fair enough, for me rugged laptops are mostly for clutzs, people with little kids etc, folks who throw stuff about or assholes who think because they didn't buy it they don't have to look after it
i've never suffered from this so prefer something lighter.
I fucking love Fedora Atomic!
I've been using it (Bazzite, Aurora, etc.) basically since it came out and recommend it to absolutely everyone!
Well... not everyone. Not to the "typical" Linux user. It's not for tinkerers who want to customise the internals of the OS.
Some users might also feel offended by the fact that you don't have "control" over your OS, since system packages (e.g. Konsole) might get swapped out for something else the developers like more.
Already had that happening, but for the better. You have to keep in mind, they don't blindly change stuff by random, but because it was decided by the team that x is the better choice above y and it makes sense (e.g. Bazaar > Discover; Pytaxis > Gnome Console; etc.).
It's more for "normal" users like me and even my mum, who want sane defaults and an always working system that takes care of itself.
I really appreciate the selection of default and recommended apps, the QoL features/ changes, and the overall concept. It's a distro for casual users in my eyes.
Hardware wise, I absolutely never encountered anything like this you mentioned. Quite the opposite. uBlue adds lots of hardware enablement, they even had specific images for Framework devices when the hardware wasn't included in the kernel back then. Everything just worked out of the box, including fingerprint reader, sleep states, fans, and so on. Very smooth sailing.
Hello fellow stargazer. I really enjoy Aurora.
Have been thinking of a 13 Pro only with a dock for home to replace my ancient laptop and mini-desktop. Not sure if thunderbolt and a dock (which one?) is a thing with the 13Pro though?
had been thinking of something similar but recently pivoted to a 13 Pro only with a dock for home. Not sure if thunderbolt and a dock (which one) is a thing with the 13Pro though?
👆 exactly. As far as I read, the new 13 Pro bottom cover has been strengthened. It's CNC-milled part instead of a sheet metal stamping.
This is my second bottom cover. I've already replaced one. This one hasn't been dropped on its own. This happens if you have it in a backpack and you drop the backpack a little rough on a hard floor.
The strength of the bottom cover is definitely lower compared to my previous laptop (ThinkPad T430s) which necessitates being more careful to prevent more bottom cover replacements. The part is easy to replace - as this is a repairable laptop - but it isn't trivially cheap - $130. My family has 3 Framework laptops and we recommend them to people looking for new laptops. I'm responsible for at least 3 more Framework sales in addition to ours. All these friends and family who have the Framework 13 (non-Pro) know to be careful with dropping it. They're still happy with their laptops, as am I.
Knowing my Framework laptop's weak spots helps me keep it in good shape and prevent frustration and unnecessary work. That's a good thing. Given OP has already bought one, this can be a good thing for them too. Especially given they said they are conscious of the cost.
How are you liking Aurora? For some reason I could never get it to sleep/wake properly and every time I opened the lid it almost always required a restart.
This doesn't sound like FUD to me but rather the sad voice of experience.
Surely there has to be SOME tradeoff from not filling in every cubic millimeter with adhesives
Be careful with dropping it. The bottom bends easily.
Nice!
I want to get the 13 Pro (I think), anyone have tips on a dock ? i want to use it as my only PC and want to dock at home.
that's a steal, I mean it, I will steal it from you ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
I'd meant to respond to this but, apparently, forgot.
There is but there are some caveats which may make it unsuitable, for you. MNT Research sells a few different pieces of hardware which are entirely open hardware with the aim to be entirely repairable and modifiable, even more so than Framework (from what I hear). They publish the full spec.s of every component the machines are built with and you can even buy printed copies of the manual which lays out the spec.s of all those components.
One of the caveats is that they use ARM; on the one hand, that means no need for fans as there really isn't any kind of heat build-up but, of course, not everything is available to be built for ARM (you might know this already and I apologize if anything I mention isn't needed).
The other caveat is that the laptops are a tad chunky (mostly to make rooting around in the innards to swap parts and fix things easier); some people don't mind that but I figure I ought to make note.
The new one they're working on, but haven't released yet (they ship the earliest in July, though, so coming up), are somewhat more slim, though: https://www.crowdsupply.com/mnt/mnt-reform-next. But it's really a matter of relativity.
I'd heard that they were kind of slow but that the newest CPU they got for the upcoming device reaches levels comparable with other laptops? I'm very much out of my depth in that area, though.
Lastly, I'm going to go out on a limb and assume, based off your instance, that you're family and, so, mention that the CEO is genderqueer (Mastodon account at https://mastodon.social/@mntmn). So you do get the added benefit of supporting a Queer-owned business which I don't think even Framework offers.
I don't own anything by them so you may want to read up on some reviews or lurk forums, first, but it definitely is as committed to right-to-repair and interchangeability/upgradability of components and also deeply committed to open-source.
theres a one piece keyboard and a one piece touchpad, but they still come off pretty easily which you wouldn't want in a beefier version.
I'm using an old Thinkpad right now, but would be ok with a no-keyboard laptop plus a separate keyboard, whether wired or Bluetooth. Framework has always seemed kind of meh to me despite the good intentions.
Oh, didn't they make a new fw16 top plate that's all one piece? Or is that not released yet?
I meant reduced modularity for the sake of increased durability, because the keyboard and touchpad modules on the fw 16 are more liable to come loose and let dust in. the 13 would just need a new chassis, but I was talking about the 16.
For this kind of contingency, cable management is a far better solution. I mean go wild, buy a toughbook for all i care. But your wife/cat will find a way to wreck that too, if you don't set it up to avoid trip hazards.
Wut
Or if you have cats or a clumsy partner that trips over the Ethernet cable, dropping it 1 meter in a very-much-not-an-oil-rig type of home office with tile floors
Isn't the framework 12 made sturdy?
Yeah I tend to agree. Framework is going after the consumer enthusiast market.
The Thinkpad is rugged because employees don't take care of laptops that they didn't pay for. Businesses aren't going to pay someone at $50-80/hr to upgrade the RAM in 3000 laptops. They're just going to send them to ewaste or auction and buy all new ones from their stupid Dell Vender.
@vhstape @paper_mint After my HP, I am either buying System76 or Framework.