FRAMEWORK laptops: Modularity or Miniaturization?

TheMystic said:

For sure, they would be including the required diagrams and written instructions in the box. Besides, the DIY mode of order is one for experienced or enthusiastic users, who are expected to know how to put them together.

My current laptop is a 17" HP Envy. Every time I open it, I damage the keyboard. Presently, only one lock on the keyboard is still present, the rest have all broken and fallen off. I just don't get the point of making this kind of a design, except for making it deliberately difficult to repair. Unfortunately, even for simply cleaning the fan or changing the thermal paste, which are annual affairs, I have to open it completely and I hate doing it. Fortunately, so far the keyboard has held up really well (except for the broken plastic locks) and all keys are fully functional still.


Where I Iive, I found out that I am the best person to service my own laptop. Atleast I take enough care and try my best. The 'professional' services are sure to give me more headache than solve them.

Click to expand...

Hi there
If you can do it -- great -- but there's loads of people who think --OK this is easy and then end up having to bin the whole kybosh. All I'm saying that for most people -- especially these days where Banking / Media studies / Economics is taught rather than Engineering etc they are totally liable to get into a mess in this state. I've loads of bits of hardware bought from people who have rendered their computers inoperable due to lack of even basic skills like using a heat sink (some even think it's cold water running into a sink in their kitchen) or forceably ripping out a chip on the Mobo with a pair of pliers. !!

Cheers
jimbo

jimbo45 said:

Hi there
I can just see some people trying without damaging printed circuit connections to connect BIOS / other chips to the circuit board and then put the whole thing together. At least when disassembling a laptop you've got an example of how it all fits together. Assembling one from scratch without clear diagrams and limited experience -- there's only one way that probably ends in 97% of cases -- disappointment and money down the drain.

Cheers
jimbo

Click to expand...

Yeah, I would think that most would buy the laptops fully assembled.

Moreover, when placing an order, the merchant's website would present the whole gamut of configuration options and point out incompatible configurations.

Both former and latter in the above also apply to the NUC, but the latter still did not really materialize after nearly a decade.

The-Hive said:

Around here we have one computer shop in Salisbury and an IT place in the village I used to work, they were great for getting cheap parts and free work done as we rented the upstairs from them :)

Click to expand...

Recently, my brother's laptop screen cracked and he urgently needed to get it to work somehow. This was beyond my expertise, so took it to a highly rated (on Google) 'professional' shop. After a few hours, they called us to collect it. While they couldn't fix it (due to lack of availability of spares), we found later that they created a dent in the chassis when trying to open it. That's the quality of their professionalism. Fortunately, we got the laptop replaced under warranty.

This again reinforced my conclusion that DIY is best where possible, and I am really grateful to YouTube (and YouTubers) and communities for providing excellent guides and demonstrations.

jimbo45 said:

where Banking / Media studies / Economics

Click to expand...

That's where YouTube and user Communities are of excellent help.

jimbo45 said:

using a heat sink (some even think it's cold water running into a sink in their kitchen)

Click to expand...

TheMystic said:

This is a new type of laptop in town:

Framework

Reviewers are all extremely happy with the idea. Linus (LinusTechTips) is one of the investors too.

Idea is great and highly welcome in today's times when miniaturization and intent to lock devices down to make them unrepairable is the choice of OEMs.

I'm not the type of person who will drop gadgets or be rough with them. All my purchases tend to last a very long time and work fine without giving problems. So that makes this decision a little difficult for me.

Miniaturization comes with its own benefit of compactness and great looking devices. This also means that one has to make the right decision during purchase and never look back.

So what would you prefer?

Click to expand...

The idea of modularity is good, but if we can't have at least a 17" screen, I will have to pass. We have fought too long and hard to drop back to something our old eyes have problems with.

TheMystic said:

You have just gotten used to the large screen.

13 or 14 inch is my preferred size for laptops. The overall experience from usability and portability is great.

If smaller phones (5.5" full screen) with top end hardware comes to the market, I would prefer that one. Unfortunately, the smaller phones today don't pack in the best hardware available.

Click to expand...

