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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

#441

Post by volta83 »

toast0 wrote: post #136
tombert wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Back when I was making crap wages, I would get the cheapest laptops I could afford that would more or less give me decent performance (on the order of ~$500-600). It's not too hard to find a new laptop that performs well at a reasonable price, but you always run the risk of them reclaiming those costs by cheaping out on all the mechanics of it, and it's not like I was able to afford paying ~$2000 for a high-quality m…

Looking at your trend, you've got $500 laptop / 2 year, or $2000 laptop / 5 year, which reduces to $250 laptop / year vs $400 laptop / year. Getting low cost laptops isn't necessarily a worse financial outcome, although it depends on how fast the processor updates are moving; when a 2020 intel cpu is about the same as a 2015 intel cpu, it would probably have been better to pay a little more in 2015 for a faster one;…

I have an apple macbook air from mid 2012, that i paid 1200$ for. If it survies 6 more months, then I've spent 120$/year on laptops over the last 10 years.

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

#442

Post by Decabytes »

tombert wrote: 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…

I hope this changes the way that people think about hardware now that Framework has proved that we can have this. Let's just hope they scale

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

#443

Post by Osiris »

ericpauley wrote: post #253
mikenew wrote: post #124

Been extremely happy with mine the past couple months. The little modular port attachments seemed like a novelty at first, but now it feels absurd that you'd buy a laptop with a bunch of "hardcoded" ports that you can't ever change. The only real Linux related quirk I've run into so far is that you have to disable panel self refresh (it's on by default and causes stuttering). Other than that tiny thing I pretty much…

Maybe I need some convincing here. How is the "modular port" concept any different than a universal port with dongles (i.e., how Macs have been since 2016). To me the fact that the port attachments are recessed is little more than a gimmick. Especially as all of my devices have transitioned to USB-C anyway, dongles/"modular ports" feel more like a stopgap measure than one requiring a permanent form factor change.

My understanding is that all the module ports ARE USB-C. So the dongles are just made to fit inside the laptop instead of outside.

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

#444

Post by renke1 »

lufte wrote: post #291
renke1 wrote: post #60

I am growing increasingly unhappy with Thinkpads in general, but as far as I know there is no real alternative for TrackPoint users. There are some that have a TrackPoint but they lack three physical mouse button that are in reach of ones thumbs.

What would be the requirement for someone to build a trackpoint for the Framework laptop? Would they need to design a whole new keyboard plus a touchpad with the three buttons?

I don't really know, but since there are no manufacturers that built good TrackPoints I think its either hard or there really is no demand (sadly more likely).

I don't need a touchpad though. Actually, one of the best laptops I've owned was one without a touchpad [1].

[1]: https://thinkwiki.de/Datei:TP_X60_2.jpg

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

#445

Post by mickotron »

leetcrew wrote: post #168
tombert wrote: 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…

I'm impressed that they have managed to take this product to market, and I'm glad that people who value modularity will finally have a viable option. at the same time, I personally don't see what all the fuss is about. you can upgrade both DIMMs, which is cool, but not exactly unheard of these days (I guess it's getting there in an ultraportable?). you're still stuck with DDR4, which is almost EOL, and the max capaci…

No, you can upgrade the entire main board (with CPU) in future. And the "old" main board can function as a standalone PC outside the chassis.

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

#446

Post by renke1 »

matthewn wrote: post #415
renke1 wrote: post #138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A few things. The newer TrackPoint caps are not good. I actually had to order some 3D printed one from some Japanese guy. Also my Thinkpad T14 is throttling to the extent that I had to install tools [1] (?) that fix this problem. Battery seems to be bad as well. Intel by the way, I wanted to have Thunderbolt for an eGPU. [1]: https://github.com/erpalma/throttled

> I actually had to order some 3D printed one from some Japanese guy Thank you for mentioning this alternative! Just found him on Etsy. I have always preferred the old-style concave nibs for TrackPoints over the new convex ones. This will be a serious improvement for my Thinkpad.

It's an improvement but they are not as good as the old ones which were slightly larger.

I still use one of those on my external Thinkpad keyboard.

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

#447

Post by szundi »

tombert wrote: post #53
ad133 wrote: post #7

This looks really cool, but the author... is... replacing their laptop every year ? Like, I'm writing this on an 8 year old MBP that has survived as my round-the-house driver because it still does everything well. My daily driver is getting on a bit now (3yr) and my desktop only just got replaced after 5 years. Forget the cost, but the waste!

Back when I was making crap wages, I would get the cheapest laptops I could afford that would more or less give me decent performance (on the order of ~$500-600). It's not too hard to find a new laptop that performs well at a reasonable price, but you always run the risk of them reclaiming those costs by cheaping out on all the mechanics of it, and it's not like I was able to afford paying ~$2000 for a high-quality m…

I usually buy top quality laptops second hand from shops that give at least 6 months warranty. Best strategy. You get a $2000 laptop for $500. And honestly, Intel did not do too much in the last decade, so these are of great value.

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

#448

Post by yobert »

bambax wrote: post #432

> I've bought a new Thinkpad almost every year since 2006 But why?? If the current one isn't broken, why would you need to buy a new laptop and go through the hassle of setting it up? My laptop is from 2013 and is still fine. Parts of my desktop computer are from 2007 -- the case is from 1993, and nothing is more recent than 2015, and everything is running super smooth. Getting an entire new machine every single year…

If you read a little lower in the article he mentions it being a reward mechanism for stopping smoking. So each year he doesn't smoke, he rewards himself with a new laptop. Good strategy!

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

#450

Post by thinkingemote »

smoldesu wrote: post #425
fouc wrote: post #399

Earlier quoted context omitted.

how do you get rid of the doubly used Thinkpads?

Only one of them has broken so far, and it was only an issue with the display. I repurposed it into a homelab/Podman host and it's been able to work just fine! As a quick aside, if you're ever one of the 15 people who will likely do this, buy a Thinkpad dock. They're cheap, and it basically triples your I/O!

Just to continue the question, what do you do with the other laptops? You should have at least 4 or 5 more which are unaccounted for. I imagine only one is used currently.
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