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Framework Raises $18M Series A

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Re: Framework Raises $18M Series A

#191

Post by deltron3030 »

botdan wrote: post #149
deltron3030 wrote: post #6

Is there a miniature ASIO soundcard planned for one of the slots? Not needing to carry an external audio interface around when working within a DAW is a major factor that's keeping me on MacOS (both pro audio and consumer use the same driver there).

They publish the CAD files (both mechanical and electrical) on GitHub with instructions on how to manufacture your own expansion cards. I believe the interface within the expansion cards is just standard USB-C. If someone could manage to squeeze all the necessary components within the physical dimensions, it should be possible to make your own soundcard expansion card. https://github.com/FrameworkComputer/ExpansionCa…

Maybe addional hardware wouldn't even be needed. Onboard soundcards should be good enough for ASIO (they work fine on Hackintoshs and Core Audio on MacOS). The reason why it's not offered is the licensing I think, it's properietary technology from Steinberg, a German company who invested into Windows pro audio early on and kinda got a first mover advantage there.

I don't know how much licensing would cost, but Framework could possibly offer a driver for the internal card as an addon. Then the slot could be used for a small headphone amp which would be more third party friendly I think.

Re: Framework Raises $18M Series A

#192

Post by ksec »

DerArzt wrote: post #116
aidenn0 wrote: post #64

Ever since the framework came out, I've been half-hoping for my laptop to die. It really is like someone made exactly the laptop I want, but I really don't need a new laptop at this point, and I tend to use laptops for 5-10 years. Here's hoping that Framework is still around say 2-7 years from now!

I am in a similar situation. I would love to purchase one, but my current laptop works fine and I don't need to make more e-waste due to cool new shiny thing! But they will stay on my mind.

Which is why I wish they have some crowdfunding or crowd lending feature. I dont need a laptop now. But if they need cash flow I am willing to lend them money for practically low / zero interest rate.

But from the blog post looks like they are doing extremely fine.

Re: Framework Raises $18M Series A

#193

Post by globalise83 »

bhelkey wrote: post #174
globalise83 wrote: post #154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As someone whose first task on buying a new laptop every ten years is to install the latest Ubuntu LTS version, a company which makes machines that work perfectly with Ubuntu and have a life of around 10 years will have me as a customer for life.

If you are a 38 year old man, actuarial tables suggest that this translates to 4 more laptops over 40 years[1]. I believe their point is that this does not make you a particularly valuable customer. I would argue that there is value in a brand that consumers trust to last for a long time. For example, if Framework launched a printer, you might be tempted to pay a premium for a product you knew was high quality and re…

Scary: how do you know I am a 38 year old man? :)

Re: Framework Raises $18M Series A

#194

Post by bhelkey »

globalise83 wrote: post #193
bhelkey wrote: post #174

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you are a 38 year old man, actuarial tables suggest that this translates to 4 more laptops over 40 years[1]. I believe their point is that this does not make you a particularly valuable customer. I would argue that there is value in a brand that consumers trust to last for a long time. For example, if Framework launched a printer, you might be tempted to pay a premium for a product you knew was high quality and re…

Scary: how do you know I am a 38 year old man? :)

I can't tell if you are serious or joking. If you are a 38 year old man, I apologize for the concern.

I wanted a life expectancy that was evenly divisible by ten. A 42 year old woman and a 38 year old man both have a life expectancy of 40 years based on the actuarial table I found. I played the odds and chose a 38 year old man for the example.

Re: Framework Raises $18M Series A

#195

Post by silexia »

andrewgioia wrote: post #8

Love my Framework. Barring Apple's recent move away from the touchbar it's honestly the first machine I've been excited about in 6 or so years. The build quality is great, love the simplicity and design of the expansion ports, and the repair/upgrade-ability is huge. It's gotten me back into using Linux as a daily driver. I really hope they stay true to their vision and that this means expanding it into other consumer…

Businesses can't stay true to their vision once they take investor money. Now the investors are in charge and they want maximum return on investment.

Never take outside money unless there is simply no other way.

Re: Framework Raises $18M Series A

#196

Post by unlog »

CoastalCoder wrote: post #66
unlog wrote: post #46

I remember finding this laptop when searching for a new one. I loved it, but I wanted AMD instead of Intel. I ended buying an Asus G713QR, gaming laptop, but very powerful and with an amazing screen.

One reason I'm hopeful about Framework is that I've recently realized I care a lot about keyboard / key caps. When I shopped for a development laptop recently, some gaming laptops were really good matches for my needs. But the keyboards / key caps were squishy rubbery things that I couldn't get used to. It would be awesome each buyer could tweak the laptop design based on personal preferences, where large manufacture…

That's what's good of the Framework. Definitely, the keyboard and screen are the first filters, then specifications. There's really not many options for powerful laptops outside gaming now. The keyboard on this one, it's wonderful.

With a friend, we had an idea of making custom keyboards for all laptops. With a 3d printer you may get away dealing with most of the covers. We desisted from the idea noticing that to change the keyboards you have to practically disassembly the complete laptop, testing would be very expensive too.

Re: Framework Raises $18M Series A

#197

Post by pkulak »

pjerem wrote: post #190
pkulak wrote: post #186

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Last I checked, for fractional scaling, Apple was 2xing, then using the GPU to resize down. Could have changed by now though. Been a while since I took a look.

IIRC, you are right. But it works beautifully. Except, I’m realizing it just now, it’s maybe why LibreOffice looks so bad on my Mac.

A buddy of mine once had a 4K monitor and was scaling it to 1.2 on his MacBook. Took him a while to realize that's why his fans were revving up all day long. haha

Seems like just telling apps to draw to a larger window is the way to go, which is why I don't understand why Apple and Wayland do it by scaling down an integer. Gotta be a good reason.

Re: Framework Raises $18M Series A

#198

Post by _aerolith_ »

rpdillon wrote: post #112
vorpalhex wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How is pop on the framework? Any graphics woes?

Been using PopOS on my DIY version since last July. The battery life isn't what I hoped for (I haven't done exhaustive testing), but otherwise I've had a great experience. I might be doing something wrong, but using integer scaling at 2x results in a UI that's a bit too big for my tastes, but if I use 1x I feel it's too small, so fractional scaling seems to be necessary for me to get the right balance. It drives an e…

It runs dual 4ks for me via a thunderbolt doc (and is far less error prone than my 16" MacBook which likes to crash randomly when thunderbolt is connected)

Re: Framework Raises $18M Series A

#199

Post by IshKebab »

torginus wrote: post #139
IshKebab wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are lots of reasons they aren't repairable. Lack of documentation and debug access is probably the biggest one. My washing machine died, and it looked like some components on the PCB blew. I bought a replacement for around £50 (already a crazy move) but sadly it didn't work. Not really anywhere you can go from there unless you're a professional washing machine repair man. My fridge also had some kind of fault w…

I'm not an expert on washing machine-ology, so sorry if I sound like a smartass, but a quick google search confirmed my suspicions - lower end washing machines tend to use the same PCBs, a telltale sign being that the controls/displays tend to be in the same place. To be honest, even if you can't find a PCB replacement, a faulty PCB can be fixed by inspecting the components and/or replacing them. Usually it costs onl…

> even if you can't find a PCB replacement, a faulty PCB can be fixed by inspecting the components and/or replacing them

Yeah right. Maybe if you're lucky or it's all low power stuff but circuits aren't generally designed to isolate failures. If one thing fails it will often cause other components to fail invisibly.

And yes I have tried it. The main transistor on an amplifier I had blew. Replaced it. Still doesn't work.

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