We will be moving Virgo laptop PCB design to this public, GPLv3 licensed project: https://github.com/system76/virgo/. This will be the most open, modern x86 motherboard design I know of.
I have been watching system76 from afar for a long time and everytime I upgrade I look at their systems but I was never confident of local support. I bought an equivalent to one of their early laptops from a local company once. I think it is great that they are bringing more design in-house as rebadging generic systems limited their documentation and repairability.
While competition is good I can’t look past Framework at the moment. They shipped to me direct from Taiwan as fast as a local delivery and I know I can repair the system so it removes all the concerns I had about dealing with a niche foreign company. I see no value in PopOS or the other user space stuff from system76. Open firmware is an advantage but I think framework will get there eventually. As much as I respect system76s mission I think their business model is dubious. They should have gone in-house open hardware earlier and I think the userspace stuff is a pointless distraction.
That’s your opinion and that’s fine. For me, open hardware + hot swappable mechanical keyboard + trackpoint + designed to be repaired + the general opennes are the reasons why Virgo comes to my desk.
Framework is good for many and thanks to LTT will sell more units but I’ve been only with Thinkpads since 2008 so Coreboot + trackpoint are must-haves for me.
I respect that. I do code occasionally and I was only interested in 16:10 or squarer for a laptop. I was very concerned about the high dpi but it has been fine for me.
Ideally I wanted a 14" 16:10 (ideally 1920x1200 so I didn’t need fractional scaling) with a high refresh rate and integrated amd graphics but the expandability and ability to maintain the system myself in a fairly remote area sold me on the compromise and I don’t regret it but it wasn’t my ideal laptop.
Expanding a custom product line is very expensive and will take time compared with slapping a badge on generic machines. The 16" framework with 16:10 aspect and 165hz refresh is going to expand Framwork’s customer base a lot but my ideal is a system that falls in-between the two.
Without an equivalent to the Framework marketplace or a local presence I don’t see myself ever buying a system76 despite looking at them regularly since they started. I bought an ASUS z35fm in 2007 based on what I think was their Darter at the time. They had 16 years to convert me to a sale and it took Framework a year with a better business model.
I have been watching system76 from afar for a long time and everytime I upgrade I look at their systems but I was never confident of local support. I bought an equivalent to one of their early laptops from a local company once. I think it is great that they are bringing more design in-house as rebadging generic systems limited their documentation and repairability.
While competition is good I can’t look past Framework at the moment. They shipped to me direct from Taiwan as fast as a local delivery and I know I can repair the system so it removes all the concerns I had about dealing with a niche foreign company. I see no value in PopOS or the other user space stuff from system76. Open firmware is an advantage but I think framework will get there eventually. As much as I respect system76s mission I think their business model is dubious. They should have gone in-house open hardware earlier and I think the userspace stuff is a pointless distraction.
That’s your opinion and that’s fine. For me, open hardware + hot swappable mechanical keyboard + trackpoint + designed to be repaired + the general opennes are the reasons why Virgo comes to my desk.
Framework is good for many and thanks to LTT will sell more units but I’ve been only with Thinkpads since 2008 so Coreboot + trackpoint are must-haves for me.
Framework 3:2 screen is a dealbreaker for me though… I’m not a coder so it doesnt benefit me at all
believe me: once you have it, you won’t go back. that extra height also gives the laptop more space for a bigger touchpad, which is also great.
I have tiny hands. Never thought about needing a bigger touchpad
that gba emulation though…
I respect that. I do code occasionally and I was only interested in 16:10 or squarer for a laptop. I was very concerned about the high dpi but it has been fine for me.
Ideally I wanted a 14" 16:10 (ideally 1920x1200 so I didn’t need fractional scaling) with a high refresh rate and integrated amd graphics but the expandability and ability to maintain the system myself in a fairly remote area sold me on the compromise and I don’t regret it but it wasn’t my ideal laptop.
Expanding a custom product line is very expensive and will take time compared with slapping a badge on generic machines. The 16" framework with 16:10 aspect and 165hz refresh is going to expand Framwork’s customer base a lot but my ideal is a system that falls in-between the two.
Without an equivalent to the Framework marketplace or a local presence I don’t see myself ever buying a system76 despite looking at them regularly since they started. I bought an ASUS z35fm in 2007 based on what I think was their Darter at the time. They had 16 years to convert me to a sale and it took Framework a year with a better business model.