No, it isn't what we're used to at all! It's the fact that a 13" or 14" screen is just too small for comfort of old eyes. I have a 14" Lenovo Ideapad bought for traveling, but after one trip with it, I went back to my "bulky old 17" HP Laptop for traveling.

My phone is used for just that . . . a phone. It may be a miniature computer, but it's not for the visually impaired.

Wynona said:

The idea of modularity is good, but if we can't have at least a 17" screen, I will have to pass. We have fought too long and hard to drop back to something our old eyes have problems with.

Click to expand...

So if they come up with a 17" option, would you prefer a laptop like this or stick with the traditional options which are increasingly locked down and difficult to repair/ upgrade, but have a nice compact design?

Wynona said:

a phone. It may be a miniature computer, but it's not for the visually impaired.

Click to expand...

Know what you mean!
I installed my Office Suite from mobisystems on my phone..., I'm fartin around with pinch-to-zoom and what not..., I'm like... K, this is stupid!

Wynona said:

No, it isn't what we're used to at all! It's the fact that a 13" or 14" screen is just too small for comfort of old eyes. I have a 14" Lenovo Ideapad bought for traveling, but after one trip with it, I went back to my "bulky old 17" HP Laptop for traveling.

My phone is used for just that . . . a phone. It may be a miniature computer, but it's not for the visually impaired.

Click to expand...

I agree every person is different and comfort factors vary. I have 2 laptops, one is 17" (now almost 9 years old) and another 13" (a little over 2 years old). When I bought the new laptop, the difference in experience was huge.

But with time, I got used to the smaller form factor and began to appreciate the portability a lot. The ease of carrying it, it's lightweight and the little space it needed for carrying around made me change my view about laptops.

I too was a great fan of having large size devices (that's why I bought the 17" laptop when everyone around me was buying the 15.6" one), but the new experience has given me a new perspective. As of now, I personally would buy a Desktop (something I never preferred earlier, but now as I see the benefits, it is an easy decision for me) and a 13/14" laptop.

Edwin said:

Know what you mean!
I installed my Office Suite from mobisystems on my phone..., I'm fartin around with pinch-to-zoom and what not..., I'm like... K, this is stupid!

Click to expand...

Phones are okay for making the occasional edits in Office, and certainly not devices to create or work with documents.

Edwin said:

I attempted repairs on my old HP EliteBook..., which is why I now have a brand new Asus VivoBook!!!

It's actually my first brand new Laptop, and I love it! And I hate Laptops!!!
Does that make any sense!?!?!?

Click to expand...

So what you're saying is that it was so broken that you had to replace every part.

I often lie down on the sofa with my laptop on my chest, and I am content surfing the web that way. But I would happily accept an improvement where I could project a giant screen on the ceiling

jimbo45 said:

Hi there
If you can do it -- great -- but there's loads of people who think --OK this is easy and then end up having to bin the whole kybosh. All I'm saying that for most people -- especially these days where Banking / Media studies / Economics is taught rather than Engineering etc they are totally liable to get into a mess in this state. I've loads of bits of hardware bought from people who have rendered their computers inoperable due to lack of even basic skills like using a heat sink (some even think it's cold water running into a sink in their kitchen) or forceably ripping out a chip on the Mobo with a pair of pliers. !!

Cheers
jimbo

Click to expand...

I hate to be cruel but if they're that stupid they deserve what they got.

Wynona said:

The idea of modularity is good, but if we can't have at least a 17" screen, I will have to pass. We have fought too long and hard to drop back to something our old eyes have problems with.

Click to expand...

My 15.6" laptop is as small as I will go. My old eyes don't like staring at small screens for a length of time. Sometimes after using my laptop for awhile the eye strain will cause double vision when looking in the distance. When this happens I'll take a Tylenol and go lie down and rest my eyes for an hour or two.

Haydon said:

I often lie down on the sofa with my laptop on my chest, and I am content surfing the web that way. But I would happily accept an improvement where I could project a giant screen on the ceiling

Click to expand...

