A battery bank for us to re-use our old FW13, FW16, etc. batteries!
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Cover for the 12 on tablet mode would be amazing.
A joystick that can be configured for either hand alike. I had a Saitek Cyborg once, and to put it mildly, there was room for improvement. For starters, it goes straight up, no way to tilt it in either direction, and that gets painful after a few hours. The hand rest, or whatever it is called, was way too small, and all between it and the bone was the skin. Also painful. The spring for the z-axis deformed with age introducing a bias to the right and also putting up much more resistance to the left than right, if I remember correctly. It was impossible to make subtle movements because to do any movement, you had to transition from static to kinetic friction because it used a single spring to bring it into neutral. And for good measure, it used a potentiometer. I know of a single device (Thrustmaster something something) that is symmetric and of better build quality, but of course with all the problems arising from that static symmetry. Maybe not much potential for expansion cards, but in terms of repairability, I think there is.
Somewhat related: a mouse that can detect in which hand it is held, and configure its buttons accordingly. Would make sharing a mouse between lefties and righties more convenient. Very useful e.g. in educational settings where sometimes two persons share a machine.
This reminds me of an idea of mine: a convertible with 3 segments. All the computer parts would be in the middle, display at one end and battery/PSU at the other. In laptop mode, the hinges at the power side would be in front. To bring it into tablet mode from a closed position, you would turn both hinges by 360 degrees, and the power segment would shield the keyboard against accidental key presses. I did not know tent mode at the time, I guess that could be achieved as a triangle. Another aspect: at the time, Apple was just granted a patent to “construct a laptop wedge-shaped” or something like that, and I wanted to see if I can come up with something that resembles a laptop, achieves some inclination (by building the power unit wedge shaped) and still stay clear of the patent. Either arguing it is not a laptop, or if the power segment is detachable, that the laptop is not wedge shaped.
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well this might be a third party thing I’m not sure but, I was thinking a cover that can hold and charge the stylus that use can use in any mode. I’m not sure how that could be possible though.
Okay, I changed my answer. I’m shopping for a USB4/TB4 dock and can’t find anything I want. Looking at Framework’s modularity, I think there’s an opportunity to make a dock that doesn’t suck.
For example, my HP Thunderbolt 3 G2 dock has a built-in TB3 cable. It has started to fray and not respond. Because of this, I am considering replacing it. Its eco-friendly design is poor; I can’t replace the TB3 cable without throwing the entire thing out.
Framework could offer modularity, which should mean selectable ports and replaceable cables. With a Framework Dock, I can better my existing FW13 while also expanding the capabilities of my work laptop.
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Pretty sure cable is actually replaceable it is just screwed in on the device side. If you are happy with its functionality replacing the cable is probably the better move.
Thanks man, new TB3 cable ordered so I appreciate the suggestion… I still think a FW Dock would be sick.
I was talking to my friend on having CD ROM on laptop. Wait, it’s not about CD ROM, it’s a PCIE extension in the similar package. Push to open it up, where small gpu can mount on and the port charged with a usb-c port? The whole thing may need 3 power plugs to work (I am not sure) but, you know, just an idea.
That sounds like Oculink? They have that on the FW16.
Oculink has 4 lanes right? What if they can fit more lanes, or a full x16?
On the FW16, the cpu has 8 pcie lanes available. So there is a oculink 8i lanes.
The cpu does not have 16 lanes available, so cannot do 16i.
Various people have compared thunderbolt vs 4i and 8i oculink.
Thunderbolt to 4i: noticable improvement in performance and lower latency.
4i to 8i: hardly any noticable improvement for games.
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What you ask for is currently hideously expensive to boot. And I mean that even in context of the price premium paid for eGPU gaming. Perhaps the price will come down over time.
I would love to see Framework develop a NAS specific unit… and have it in a box able to handle a LOT of drives, and not come with software (so we could load our own like HEXOS)
Framework should make Robo-vacuums!
- Can be designed as a modular assembly
- A sector with a few top dogs that all struggle with long-term satisfaction
- Growing sector with lots of opportunity for innovation
- Customers are already paying prices in line with Framework’s current product lines
- Framework does not need to make software
- Open-source software like Valetudo are full of features and can be collaborated with, like Framework has with Linux distros
I think Robovacuums would align with the current customer base and expose Framework to a sector of the market that currently straddles the tech enthusiast and the ‘normal’ consumer bases. This is the perfect product line to get Framework in front of a broader audience.
They would provide a better unit with more flexibility, no software lockdowns or security risks, and long-term repairability for expensive home tech.
Absolutely not! There was already a modular, repairable robo-vacuum on the market for a couple decades, iRobot. But cheap Chinese products have flooded that market too much, compounded with iRobot forgetting how to innovate, leading to their downfall. That market is now flooded with overpriced, disposable trash bots. I do, however, still use two iRobot roombas in my house mainly because all the parts are easy to replace.
For the laptop 13, offer a dedicated USB enclosure for the removable keyboard and trackpad, allowing them to be used as an external input device.
This would let users place the display at eye level while keeping the keyboard in a comfortable position on the desk.
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At a very simple level, I really like the Grey/Black keyboard option for the new Laptop 13 Pro and would really love a version of it for my FW16. It looks great, and far too often when I’m using my laptop intermittently while doing other things (such as watching TV) as well, particularly in low light, I end up hitting the F12 key instead of the DEL key or sometimes the ESC key on my numpad. Stronger visual clues would be great. I haven’t risked pulling keys of my current keyboard to see if replacement keys would be an option or if a whole keyboard would be necessary, but this is my small suggestion.
Quick Idea, make a USB KVM extension card, Really useful for sysadmins, a simple one with just thunderbolt and one with VGA since thats common on servers (though IPMI is likely integrated to then)
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Or networking equipment. There is really a lack of switches with opensource firmware/oses. Does not have to be large enterprise gear just somthing smaller for the home.