It makes me sad to see price bickering over premium thinkpads when I would pay 50% over the asking price for X1 with this configuration. Considering all SKUs Lenovo has… Oh well, they always know best and I will continue despising them as I have been doing since the day they released the T/Xx30 series.
Can’t believe it’s been more than 4 years. Unfortunately it seems the idea that some 3rd party could create a good keyboard with trackpoint module was just wishful thinking. Just revised what I thought about framework before and fast forwarding 4+ years I feel no different. Anyway, the laptop world is over-saturated, we may consider using a proper PC for a change. With good external keyboard with trackpoint produced by clever chinese people who are not lazy enough to consider it “such a niche requirement”.
Maybe you would find this a good read, the history of Thinkpads by one of the designers.
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It’s more a problem of would than could XD
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“The arrow keys are missing the pgup/pgdown for no good reason. Like really, this one is just a weird one. No reason to not have them.“
Fn+Up/Down doers PgUp/PgDn.
In case you didn’t mean the function, but just the indication on the key, at least on this 2nd gen German keyboard it is indicated on the Up/Dn keys.
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That’s a matter of habit or prefernces. I had a Thinkppad many many years ago and positively hated the trackpoint - which also tended to drift.
I’ll swim against the stream of this thread and say that I would consider a trackpoint a counter feature.
If there’s enough demand for Framework to offer this as an option - great. Everybody is happy.
If that were standard without alternative - hell no, I’d be against that. Never understood why anybody would like that annoying trackpoint. But to each their own.
Sometimes when I was typing the touchpad would veer off randomly and irritated the hell out of me. I would find i just typed in the wrong program. You must be a very patient soul to deal with that touchpad, or you don’t write a lot.
For these reasons, the trackpoint is not annoying at all. Btw, you could disable either in bios just as a odd reminder, albeit too late lol.
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Hmm, I didn’t think the presence of a trackpoint actively bothered anyone. Is it a tactile thing, feeling it while typing? The trackpoint caps are removable. They sell replacements. So you could remove it, thought with it removed it gives a bit of a look as if your keyboard is damaged. You might also be able to shave down the top of the cap some with a razor.
I purposely never attempted to learn to use a trackpoint, as I didn’t want to start liking, maybe even relying on something which is only available on certain models from a couple brands.
That isn’t a bad thought, although touchpads still have their quirks as said above.
Sometimes when I was typing the touchpad would veer off randomly and irritated the hell out of me. I would find i just typed in the wrong program. You must be a very patient soul to deal with that touchpad, or you don’t write a lot.
Funny enough, I had that exact problem with a trackpoint back in the day.
I’m a software developer - I write all day.
Touchpads had palm detection for ages.
For these reasons, the trackpoint is not annoying at all. Btw, you could disable either in bios just as a odd reminder, albeit too late lol.
I found it very annoying. Even if it doesn’t cause drift, it’s an ugly useless thing in the middle of my keyboard.
Of course it would get disabled. But much better to not have it in the first place.
As long as a keyboard with trackpoint is an alternate option - enjoy. Everybody is happy. 
As long as there is only 1 keyboard variant we’re enemies. 
Imma be real, and really honest. Even without trackpoint, the FW13 is a phenomenal switch. Get one now and wait and see if they release one, sure. But the gestures and larger trackpad are nice and comfy. I just throw on a wireless mouse when I need more multitasking etc, but the hardware is also open source so here’s to hoping someone can come up with one anyway!
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@King_INF3RN0 Been having a similar thought lately.
Since my first post here I’ve retired my thinkpad, and gotten a UHK with trackpoint module (and the cluster module which it pairs well with). This thing has satisfied my want for trackpoint and then some. It’s sort of trackpoint on steroids. So, there’s an idea for anyone that may use their framework docked at their desk 90% of the time. UHK is the way forward for die-hard trackpoint fans IMO. There is also the Tex Shenobi keyboard that comes with trackpoint - however it is not nearly as good or as durable as the UHK.
Now that I’ve gotten that covered, I’m back here looking at a 12-13” framework to replace my ultralight laptop that i just use at cafes. Thankfully framework exists (no thanks to me so far) - the new laptop market is kind of dismal if you want to install Linux, what with all the new arm processors.
So, I think it’s time to support FW, even without trackpoints.
If you use it for work, you’re probably docking it all day and can get a third party keyboard.
If you use it casually, you don’t really need it.
That works for me anyway - obviously there are some people that are on the go all the time that like trackpoints, and I feel for them on this issue.
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I just never cared for the trackpad, but preferred a mouse instead. Mice were out well befor tractpads and even a TrackPoint.
That red stick is nice, I also had a thinkpad or two at work.
But using Linux, I disable the trackpad whenever a mouse is connected. That way I don’t get stray taps interfering with my work.
Whoa! I never knew about those. That looks like it beats getting an accessory Thinkpad keyboard by miles. I’ve always wanted an “ergonomic” angled and tilted keyboard with a trackpoint anyways. Thanks for the rec.
How plug-n-play is it vs needing customization and programming?
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Some news from Framework (from 11:01 in the video):
I appreciate that Framework has made what looks like a repeated effort to bring the pointing stick to these laptops. Nirav seems pretty optimistic about eventually being able to make it work with the Framework 16. When it happens, I’ll be switching over as fast as I can.
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Yes sadly lenovo has gone down in quality - probably why we are all in this thread.
The UHK doesn’t need any set up in order to function, but it does have that capability through their cross-platform desktop app. Found it intuitive without much learning curve. Btw, the settings are stored on the keyboard so you can carry your settings over to a new computer and have the keyboard work the same. It’s very ergonomic. I have the plastic tenting now that it comes with but plan to get the metal one. After ~ a year of unconsciously leaning my elbow on the wooden wrist rest, one of the plastic feet finally broke.