Well, I use projectors myself, for making presentations. They need to be aligned to the screen or pic gets distorted. If I lie on the sofa, I look at the ceiling at maybe at a comfortable 45 degree angle > must be a special projector that can be distortion free at that angle. I want that special projector or the special mounting that follows the resting position of my eyes

Well, back on topic, I don't think that there is a 'module' vs 'miniature' issue as such, you can have both, case in point is shown in the picture below that comes from the Framework website itself.



However, you see that the miniature modules are packed like sardines in a can, which makes it difficult to provide a lot of configuration options, IMHO.

Haydon said:

Well, back on topic, I don't think that there is a 'module' vs 'miniature' issue as such, you can have both, case in point is shown in the picture below that comes from the Framework website itself.

Click to expand...

There is the issue, as confirmed by what you have mentioned yourself:

Haydon said:

However, you see that the miniature modules are packed like sardines in a can, which makes it difficult to provide a lot of configuration options, IMHO.

Click to expand...

If you take the memory or storage for example, and compare that to the sizes of the same on a MacBook, that will make it clear.

The whole idea behind the concept is easy repairability and easy replaceability. Unscrew a few screws and you are ready to replace any part you want on the inside. This is unlike any of the other laptops which require specialised tools as well as expertise to open, and practically impossible to replace some of the components as they are soldered on to the motherboard.

People usually consider replacing the RAM, Storage, Fan, Battery, etc. This laptop makes it extremely simple to do that. And the ability to change ports too is a first.

I've always found it quite easy to do basic repairs on laptops - if you're careful. I love my little mini screwdriver kit I bought when first had to take a hard drive cover off. But yes you do need to have a tear down guide to know how to take the particular model apart as more and more they are not so simple as just taking the back off. And the right tools. Only once was I impatient with one machine and ended up taking the keyboard out to fit a new hard drive (which wasn't actually necessary - there was an easier way!) - keyboard never quite sat right again.

I think the modular idea is great. With larger 17" laptops you can usually get upgradeable ones anyway. But with 13 to 14" ones most are not intended to come apart at all. That size seems extremely popular due to portability. But I'm not sure this modular one is aimed at the right market. Those that want portability would probably not dream of upgrading a laptop. Those who want to upgrade would maybe want something bigger than 13". That would be absolute minimum size for me. I find 14" just right - to be able to use on your lap and still have a decent screen (I also semi lie down with it so it's quite close :) ). Anything bigger than that is too cumbersome for lap use.

TheMystic said:

There is the issue, as confirmed by what you have mentioned yourself:

Click to expand...

There is no issue 'module' vs 'miniature' because you can have both 'module' AND 'miniature' as shown in the pic.

TheMystic said:

If you take the memory or storage for example, and compare that to the sizes of the same on a MacBook, that will make it clear.

The whole idea behind the concept is easy repairability and easy replaceability. Unscrew a few screws and you are ready to replace any part you want on the inside. This is unlike any of the other laptops which require specialised tools as well as expertise to open, and practically impossible to replace some of the components as they are soldered on to the motherboard.

People usually consider replacing the RAM, Storage, Fan, Battery, etc. This laptop makes it extremely simple to do that. And the ability to change ports too is a first.

Click to expand...

The crowded pic tells a different story. I would not be surprised if in the actual product all that is interchangeable is RAM, SSD, and Battery, only, we'll see.

Hazel123 said:

I've always found it quite easy to do basic repairs on laptops - if you're careful. I love my little mini screwdriver kit I bought when first had to take a hard drive cover off. But yes you do need to have a tear down guide to know how to take the particular model apart as more and more they are not so simple as just taking the back off. And the right tools. Only once was I impatient with one machine and ended up taking the keyboard out to fit a new hard drive (which wasn't actually necessary - there was an easier way!) - keyboard never quite sat right again.

Click to expand...

Yeah, I did basic repairs on my previous laptop too, until the back refused to latch back on properly and I had to use adhesive tape to hold it there. Of course, that did not last long, and I had to buy my present laptop, that I am typing these words on

Hazel123 said:

(I also semi lie down with it so it's quite close :) )

Click to expand...

What I find great is that the arms of the sofa work really well as a headrest and the laptop on the chest holds up the screen really well. Over time, I have even learned how to touch type from the sides of the keyboard