Why don't they open source it and allow people to contribute fixes?
Framework's software and firmware have been a mess, but it's working on them
71–80 of 94 posts
Re: Framework's software and firmware have been a mess, but it's working on them
#72Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Like many businesses, my org requires some paperwork ("telecom approval") in order to buy computing hardware, which is basically a short questionnaire that I assume to check off some "we're not actively trying to backdoor you" boxes. I've had vendors get this turned around in I'm not in this industry but do sell into regulated industries with vendor diligence practices. I would check your assumption that it's just…
> There's a big catch because often someone skilled enough to answer these questions would be better served actually doing things, e.g. writing code, and the people who can fill out these questions but not skilled enough to do the actual things are a weird middle-ground of mediocre that is hard to find. Really big companies often solve this by just paying overskilled people to do this for a few years, which is expens…
I do a lot of these myself (technical founder, willing to do dirty work) but there comes a point where it's not a good use of my time for all but the biggest opportunities, because these things are so time intensive and I need to wear many hats. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if that's what's going on at Framework now.
I would love to hear if anyone has different suggestions. For reference, we already employ outsourced ciso/cyber vendors (think of vanta, strikegraph) but, while they can help draft responses to these things, they can't do the last mile of certifying and submitting on your behalf, so in practice we still need some skilled internal resources to accomplish these
Re: Framework's software and firmware have been a mess, but it's working on them
#73I'm excited for their improvements. It's got to be incredibly hard to start a company that does what they do. Not the repairability part, but anything with modern hardware, firmware, and software. When I think of the other big names, they've all been around for quite some times and they were already established companies. I'm not excusing Framework, but I am excited for their future. My Framework 13 AMD has been runn…
Thanks for the trust and the belief, and we know that we need to prove it and live up to it by actually delivering on the results of product longevity.
Big thanks to you and the entire Framework team. The work y'all are doing is incredible. I'm a very happy customer and I'm excited to see how Framework grows and I'm excited to continue to be a customer!
Re: Framework's software and firmware have been a mess, but it's working on them
#74I'm still bullish on Framework but the quality control issues I have seen from the Framework 16 are unacceptable for a device that cost as much as it does. They have also reused elements from the older Framework laptops that they should not have, namely the smaller keyboard and the smaller trackpad. I hope they pull it together because I want them to succeed.
Note that both the keyboard and the touchpad are unique to the Framework Laptop 16. We reused the same keyswitch and keycap structure on the keyboard because the feedback we've gotten on those on Framework Laptop 13 have been almost universally positive. In Framework Laptop 16, we integrated them into a new module structure to enable Input Module swappability. For the touchpad, similarly, we used the same controller…
I have not used the 16 yet as I decided to hold off after seeing the QC issues but most of the feedback I've seen and from what I can tell looking at the laptop is the trackpad is too small and the keyboard is too cramped. My 13 inch Thinkpad appears to have a more spaced out keyboard than the Framework 16.
Re: Framework's software and firmware have been a mess, but it's working on them
#75Earlier quoted context omitted.
My biggest gripe is that for something intended to be DIY upgradable, 2 years later, there is a complete lack of ecosystem and parts for it. I was hoping for pluggable modules for {IMU, GPS, barometer, geiger counter, air quality sensor, software-defined radio, 5G cellular, RGB LEDs, power-over-ethernet charging, even a small motor module so the laptop can drag itself around on the table}. And what do we get? Some st…
Part of the reason is the compliance requirements. You need to pay quite a bit of money to USB-IF if you want to make anything USB and this is recurring as far as I know. There's also the other things like tests for EMC and ESD and whatnot. It either needs a big player to step up (you can use the same USB-IF membership for some tens of thousands of devices) or there should be a big enough market to support a smaller…
Just don't pay those idiots? I doubt most of the USB devices on Alibaba pay USB-IF.
Re: Framework's software and firmware have been a mess, but it's working on them
#76Earlier quoted context omitted.
Note that both the keyboard and the touchpad are unique to the Framework Laptop 16. We reused the same keyswitch and keycap structure on the keyboard because the feedback we've gotten on those on Framework Laptop 13 have been almost universally positive. In Framework Laptop 16, we integrated them into a new module structure to enable Input Module swappability. For the touchpad, similarly, we used the same controller…
I have not used the 16 yet as I decided to hold off after seeing the QC issues but most of the feedback I've seen and from what I can tell looking at the laptop is the trackpad is too small and the keyboard is too cramped. My 13 inch Thinkpad appears to have a more spaced out keyboard than the Framework 16.
The key spacing is the standard 19mm key stride that we use on Framework Laptop 13 and which most (all?) 13"+ notebooks use.
Re: Framework's software and firmware have been a mess, but it's working on them
#77Earlier quoted context omitted.
I have not used the 16 yet as I decided to hold off after seeing the QC issues but most of the feedback I've seen and from what I can tell looking at the laptop is the trackpad is too small and the keyboard is too cramped. My 13 inch Thinkpad appears to have a more spaced out keyboard than the Framework 16.
The key spacing is the standard 19mm key stride that we use on Framework Laptop 13 and which most (all?) 13"+ notebooks use.
I might not be explaining what I mean clearly. I'm talking about the Framework 16. The keyboard on the Framework 16 seems more cramped than my 13" laptop.
Re: Framework's software and firmware have been a mess, but it's working on them
#78I have bought two Framework 13 laptops, and have been happy with them overall. I love their vision of a repairable laptop, and have replaced parts on them, without issue. That is a great achievement. I have had issues with drivers, and specifically had to reinstall windows to reflash firmware to get a new touch pad to work in linux. Bummer, but I'm also running on the fringe a little, so I accept that. Overall, the e…
My biggest gripe is that for something intended to be DIY upgradable, 2 years later, there is a complete lack of ecosystem and parts for it. I was hoping for pluggable modules for {IMU, GPS, barometer, geiger counter, air quality sensor, software-defined radio, 5G cellular, RGB LEDs, power-over-ethernet charging, even a small motor module so the laptop can drag itself around on the table}. And what do we get? Some st…
If they ever do expand to China I'm sure this will come.
I'm somewhat disappointed too, especially the lack of the long-promised 'creator-marketplace'.
Overall though, I'm still more than happy with my 11th gen. It's far better than any laptop I've had before and I have next to no complaints about it as a laptop.
Re: Framework's software and firmware have been a mess, but it's working on them
#79I actually really love my Framework 16 (which I'm writing this on), but the integration with Ubuntu (which is their supported Linux distro) was far less performant than I expected. I ended up installing Win11Pro on it, and since then I've been cherry (apart from being on Windows). I really do hope they begin to offer more customization and expansion options soon; I'd love to support them some more, but there's not an…
I expect this is largely a issue with the bleeding-edge AMD GPU and CPU which don't have great support yet.
If you can, definitely try to get on the newest version of the kernel, I know a few people who've had success with that!
Re: Framework's software and firmware have been a mess, but it's working on them
#80Why don't they open source it and allow people to contribute fixes?
It's Insyde (they outsource firmware dev), so it's proprietary as of right now.
Hopefully they can switch to an open firmware like Coreboot in the future.