Hi guys, first things first, I want to praise framework for what they do. I really love the idea of repairable laptop and I’ll buy one when available in Czechia.
I also have one suggestion for them (I hope I am in the right category):
when I use cable mouse, keyboard, headphones or want to charge my phone, I don’t necessarily need high power output (I couldn’t find the actual numbers but I remember it being quite a lot). So, what about combining it all together?
the idea is to buy 2 slots, both of them with ability to output max power from 1 of the usb (preferably Type-C) and put them all the way to the back, so they can also make room for more air/better cooling (cause 2 usb A “too thick” - I had to underlay all my laptops I ever had while playing games because it would overheat/be unnecessarily loud, so I would appreciate expansion card/air support 2 in 1. Also I just got a design idea - make the bottom of those expansion cards triangular, so the weight is distributed evenly and isn’t on the edge, which would probably damage the slots/slot connections over time.)
(I know this is Framework 13 but I got this idea while watching a video about it)
Also @FrameworkWebDesigners please make the full guide easily accessible. Idk if I am blind or if it just doesn’t exist but I couldn’t find any good old pdf file with everything about all parts. Or maybe it’s because I was looking for it at 0:30 AM…
I’m not sure if I understand what you’re describing, but I think you’re suggesting a double-height card which contains two USB A ports, one USB C port, and 3.5mm audio jack. And because it’s double-height, it would prop the laptop up a bit and give better air circulation underneath - but you would have to buy two of them so that the laptop has this tall foot on both sides.
I think it would be better for it to be more like the ethernet card, where it goes out and up a bit
also i think they should do more cards with that form factor, so the ethernet card isnt the odd one out.
combo jacks are an easy choice for it like suggested here, but an idea i had would be that the extra length could let you make an m.2 2230 (or even 2242 depending on if theres enough space) to effectively make a DIY expansion card. there would still be a market for the existing storage cards obviously (due to slightly smaller form factor and the fact you dont have to bring an ssd and its more plug and play)
i think also you can get a usb-a + audio combo to fit into the regular expansion card (which i personally believe framework should have done but i get why they might not have)
this gave me an idea: imagine something along the lines of 20 degree elevation for the laptop, and the 2 slots I originally “invented” would be second from the back (so the middle ones, and ofc with more combinations than only USB A, C and Jack).
And in the back there would be something like the classical ACASIS hub, with sim card slot, 2 SD card sizes (with posibility to insert even smaller ones with those card holders), one SD/SIM slot, at least 2 USB A from the side/back, 2 USB C, ethernet cable, Jack 3.5 and jack 6.35, HDMI, DP, and, most importantly, 1 M.2 disc slot with 2 tiny super quiet fans at the bottom (with like 2mm air gap and 4 of those corner-legs, idk how to call them).
I understand that this is probably little too much, and that there are now other priorities, but I would appreciate more models/literally a way to BUILD YOUR OWN SLOT like a lego. Imagine being able to use headphones for more people on 1 laptop, or just not having to buy any other hubs at all.
soo please explain me 2 things because I don’t get them.
now us ethernet the odd one out?
I see no logical reason begins not making usb A/Jack mix, as far as I know thunderbolt is faster than usb A 3.2 so it wouldn’t even limit those already insane speeds
its not the same form factor as the others, it extends beyond the laptop and goes up to be level with the keyboard (to accomodate the larger port on the ethernet card)
i think its more that they didnt to begin with. if they made an audio + usb-a card then the standalone audio is effectively redundant, and it also adds pressure from a part of the community to make more combo jacks. the first issue is really just due to not really thinking of that (since the 13 had audio builtin) and the second would possibly be solved if they made combo jacks in the form factor of an ethernet card, as it gives more space for ports
There are some problems with a double-height card that protrudes below the laptop bottom.
You must have two of them at all times. This immediately reduces the flexibility of your laptop because you can’t take just one of those cards out and put a single-height card in. You must have both of them in, or none of them in. If you take just one out, the laptop becomes unstable, like a table with a missing foot.
With the double-height cards protruding below the laptop bottom, it will be uncomfortable to use on your lap.
It may be more awkward to fit into a sleeve or laptop bag.
I also think it’s far too niche for Framework to build it. Framework are a small company with limited capital. When considering bringing any new product to the market they would have to weigh the magnitude of work and cost involved against the number of sales they can expect, and in this case I doubt return on investment would be considered acceptable.
I’m specifically talking about double-height cards that protrude below the laptop, because that’s what the OP is talking about. I’ll edit my post to make that clear.
Do you know those little tiny otg things? like from USB A to USB C and so on.
All we need is someone to make an expansion card where you can put any 4 of these (it would be the middle one with triangle at the bottom for support - as I mentioned above)
so we could make any 4 piece combo with USB A, C, Mini, Micro, Jack 3.5/2.5/1.5, Lightning, Small SIM/SD or any other connector that would fit in.
Also making custom ones that are bigger (Ethernet/USB B would take 2 slots that are above each other, bigger memory cards would take 2 that are next to each other…) would be an awesome bonus.
Also I highly doubt this would be hard. @Framework just make a 4 USB C expansion card and then all of those little otg things
It literally improves your flexibility because you’ll have 4 in one. Also, as I said, all of them should be able to use maximum power if only ones of them is used and the connector supports it (I doubt that Micro USB would ever used as much power as USB C, so there just use the best connector available. Or give people the ability to choose, but I think that wouldn’t make sense concidering how little impact (to my knowleage) would it have on the price.
Use hard paper desk or how is it called. They are like 3mm tick and work well.
Then just disconnect it while carrying. Or improve your backpack-packing/organisation skills.
to the last point that I forgot to mention: they can just make 100 of each otg expansion piece. If they could make a deal with some good company, it would be reealy cheap to make.
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