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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

#261

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 :(

For those who were curious like me, it seems that Hackintosh support is spotty at best.

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

#262

I still remained baffled by the popularity of the laptop. Literally everyone I know works with them fixed in one location; their desk. Yes, some people do need mobility, but this appears to be a minority of consumers. We could’ve had all this repairability and modularity years ago if most consumers just admitted that really they wanted a desktop all along. It also fixed complaints about keyboards.

Literally everybody in my company (a large enterprise) uses a laptop as their main workstation. They work with them docked at their desks, but then unplug them to take them to a meeting room, a shared working space, etc. Outside of work, 90% of people I know have a laptop as their main computing device at home. Very few have a desktop PC - those are the PC gamers. Your anecdotal experience doesn't match with my anecd…

My anecdotal experience matches yours. I work for a smallish business in an active growth phase, and the onboarding process for every employee starts with "Welcome to the company, here's your laptop."

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

#264
post #33
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…

Linus (the "tech tips" one) said something that sticks in my mind: "The only reason other companies can't do this - and Framework proved it - is because they don't care."

This effect exists all across society. Some culture seems to drive laziness / selfishness across the (irl) social network. Every would care but nobody can pull the whole network in the right direction. That's how your company doesn't have the right tool, the right app, the right something.

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

#265
I am excited to see a company pursue user repairable hardware.

As a security and privacy researcher I care more about being able to trust the computer when it is powered on and in use. That means user controllable firmware, and the Librem 14 has no equal in this regard.

It is a real shame I have to choose. I hope these companies will shamelessly trade ideas or merge.

A Framework laptop style hardware with a neutered ME and Heads firmware would not only take my money, but become my top recommendation for all of the companies I provide security advice for.

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

#266
post #43

As a long time thinkpad user I love mine. Only problem I have now is my go-to OS Ubuntu does a really bad job of fractional scaling out of the box and none of the workarounds seem to really solve the problem. Sadly the crappy screens on my thinkpads more or less "hid" this problem from me for years.

as a thinkpad user - there is no keyboard comparable to it. and that is one of the most important component (in a laptop) to me

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

#267
post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Linus (the "tech tips" one) said something that sticks in my mind: "The only reason other companies can't do this - and Framework proved it - is because they don't care."

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.

[deleted]

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

#268

> 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 .

Maybe it's an acquired taste? I have fond memories of using nubs on ThinkPads. I think Apple's done a great job at improving the trackpad experience on Macbooks but it still doesn't compare to not needing to leave the keyboard and also never needing to lift your finger to continue moving the mouse.

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

#269
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…

According to Clayton Christensen, there's a cycle between integrated and modular, as consumer perferences change. At first performance is inadequate, but once it is good enough, people base their buying decisions on other things like customization. e.g. By this theory, android would become more popular than iphone. EDIT yes, which happened, favouring the theory; despite iphone still leading performance, due to integr…

Android is more popular, worldwide, than the iphone. It's only in the US and Japan that the iphone is more popular, and in the US, only by a bit.

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

#270

Annoys the crap out of me that Apple tries to claim how "environmentally friendly" they are and yet the biggest problem is they make all their computers be disposable and extremely difficult to repair. They've gone out of their way to do this by soldering in memory and SSD, gluing batteries in, etc. Shame on them.

I remember the days when you could actually EASILY replace your portables battery (after 3+ years), EASILY upgrade your ram and HD.. now if any of that fails or the system needs more memory then you have you have to replace the entire computer. I'm sure this is by design so you spend more money and buy new stuff instead of upgrading what you already have.
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