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I maintain a 17 year old ThinkPad

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Re: I maintain a 17 year old ThinkPad

#321

Post by Tade0 »

cge wrote: post #312
Tade0 wrote: post #233

Earlier quoted context omitted.

- FW13 has no video output, except as a USB adapter - FW13 has no audio outputs, except as USB sound card That was a conscious design decision, as you're supposed to use swappable expansion cards. Other things X60T has, but FW13 doesn't: - Fingerprint reader https://frame.work/pl/en/products/fingerprint-reader-kit?v=F... - SD card slot https://frame.work/pl/en/products/sd-expansion-card

> - FW13 has no audio outputs, except as USB sound card >That was a conscious design decision, as you're supposed to use swappable expansion cards. Also, unless something has changed or I am misinterpreting what they are saying, the fw13 does have an audio output that is not an expansion card.

Indeed! I was not aware of that as I have the 16, which doesn't feature it.

Community forum posts from 2021 suggest they sort of forgot to include this information initially.

It so happens that the audio jack in my previous laptop started getting loose after four years, which was a first, as usually it was the USB ports which would go, so having it as an expansion card was a major selling point for me.

This really is a device for people who tend to break things despite relatively light usage. I for one damaged the screen in every single laptop that I had.

Re: I maintain a 17 year old ThinkPad

#323

Post by ErrorNoBrain »

I mean sure, being able to keep a 17 year old laptop is alive, is awesome...

but why?

I get special hardware needs to live for a long time, like, an arcade machine, specialized equipment or something. but some random laptop?

what can it do, that a modern computer cant, apart from being repaired easily (lets ignore framework laptops for the sake of argument)

if his point is he just wants a framework laptop, it already exists.

Re: I maintain a 17 year old ThinkPad

#324

Post by beepbooptheory »

johnisgood wrote: post #274
ChrisMarshallNY wrote: post #271

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wasn't there at least one movie, where that was not a good thing?

There was. I think it was titled "Moonfall", or maybe "Another Earth". There is also "Oblivion" in which the Moon was partially destroyed. There are probably other ones, too, but I think "Moonfall" is the one to which you are referring. I might just give it a watch in a bit! But yeah, it would not be a good thing, according to the movie at least.

In "Bruce Almighty" Jim Carrey uses his God powers to move the moon closer to create a more romantic view for his date. If my memory serves correct, the next day we hear briefly on the news about terrible freak flooding over the world.

Re: I maintain a 17 year old ThinkPad

#326

Post by ubermonkey »

One of the finest laptops I ever had -- in my 30 year history with the form factor -- was an IBM Thinkpad 560Z. It was insanely compact, but powerful enough for my purposes at the time. It had a radical design for the time b/c it had NO removable media on board at all. It shipped with an outboard CD-ROM that I used often enough that it lived on my desk, and an outboard floppy drive that I don't think I used at all.

The shame of it was that a PC of that era had a super short useful life. Now we think nothing of keeping computers for 5 years or more; they're just so powerful that for most regular human tasks, there's no need for the kind of upgrade treadmill that dominated computing 25 years ago. After 3 years, though, the 560Z was almost unusable -- it had a TINY hard drive, and limited RAM. Windows was getting fatter and slower. But the physical computer itself was in GREAT shape -- even after years of heavy travel, it bore none of the crappy wear and tear I'd associate with colleagues' Dells (e.g.) later. I kept it on a shelf for a long time because it was so solid and pleasing that I couldn't bear to part with it despite its basic uselessness.

I didn't realize it at the time, but the 560Z was also my last Windows laptop. Because my job back then was mostly Office docs, and because Win98 was so awful, I shifted to a Mac when the 560 was done, and I've been there ever since.

Re: I maintain a 17 year old ThinkPad

#327

Post by xandrius »

bartread wrote: post #246
xandrius wrote: post #230

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If being able to replace a part requires me to have a screwdriver (literally a Philips one should do), the component, and no additional PhD or bravery coming from youth, inexperience or both, I will welcome it with open arms. Right now, having devices which require both expertise and expensive machinery means that the cost of going to someone to repair it will increase over 10 folds, making a full replacement a finan…

> If being able to replace a part requires me to have a screwdriver (literally a Philips one should do), the component, and no additional PhD or bravery coming from youth, inexperience or both, I will welcome it with open arms. You have to understand though that people like us are a tiny minority. Increasingly I hate creating waste, especially e-waste, and so I'll tinker with things to get them working or upgrade the…

I don't think many throw away their remote controller when the batteries run out. So why do we do that for laptops? Because it makes them 2cm thinner?

I believe this change benefits 100% the companies imposing them, consumers always have a tech-enthusiast around to ask if needs be.

Re: I maintain a 17 year old ThinkPad

#329

Post by johnisgood »

beepbooptheory wrote: post #324
johnisgood wrote: post #274

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There was. I think it was titled "Moonfall", or maybe "Another Earth". There is also "Oblivion" in which the Moon was partially destroyed. There are probably other ones, too, but I think "Moonfall" is the one to which you are referring. I might just give it a watch in a bit! But yeah, it would not be a good thing, according to the movie at least.

In "Bruce Almighty" Jim Carrey uses his God powers to move the moon closer to create a more romantic view for his date. If my memory serves correct, the next day we hear briefly on the news about terrible freak flooding over the world.

I remember that movie and that scene. :)

Re: I maintain a 17 year old ThinkPad

#330

Post by diggernet »

wpm wrote: post #273
diggernet wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Similar situation here, with W520. My fantasy for Framework 16 is to have extended hinges and thick bezel available that would lift the screen further from the keyboard deck, and of course an upgraded keyboard available with longer travel and contoured keys (and better arrow key layout). Are you listening, Nirav? (Yes, I know it would make the laptop slightly thicker and heavier. But I just said I'm using a W520, and…

The arrow key layout makes Framework a non-starter for me. Full height L and R keys sucked shit on the touchbar MacBook Pros so bad that even Apple acquiesced to common sense and went back to the inverted T.

I use those keys heavily, and was hoping they'd fix it in the 16. Sadly, no. Their keyboard connector layout seems to make it difficult to have a keyboard with more rows, so having a layout with the bottom 3 arrow keys in a new row seems unlikely. But what about a touchpad module that has 3 (or 4) arrow keys on it?

Still, it's not a complete nonstarter for me, because the 16 does have that optional keypad. I could actually start using the numlock key again.

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