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ThePhysicsOfBaseball t1_jdf8fus wrote

Reply to comment by kardiogramm in The Framework Laptop 16 promises the “holy grail” of upgradable graphics. by SUPRVLLAN

How is the original 13 and the new 16 not minimalist?

Seriously, at some point you're just complaining to complain.

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Modullah t1_jdfcgth wrote

The MacBook Air is minimalist. To be fair, for a modular laptop their design is fairly minimal but I think they are a few iterations away from MacBook level minimalism. Great work though, I hope they keep doing well.

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kardiogramm t1_jdfhurp wrote

It’s not minimalist, so many unnecessary aspects to the design, the odd taper and curve that make it look like any laptop. The thing I love most about it is the top lid (not the hinge) of the screen, that is minimalist, if only that carried on throughout the rest of the casing.

A MacBook Pro or a Google Chromebook Pixel from 2015 is minimalist.

I think they have dumbed it down too much with the focus ease of upgradability. Personally I could just do with a minimalist design with built in (but user replaceable/repairable) ports and insides (with upgradability in mind) along with a screen (with windows hello camera) that can be replaced. Have a magnetic power charger similar to MagSafe or use a USB 4.0 port for charging too. USB 4.0 with a digital line in/headphone jack (again replaceable from the inside without it being a module) and have a nicely designed flush take on an ExpressCard type slot for the other side to slot in other optional ports.

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6SixTy t1_jdfltb2 wrote

Taper is there to help the speakers project themselves. MBA has speakers projecting through the hinge, and the speaker cavity is much smaller.

User replaceable stuff doesn't help at all with user upgradability. You can't do wacky stuff like add in storage or DP on a cartridge without fundamentally altering the chassis holes. Or even fabricate your own modules like magsafe.

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kardiogramm t1_jdfost3 wrote

Ok I understand they were going for everything but the kitchen sink but why would you need storage modules when the SSD is upgradable? USB-C style ports seem to be staying around for a long time as USB 4.0 v2 will be using the same connector.

I would want a permanent MagSafe style charging port on there, not a module. I feel like they are trying to create something around these modules but they are really just USB-C dongles that fit into the case. They could still do these things if they had one or even two ExpressCard* style slot/s in there, there is no need to go full on Michael Bay with this design. People just want a repairable and upgradable device.

*I mean it as a descriptor but their own take on it with modern speeds and design.

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ThePhysicsOfBaseball t1_jdfzoo3 wrote

>I would want a permanent MagSafe style charging port on there, not a module. I feel like they are trying to create something around these modules but they are really just USB-C dongles that fit into the case.

Everyone who says that doesn't own a framework, and everyone who gets one realizes they were wrong.

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kardiogramm t1_jdg8a9u wrote

Ah I forgot this is a complete paradigm shift that 23 years of owning a variety of laptops has not prepared me for.

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voodoovan t1_jdfq46t wrote

I agree. It can be done, its not that technically difficult. But the single reason no one is doing it, is, money.

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kardiogramm t1_jdftjh9 wrote

Oh of course, I lament that Apple decided to go the direction they did. I was perfectly happy upgrading the SSD on my older model MBP. I gave their Touchbar MBP a go but it broke quite a few times and I resented the fixed drive capacity, so much so I have switched back to a desktop PC running Windows. I am looking at an eventual replacement laptop but nothing has really caught my interest and expectations on the PC side.

I really like what FrameWork are trying to do. I think the brand identity is quite nice just think the execution is lacking in the industrial design IMO but the potential is certainly there. I might be critical but I am definitely rooting for them because if they succeed it could force competitors to adjust their approach and we all win then.

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6SixTy t1_jdim3ds wrote

Well, for starters, magsafe is patented (making any 'official' copy hard to pull off) but 3rd party Chinese foils of magsafe are out there and I actually agree with the point that the SSD cart is kind of pointless.

*And making a homebrew standard doesn't really fly, especially for a startup like Framework. Thunderbolt already shares the same connector type as USB-C, and exposes traditionally internal PCIe lanes to the outside. Only scenario where Framework can actually make their own standard is if they genuinely reinvent a solution that had previously failed before like their just announced GPU connector that probably just made MXM look completely geriatric and obsolete overnight.

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kardiogramm t1_jdimvc3 wrote

Didn’t stop Microsoft, didn’t stop Razer

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6SixTy t1_jdirika wrote

Microsoft actually owns another whole patent on a magnetically actuated locking connector, which is a plausible explanation for how their connector works, and Razer sounds like it doesn't even magnetically couple at all.

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Indolent_Bard t1_jds517o wrote

On one hand I agree with you because you basically have only three ports left while plugged in, but the other hand you can actually replace the charging port. I can't think of a single laptop where you can do that. I don't know if they even have the legal rights to do a mag safe type charger, only Apple and Microsoft branded laptop seem to have that feature for some reason. But of course, the community has been trying to make one for a while.

The storage modules make sense because there's only one SSD port. Yeah, I wish that they had two as well. If nothing else, It makes a decent backup drive for all your files and stuff. I don't know how to do this on Windows, but on Linux it seems that by default USB drives aren't mounted until you try to actually use them, meaning that you don't have to worry about a ransomware attack locking you out of your backup files just because it's plugged in.

Now that the 16-in version exists and has six ports instead of four, as well as the option of sticking in a graphics card if you want it, I'm pretty happy with what they have now. A laptop that can be entirely disassembled with a single screwdriver that they package with it, where every component can be replaced from the charging port to the hinges to the heat sink and fan. You could keep this thing running for as long as you live, which in my opinion makes it the best laptop ever.

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