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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

#811

The baseline, preassembled model starts at $1000. Windows 10 Home, quad-core i5, 8 GB RAM, 256 GB storage, a nice 2256x1504 display, thin and light (1.3kg, 11.7" x 9" x 0.6"). Compare that to your other thin and light options at this pricepoint. XPS 13, $1020 * i5 * 8 GB RAM * 256 GB storage * 1920 x 1200 display * 1.2 kg, 11.6" x 7.8" x 0.6" MacBook Pro: $1300 * M1 * 8 GB RAM * 256 GB storage * 2560 x 1600 display *…

> Unfortunately, not many people see repairability as a feature yet due to the toxic status quo

I’m struggling to see the feature in OPs article considering that they have gone through more laptops since I bought my MacBook Pro 2016 than I’ve owned laptops in my life.

Why was it necessary to replace a thinkpad every year, and what makes you think that the author isn’t just going to replace this one?

I have a feeling I’m going to have my MacBook Pro 2016 for longer than the author has this one.

I do support repairability, and I really don’t see why we let companies get away with ducking it over, but at the same time, there are now 3 different versions of the fairphone, sort of defeating the point of it. I’m sure frame.work is better than the fairphone, but I think you get the point I’m trying to make.

Unless you get faulty hardware, you’re probably better off taking good care of it. I mean, I still have an old 14” iBook PowerPC that works perfectly well with Linux. Its hardware is obviously not up to my current needs, but I don’t see why my current MacBook Pro 2016 won’t live with me for another 5 years at least. And by then I hope legislation has forced Apple into making things more repairable.

But there isn’t actually a very good reason to replace your hardware unless it stops working. At least not in my mind, and none of my Apple products have stopped working on their own. I’ve been luckier than some people in that regard, but I also still own a Sony tv from the early 00s that’s perfectly fine when hooked up with the MacBook so sometimes it’s also about buying the things that are tested so you don’t end up in one of the famous Apple recalls or the issues that come from them.

It’s very anti-consumption not to buy the newest thing, I know, but I sort of think the swap to frame.work for the sake of buying something repairable defeats the entire purpose of wanting something repairable unless you make the swap after your old machine literally breaks

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

#812
post #5

I just bought my very first MacBook Air ever. But seeing a laptop like this, with everything being customisable (in contrast to my Apple laptop: nothing can be customised or replaced by me) I feel a tinge of regret...

Well, if you regret it more than a tinge, and you just bought it from Apple, you can return it within a 2 week window, I believe.

FYI this is an US thing.

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

#814
post #642

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>when was the last time you used the right shift key? I generally use the shift key closest to the key I'm typing. For keys near the center, I favor the right shift key. The keyboard would absolutely be the show stopper for me, if I didn't just get a new laptop last year. The lack of dedicated Page Up and Page Down keys is unacceptable.

Finally somebody else mentioned it. I will never buy a laptop without a dedicated Home, End, Page Up, and Page Down keys. I've used Chromebooks without them before, and I still to this day can never remember how to select while jumping to the end of the document, for example. It's like four keys all pressed at the same time in a very awkward way.

On the contrary, I have those dedicated keys, and I am constantly accidentally hitting Insert when I want Home, which screws up line editing (which is 99% of the time what I'm planning to do after hitting Home).

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

#815

I wish that I needed a laptop so that I could buy one. I sincerely hope this company succeeds so that they are around when I do need a laptop. > Yesterday, I put my 2019 Thinkpad on my pile of "laptops to refurbish and donate." I've bought a new Thinkpad almost every year since 2006. I think that's over. wat

OP used that as a reward to help him quit smoking. If it worked, it worked.

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

#816
post #787

There is an important value, implied by the repairability, that gets little attention here. When I went to Malaysia, My 7 years old Asus N550 was malfunctioning and I needed to get a new laptop. In my previous company I got a zenbook 13" and loved it, but the ones in Malaysia were only sold with 8GB ram. I've been using 16 for 7 years and there was no way to go back. I wanted 10th gen intel (For the improved integrat…

> Another reason is that the fingerprint reader has no drivers for Fedora, while Dell advertises the laptop as Linux ready. Which XPS is it? I believe most of their fingerprint readers should be supported in recent libfprint versions.

It's 7390. When I bought it there was no Linux driver. And then they released an Ubuntu only driver naming it "Linux driver". My device is 27c6:5385 which is not listed in https://fprint.freedesktop.org/supported-devices.html. I remember people trying to reverse-engineer the Ubuntu driver, or re-pack it for Fedora. Unfortunately, I did not dare to install the repacked version.

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

#817
post #789
post #787

There is an important value, implied by the repairability, that gets little attention here. When I went to Malaysia, My 7 years old Asus N550 was malfunctioning and I needed to get a new laptop. In my previous company I got a zenbook 13" and loved it, but the ones in Malaysia were only sold with 8GB ram. I've been using 16 for 7 years and there was no way to go back. I wanted 10th gen intel (For the improved integrat…

for the little it's worth it's unlikely that you could have even upgraded to 32g. Most of the mobile intel chips have been limited to 16GiB max for quite a bit, only the very recent ones go to 32GiB

You're right and this kinda reinforces my point: With Framework, I clearly know that it supports up to 64, even if right now I only need 16.

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

#818

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To me the M1 one is the differentiator not even because of its performance, but because of what it allows the laptop to be: Absolute silence with 20 hour battery life. To have it also be screamingly fast is very nice to have though.

You forget the computer is there! I have been so overwhelmingly happy with my M1 (with RAM upgrade) as a dev machine. It's THAT good. My co-workers cry when they see how fast my docker containers build.

I wish I felt like this about the M1 that work got me. I have a list of issues but the best indictment of how bad it is is:

- a typescript React recompile causes music playing to buffer for a couple of seconds.

I wanted to love it but I much prefer my mid level Intel based MacBook Pro

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

#820

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.

When a port is damaged it can be easily and affordably replaced.
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