have a slim, clean laptop that's somewhat modular…

We've been told for years that "slim and tiny is what you really want!" No, I don't want slim and tiny, I want to be able to replace and upgrade parts. I want a battery I can swap out or RAM I can replace. The problem is that being able to swap parts extends service life of machines. Can't have that when they want you to just buy a new one ever 3 years.

As a student, I do want my laptop to be slim and tiny, but I was misled by Apple into thinking slim and tiny is only possible if the laptop isn't at all repairable. Might sell my MacBook Pro for this thing. Though macOS is a guilty pleasure I will miss :(

Edit: Also the 16:10 aspect ratio :(

Re: The Framework is the most exciting laptop I've used

#203

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, the other reason is that customers don't care either. I certainly don't. The last desktop build I made 5 years ago hasn't had a single component changed in that entire time.

"The last desktop build I made 5 years ago" A desktop you built using standardized components you sourced from a competitive market with a plethora of alternatives specifically designed for easy assembly. Should any component fail you can obtain a replacement and perform the repair yourself. Doubtless these affordances are a part of why you chose to assemble you're machine yourself. You do indeed care. The inability…

No, I still don't care at all about the customizability. I did it mostly because I had to use Windows but didn't want to deal with an OEM's crap ware. The customizability was actually an impediment to get what I wanted: a box.

I don't doubt that a huge market of interchangeable parts made this easier. But it's important to separate the ends from the means here, when it comes to customer concerns. The customers that want customizability and upgradability are a vanishingly small slice of customers. (Just as are the ones who want to run Linux, and that small slice does include me.)

Re: The Framework is the most exciting laptop I've used

#204

But why the dongles? The go against all the principles of the rest of the design. They’re proprietary, consumable, and they waste space in the chasis. They limit what you can do with the USB-C they pass through too.

What do they limit? You mean when you're using one of the non-usb-c ones that that's limiting you?

Re: The Framework is the most exciting laptop I've used

#205
post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, the other reason is that customers don't care either. I certainly don't. The last desktop build I made 5 years ago hasn't had a single component changed in that entire time.

"customers don't care either" People care about Right To Repair; that's why the FTC has been pressured into action recently on the matter (not that I entertain any hope that that bunch of bought-and-paid-for bureaucrats will actually achieve anything.) Framework has blown a vast hole through the false arguments offered in opposition. One must simply care. That's all it takes. Every manufacturer that has opposed RTR h…

All those companies want to hold out for the idea that they can monopolize some corner of the industry - none of them want to be turned into purveyors of commodity products in the face of heavy competition. But the future likely lies down that path.

Re: The Framework is the most exciting laptop I've used

#207
I got one of the first waves, it's awesome. My only complaint so far is getting the fingerprint sensor to function properly in Linux - but that may be more of an issue with fprintd/libfprint than anything.

I'm dual booting Win10 and Debian, and absolutely no issues under Windows so far either.

The battery life is great, the screen is extremely crisp and bright, and the keyboard actually feels decent to type on.

Re: The Framework is the most exciting laptop I've used

#208

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As the other comments have noted, Cory addresses this further down in the linked post. He further expanded on this in the post he wrote when he quit smoking[0]: > That was my homework: go away and think of an immediate reason not to smoke. When I came back, I had my answer ready: “I spend two laptops per year on smokes. That money goes directly to the dirtiest companies on Earth, the literal inventors of the science-…

Or he could just save the money. But I guess he has to constantly reward himself for quitting? Man addiction sure is a pain.

Well, maybe he's happier this way? There's a classic joke about a lifelong smoker talking to a stop-smoking councillor:

"With all the money you've spent on cigarettes in your lifetime, you could have bought a Ferrari."

"Do you smoke?"

"No."

"Then where's your Ferrari?"

It's a good question. Most of us have the financial capability to be extremely extravagant with a few select areas of our life, but instead we average everything down to boring mediocrity.

Re: The Framework is the most exciting laptop I've used

#209

> I really miss my Thinkpad Trackpoint This is one of those comments I will never understand. Every single time I have tried to use one of those things the only thought that goes through my mind is, "This is the dumbest mouse interface I have ever seen. Why would anyone ever use this thing?" And then I see comments like this. I don't get it. The ergonomics of those little nubs are awful .

I've never had a laptop with one long enough to get used to it, but I assume it's because it's right there in the keyboard where your hands already are, rather than because it's any better at moving the pointer around than a trackpad/mouse.
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