[HN Gopher] FrameWork laptop is Tom's favorite laptop of the yea...
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FrameWork laptop is Tom's favorite laptop of the year--and
completely unexpected
Author : jseliger
Score : 45 points
Date : 2021-12-27 18:24 UTC (4 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (www.tomsguide.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (www.tomsguide.com)
| dpark wrote:
| > _The Framework's remarkable expansion card system is another
| reason why this laptop is my favorite of the year. If you're not
| familiar with it, the bottom of the laptop sports four slots,
| each of which accepts a Framework Expansion Card that slides into
| place with a click and connects to the laptop via USB-C..._
|
| It's literally custom USB-C dongles. If Apple shipped this people
| would decry them as leveraging their lock in to make people buy
| basic ports that should have been built in for free.
|
| > _You could swap in an HDMI out when you're going to give a
| presentation, for example, or a microSD card reader when you need
| to pull some photos off a camera._
|
| Yep. That's how dongles work.
| drekk wrote:
| Apple doesn't let you switch out the mainboard. I think that's
| the value of these USB-C dongles that are cheaper than Apple
| peripherals + lay flush to the laptop.
|
| Sticking to USB-C means the chassis doesn't have to change
| between upgrades
| ryukafalz wrote:
| > It's literally custom USB-C dongles.
|
| Yes, but try carrying your laptop around with four USB-C
| dongles permanently attached and see how well that works for
| you. This is nice if you don't want to have to constantly
| remember to carry specific dongles with you.
|
| > If Apple shipped this people would decry them as leveraging
| their lock in to make people buy basic ports that should have
| been built in for free.
|
| No they wouldn't, if it shipped with them like the Framework
| does.
| dpark wrote:
| Framework charges extra for anything that isn't just usb-c.
| (But yeah, Apple would charge 2-3x as much for each.)
|
| I don't have an issue with them shipping this feature. It's
| not a bad idea. I just find it weird how enthusiastic the
| author is about custom dongles. This seems, at best, a nice
| to have.
| dwohnitmok wrote:
| This has come up before
| (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28607793). The usual
| response I see from Framework owners is it turns out having
| recessed dongles is actually a surprisingly nice convenience
| that beats out normal dongles way more than you'd think.
|
| But RE the dongles locking people in, you can literally just
| replace it with an actual normal dongle if you'd like, but also
| the schematics are completely open
| (https://github.com/FrameworkComputer/ExpansionCards). This is
| very very different from the way Apple does things.
| google234123 wrote:
| How much time will a laptop owner actually spend repairing or
| modifying their laptop? How about judging a laptop with how it is
| to use for the 2000+ hours a year that it is just a laptop?
| dharmab wrote:
| I can say my 2016 macbook spent multiple weeks being repaired
| for an issue that would have been trivial to fix myself on a
| framework
| nowherebeen wrote:
| I think this is a good point. As long as the build quality is
| top notch, I don't mind not being able to modify the laptop.
| Only Apple meets my standards on build quality.
| josephcsible wrote:
| When has Apple ever made a laptop with good build quality?
| This generation, the problem is screens randomly shattering,
| last generation, the problem was the butterfly keyboards, and
| the generation before that, the problem was the display cable
| wearing out.
| ksec wrote:
| I agree to a point, the perfect laptop isn't user serviceable
| laptop, but indestructible laptop. That it should last 10 years
| without failing ( ignoring software update ).
|
| Or the service of the my laptop wasn't price gouged to the
| point forcing users buying a new laptop. Unfortunately Apple
| has somehow literally made it a mission to drive their
| AppleCare services revenue. And others in the industry
| completely neglect after sales services. ( Unless you have on-
| site repairing )
|
| My view is that Framework wasn't born out of fun, nerds' needs
| or ideology. I mean who start a new PC company in 2020 for fun?
| In a near negative margin business. It was born out of
| frustration after users have been shouting for years and the
| industries completely ignore them while milking them for
| repeated purchases. Apple's MacBook Pro 2016 design and
| response add the final fuel to move the inertia that enough is
| enough.
| webmobdev wrote:
| The important thing is that when you want to _upgrade_ or
| repair the laptop, you have the choice and convenience to do so
| _affordably_. Frame.Work has struck the right balance between
| its own interest and that of its customers. It 's a truly
| commendable thing, and they deserve the genuine goodwill they
| have earned. And Apple also rightly deserves the derision it
| gets in comparison to the high repairability of the Frame.Work
| laptops.
| errantmind wrote:
| It isn't about time, it is about tail risk and inconvenience.
| When there eventually is a problem, you don't want to have to
| deal with replacing the whole motherboard, or sending the
| laptop in somewhere. You just want to order a part and fix it
| in a few minutes.
| Traster wrote:
| Companies like Lenovo offer very good warranty services that
| solve this problem. They're expensive in absolute terms but
| in the context of "how much do I earn per hour" they're
| absurdly cheap. Likely their repair service is quicker than
| diagnosing, ordering a part and fixing a fault.
| dwohnitmok wrote:
| The article addresses this:
|
| > I had to admit the company delivered on its promise: the
| Framework truly is the most owner-friendly laptop I've ever
| used.
|
| > I almost wrote "user-friendly" there, but it doesn't quite
| describe why I think so highly of this device. Sure, the
| laptop's clever design makes a very complicated piece of tech
| feel pretty simple to use.... But it does still demand a
| certain amount of interest in tinkering with your laptop... No,
| the Framework is the most owner-friendly laptop I've ever seen
| because it's clearly designed by people who respect their
| customers.... Of course, none of these features would matter
| much if the laptop itself was subpar. On the contrary: in my
| experience it's a well-built ultraportable that's as slim and
| easy to carry as a MacBook Air, with a comfy keyboard, a great
| 1080p webcam, and more than enough power to tackle anything
| you'd do in the course of a workday.
| dharmab wrote:
| Note the article is written by senior editor Alex Wawro, not
| founder Thomas Pabst
| qudat wrote:
| I have a framework and love it. The major downside are the
| speakers.
|
| https://erock.io/2021/11/01/framework-vs-mbp.html
| wildrhythms wrote:
| I have a Framework laptop and a M1 Air. I didn't see this
| mentioned in your rundown, which was very nicely written and I
| agree with every point, but going from a fanless M1 Air to a
| laptop with a fan, that seems to constantly run much hotter
| despite doing a fraction of the tasks of my Air, is a real
| disappointment. I'm not sure if this is a consequence of Pop_OS
| (my current Framework-friendly distro), the Intel CPU, the heat
| management system, or some combination of those, but it's very
| noticeable and makes me realize how much more 'premium' (as you
| put it) the Macbook is. I'm typing this on my M1 Air driving a
| 4k display with no fan, and no heat.
| ksec wrote:
| Credit where credit's due, Apple put in a lot of effort into
| their Speakers. All the R&D from AirPod, HomePod went into
| speakers on Macbook and iMac. I am not even aware of any other
| laptop / PC that has any decent built in speakers.
|
| Having said that they will need some time to test for their
| longevity. Apple has a history of blow out speakers within 3
| years. Hopefully this is fixed with their newer design.
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(page generated 2021-12-27 23:02 UTC)