Framework as a brand hardware ecosystem? (specifically docking stations)

Framework Laptop 13
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Looking at the docking station megathread, as a layperson, I am left asking questions more than having them answered.

  • “Okay, this is reported to work on Windows, but how about Linux?”
  • “Oh, this one works on Linux, but not every part of it is tested.”
  • “This one is good, but it’s Thunderbolt 3!”
  • “This one is Thunderbolt 4, but its testing notes are very vague and only talks about one thing.”
  • etc.

And so I was left waiting until a better docking station came along so as to not waste money. But then I thought: wouldn’t it be nice if Framework had made a docking station?

So I wonder if or when Framework will come out and make a docking station, one that uses open standards, of course, but is designed to work with Framework laptops.

And as for the broader topic in the title, how do you feel about various Framework branded hardware? Just some thoughts on the top of my head:

  • curved desktop display
  • desktop keyboards
    • tenkeyless mechanical keyboards
  • mouses
  • etc.
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Admittedly, several of these megathreads would be much better if we had some sort of proper wiki, which has been requested several times. We have wiki entries on this site, but they’re really just forum posts which anyone can edit, which is admittedly not the same thing.

As for a Framework-branded docking station, I’m not personally aware of any plans at this time for them to release such a thing, though now that they’ve gotten the initial launch completed and deployed their web store to purchase parts, it’s not out of the question.

That said, if they did such a thing I doubt it would be original hardware, at least to start with. They might be able to get a white labeling deal for a Thinkpad dock or something along these lines, but I’m not sure if they have the resources to spare for designing an open dock from the ground up, not to mention the driver support.

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They asked in October what they should build next. I personally advocated for them to build a modular dock that uses the same expansion cards as the laptop.

I hope they consider it.

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