The Framework is the most exciting laptop I've used • Hacker News Board

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

#41

Post by riffic » Tue, Sep 21, 2021, 5:41 PM UTC

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!

"the author" here is well known writer Cory Doctorow. No one here seems to be making this connection, but pluralistic.net is his blog.

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

#42

Post by ashtonkem » Tue, Sep 21, 2021, 5:41 PM UTC

topspin wrote: post #33

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…

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."

That’s almost always the reality when a company “can’t” do something.

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

#43

Post by IE6 » Tue, Sep 21, 2021, 5:42 PM UTC

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.

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

#44

Post by the_other » Tue, Sep 21, 2021, 5:42 PM UTC

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.

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

#45

Post by rhn_mk1 » Tue, Sep 21, 2021, 5:42 PM UTC

If a product manager is listening: you have my interest. I'll be excited when mouse buttons become available. It'll make my shortlist when it has Coreboot, and if Libreboot is on, I'll be obliged to give you my money.

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

#46

Post by philote » Tue, Sep 21, 2021, 5:43 PM UTC

The author spent some time explaining the need to have a reliable laptop and spending $150 for 24-hour service and having two Powerbooks at once. But there was no mention of anything about reliability and repairs (well, replacement parts) for the Framework. I'm curious if he plans to keep a second Framework laptop in case parts are sold out, take too long to ship, etc.

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

#47

Post by quocanh » Tue, Sep 21, 2021, 5:43 PM UTC

bserge wrote: post #26

wheybags wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because they are BGA chips designed to be soldered on, and most people do not have the capacity to do that at home.

And why are they BGA chips these days? That's the real problem. Did mobile CPUs somehow advance past desktop ones while I wasn't looking?

Of course they have! Take a look at ARM. Or Apple's M1 chip. It's crazy what mobile CPUs can do nowadays.

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

#48

Post by pshirshov » Tue, Sep 21, 2021, 5:43 PM UTC

AMD please? What about Coreboot? Nothing? Ehm...

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

#49

Post by MMS21 » Tue, Sep 21, 2021, 5:43 PM UTC

>That tool – a small screwdriver – is also sufficient to upgrade the CPU

CPU isn't up-gradable without switching out the entire mainboard, which I'm fine with, once I get an AMD version that is :)

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

#50

Post by ashtonkem » Tue, Sep 21, 2021, 5:44 PM UTC

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.