You know, I keep hearing people beg for a trackpoint, but if there really was the demand, why hasn't a third party made one already? That's the whole point of Framework, if you want to extend functionality, you can do it yourself without relying on the company to do it.
You know, this is going to sound outrageous to many hacker news readers, but I bought a little Asus Vivo book with a touch screen.. and I really like the touch screen. The trackpad sucks. My hands stay on the keyboard most of the time, but when I need to click on something, it feels really good to just reach up and touch it on the screen.
Now admittedly, I don't use this thing for real work, just messing around when traveling, but a touch screen really is much better than a track pad.
Like quite a few user upgradeable parts of the Framework, the amount of space you have to do something significantly different to what Framework have done is very limited. I do expect that eventually there'll be some sort of trackpoint solution, but my understanding is that there is not a lot of height available for the keyboard, and currently all the good trackpoint options are too tall.
Yes. I'm looking forward to the "framework 2". What's the point of having four interchangeable ports when my daily driver laptop already has 3 type-A, two type-C, an SD and microSD reader, and HDMI-out all at the same time?
Give me the cool shit, Framework. Gimme a module that's actually a bluetooth mouse. Gimme a module that's just a horizontal stack of like six USB2 ports. Gimme an ethernet port and a serial port.
The customization ability of Framework, for my use cases, appears to be overblown. "You don't have to use hubs/dongles", they say. The laptop on my desk has six things plugged into it, two more than the number of customizable ports that Framework offers. And I would much rather plug/unplug one or two USB-C hubs than unplug four separate items on both sides of the laptop.
For someone with a smaller set of peripherals and working mostly mobile, it might be worth it - if they were fine with the non-customizable aspects such as the trackpad and keyboard. But I'm not one of those people.
Part of the point is that people can build this stuff themselves. Like, adding 4-6 USB ports onto this thing would be a weekend project if you already own a 3D printer. Bluetooth mouse one can probably be done with an off-the-shelf Alibaba kit, the Ethernet module exists already, and all 4 ports are serial by-default (but you could still add a SCSI port if you insist on being a villain).
Though I agree, for a device that's trying to cater to both Thinkpad and Macbook users alike, they're seemingly allergic to all the stupid things people actually pay big money for on those machines.
The expansion slots are too small to fit 2x USB-A ports in a single expansion card (edit: without an extended body, which will not work for me). They could fit 2x USB-C in one, but the fact that nobody has made one in the year this product has been out makes me wary of the promise of an entire DIY ecosystem.
They could fit 4 USB-C, or 6 MicroSD, or 12 headphone jacks!
But none of that really matters. The elegance of the original model is that you get 4x Thunderbolt 4-capable ports that can run at full-speed and easily interface with any standard USB device. Sure you could add more ports, but you're just diluting the speed of the interface and adding more steps between your device and the laptop's IO controller.
> the fact that nobody has made one in the year this product has been out makes me wary
I did look. Did you? That thread is a year of people speculating about if this would even be possible and a few prototype renderings. There is no evidence in that thread that anyone has even created a physical prototype, much less an actual working adapter.
> The elegance of the original model
I don't want elegance. I want sustainability, repairability, linux compatibility, and more than four ports.
Edit: I would have much preferred if they had maybe 1 or 2 TB4 expansion slots, then take those other 40Gbit/sec TB4 pci-e lanes and have a bunch of standard ports that are easily replaceable on the motherboard, which all together wouldn't even come close to saturating a single TB4 lane. Add up 3x USB-A/C 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps each, or 5Gbps for USB 3.2 Gen 1), 2.5Gbps ethernet, 100Mbps SD card, and you're still well under the bandwidth for one of the 4 lanes. Then have the other pci-e lane do HDMI 2.0b.
> you're just diluting the speed of the interface and adding more steps between your device and the laptop's IO controller.
I (and likely most people) don't need 4 TB4 lanes at 40Gbps each. The ethernet expansion card that sticks out of the case is max 2.5Gbps. Where is the rest of that bandwidth going?
> I would have much preferred if they had maybe 1 or 2 TB4 expansion slots, then take those other 40Gbit/sec TB4 pci-e lanes and have a bunch of standard ports that are easily replaceable on the motherboard
So... You wanted every other laptop? I'm glad I can have 4 fully capable thunderbolt ports on my laptop (and probably don't want or need half the things you think are "standard"), and unlike what you're asking for here, which is the norm in the industry, that's basically not available on any other laptop.
If you just want a relatively fixable standard laptop that's what ThinkPads are for.
Two USB-A ports would barely fit next to each other width-wise, but wouldn't provide enough space to actually plug in two USB-A cables/devices at the same time. Most cables have plastic covering the connector that adds 0.2-0.5cm of width. Grab two USB-A cables and place them right next to each other and you'll see a gap.
Edit: plus you need to add 0.1cm for the plastic housing of the adapter itself.
Same, I've never understood the love for a laptop with only four ports -- and if you want one of those to be ethernet, it is not flush with the case. The modules could have been slightly bigger to fit 2x USB-A or USB-C, ethernet flush with the case. I hate carrying around and losing adapters.
And the case could have been slightly bigger to allow for novel keyboard designs, including mechanical keys with better travel or a trackpoint. The framework has been out for a year and nobody has released a third party keyboard that is materially different.
I think the laptop is too thin for an ethernet port but not an expert. I'd like a "Framework Pro" that thickens the laptop in exchange for providing workstation class performance and access to 6+ ports & builtin ethernet...
Know what I love about Framework? You, humble user, can go make an adaptor. It's just USB-C on the inside, and a very simple slot to slide it into. Go put your USB->Serial FTDI chip in a 3d printed case and start making money.
Introducing a whole new structure for modules would be a huge self-defeat for their reason for existing. I didn't get a framework laptop with the expectation they'd obsolete it in a couple years.
They could make an adapter that allows the current, smaller modules to fit in these supposed future voids. If done right, this adapter could be completely passive (no circuits).
I mean if you want a wider thing with multiple ports you can just get a usbc thing that does that and plug it into the usbc module? There's lots of those out there.
The Ethernet one sticks out a little but a multiple usb-a port one would be a lot bigger and put more mechanical stress on the whole thing.
I have no interest in a trackpoint at all but I do really want the other things. The keyboard being replaceable is great in theory but until they put some effort into making alternatives, it's not very useful.
You know, I keep hearing people beg for a trackpoint, but if there really was the demand, why hasn't a third party made one already? That's the whole point of Framework, if you want to extend functionality, you can do it yourself without relying on the company to do it.