Post AzATOlyk5Z8hoDyoqm by cwebber@social.coop
(DIR) More posts by cwebber@social.coop
(DIR) Post #AzAQVGlUEusZALBab2 by cwebber@social.coop
2025-10-13T12:58:00Z
2 likes, 0 repeats
It's really going to be absolutely critical that we be able to hack on and trust the hardware we use. I really think the hardware from MNT is the best bet we have for a computing future we still have a say in https://mnt.re/I'm hoping the MNT Reform Next is going to make MNT's stuff more accessible to a wider variety of people
(DIR) Post #AzARnHV2LYSabwe0DQ by lanodan@queer.hacktivis.me
2025-10-13T13:19:22.743458Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@cwebber Yeah, although MNT is kind of hacker-focused, and I think it's great (hence why I ordered an MNT Reform Next) but it can also mean needing other kinds of alternatives.And I think we need a stronger culture where we'd massively avoid things like venture capitalist corporations, because those cannot be trustworthy, specially for hardware/infrastructure.
(DIR) Post #AzATOlyk5Z8hoDyoqm by cwebber@social.coop
2025-10-13T13:06:19Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
@Sobex It's not necessarily, I have been advocating MNT's stuff for a long time.But let me say that I think that if you *are* disappointed with Framework's actions then consider that MNT is:- An indie, queer open hardware shop based out of Berlin- All of their stuff really is as open hardware as they can make it- The community is just lovely
(DIR) Post #AzATOv7w4kqCBLLmvg by cwebber@social.coop
2025-10-13T13:08:00Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
@Sobex The downsides for MNT, if you're looking for a drop-in replacement:- There's no current x86 offering, if that's important to you- You *will* have to hack it at some point probably, but it's highly hackable!- The MNT Reform Next isn't out yet, so either you have this incredibly cute pocket computer, or you have the chonker "brutalist" (but highly hackable) original MNT Reform
(DIR) Post #AzATP3mdtI9j1uSPUO by cwebber@social.coop
2025-10-13T13:14:57Z
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@Sobex There's one other big downside: power management really isn't very good on most of the modules *yet*. I think some of the older modules have suspend, but hibernate is kinda working on the RK3588, no suspend yet. I do think this is a big barrier to adoption for many people.
(DIR) Post #AzAbYHKLhjhFH487FY by cwebber@social.coop
2025-10-13T15:01:29Z
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A lot of people are bringing up price as a downside. This is true insofar as there are certainly cheaper offerings on the market which are even more powerful in terms of specs, and with less fiddling required.So that doesn't sound like a big sell! This is for people who want to have something repairable, and want to help *get* the state of hardware to a better safe, to help invest in hardware for a future we can still control.
(DIR) Post #AzAbYHy3K7SJGChp8S by cwebber@social.coop
2025-10-13T15:03:34Z
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Overall, the MNT Pocket Reform is just over 1k EUR. Which is what many laptops go for. Certainly if you go looking for cheaper options, you will find them though.But it is an expense. And an even bigger expense from the MNT offerings: time, hack energy, and patience. This is the biggest thing I'd warn about: you have to be willing to fiddle with the thing and take part in the community. MNT's offerings are getting better and better, but we're still at early adopter period.
(DIR) Post #AzAbYIgie3BVUjbUky by lanodan@queer.hacktivis.me
2025-10-13T15:08:40.139793Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@cwebber Makes me wonder a bit what kind of fiddles but I'd expect the usual arm stuff, except it works on different systems (instead of being stuck on a monkey-patched Ubuntu), there's a community and can reach the machine's vendor ^^
(DIR) Post #AzAbYQG4V0ceyPCKKe by cwebber@social.coop
2025-10-13T15:05:22Z
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But with all that said, if there's *anywhere* that there's a market for a hack-it-yourself laptop that's highly configurable, it's the fediverse!And the original point of this thread wasn't "this is the best value for the price point". That's not an argument I'm making.The point I argued is that we *need* hackable hardware in order to keep participatory computing alive, and MNT's offerings are the best bet we have.And I fully, fully believe that much is true.
(DIR) Post #AzAbcb8ZzbWTsAgV72 by landelare@mastodon.gamedev.place
2025-10-13T15:02:12Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
@cwebber Ooh, I like the cute one! :3
(DIR) Post #AzAe6Pn2wi17H8xT7I by jorgecandeias@mastodon.social
2025-10-13T13:12:35Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@Sobex @cwebber I'd have to dig into the specs to answer that, which I haven't, as the price I've seen spooked me out of it immediately.
(DIR) Post #AzAe6RApnkdhZD5ypk by cwebber@social.coop
2025-10-13T13:17:17Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@jorgecandeias @Sobex I'm pretty sure they're cheaper than a Framework. The Pocket Reform certainly is.
(DIR) Post #AzAe6SYGg6yhqB4Czw by Doomed_Daniel@mastodon.gamedev.place
2025-10-13T13:52:08Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
@cwebber @jorgecandeias @Sobex Not really - the pocket reform is 1100EUR without SSD (or any extras), the cheapest Ryzen (7640U) -based framework 13 costs 969EUR w/ 16GB of RAM and no SSD (and no other extras) - while offering more performance and a more usable display..MNT Reform is a cool project, but it *is* kinda expensive - which is to be expected w/o VC backing and their relatively small scale
(DIR) Post #AzAiCBTvSNacS91Mjw by Kerplunk@mastodon.scot
2025-10-13T16:14:33Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
@cwebber I'm hoping the MNT Reform Next is going to make MNT's stuff more accessible to a wider variety of peopleSadly out of my price range, will stick with second hand Think pads and for me must have, Linux.Looking at the site and specs.I really like the idea of easily user replaced battery cells. That should be required by law,