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[–] 229 points 5 months ago (3 children)

A lot of people who are aware of Framework are linux users, and the average non-techie user probably doesn't even know they exist.

Also:

Framework calls the Laptop 13 Pro “A laptop for Linux” in its official marketing, adding that it “is designed and tested for Linux compatibility from the ground up”.

If you market your product to linux users, surely you will attract a lot of linux users.

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  • [–] 48 points 5 months ago* (1 child)

    i had a whinge in the comment section of a recent ArsTechnica article where they reviewed a bunch of Laptops and not one from Framework or Tuxedo haha

    I have my eye on a Framework Pro 13 but really don't need it, i mostly desktop. I don't Laptop much and just use an old MS Surgace Pro7+ with LMDE installed.

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  • [–] 91 points 5 months ago (25 children)

    Linux is legit pretty easy now comparable to Windows. It's application preferences and familiarity that keeps people at bay. New to computer user, I don't think they'd struggle anymore with a gnome or kde linux desktop than with windows. to do the regular stuff people do. Browse the internet. Save their photos/documents in some folders

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  • [–] 49 points 5 months ago (12 children)

    I would guess literally 99% of people could switch to Linux Mint and be more than happy.

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  • [–] 13 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (6 children)

    I installed Cinnamon the other day, because I remembered it to be easy to use. It is.

    But. It looks dated to me. Could really use a facelift. Maybe it's just me, but in light of modern user interfaces Cinnamon is functional, but not a looker anymore. Zorin OS and Gnome in general, for example, show how it can be done.

    Maybe just me...

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  • [–] 9 points 5 months ago (4 children)

    No, it's not just you. Mint and Ubuntu get thrown around a lot by people recommending them to new users, and they're fine, but they are a bit dated.

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  • [–] 30 points 5 months ago (11 children)

    The grapuh of Linux suitability as a function of user skill is a U. At the bottom of user skill, you've got your aunt who needs a Chrome bootloader. Linux is perfect for them, maybe better than Windows.

    As you get into the middle, you get into "I just need to use Photoshop" or "I just want to play Valorant". It's gotten to where software that doesn't run on Linux is a deliberate choice, but they're still out there. Gaming has been easing up in large part due to Valve, so the middle of the U has been rising, but it's still a big dip.

    At the top end you've got the computer science types developing all these internet and AI based systems almost all of which run on Linux servers in the back end. Linux dominates literally every computing platform except desktops.

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  • [–] 16 points 5 months ago (5 children)

    Very good analogy, only would say there's a wide range of creative people who are stuck with windows/mac because of compatibility in their field. They can be quite highly skilled but you can't escape the industry standards.

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  • [–] 12 points 5 months ago

    At the bottom of user skill, you’ve got your aunt who needs a Chrome bootloader. Linux is perfect for them, maybe better than Windows.

    My school system had thin clients running CentOS growing up and nobody had issues.

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  • [–] 75 points 5 months ago* (1 child)

    Not surprising, the venn diagram of people who would buy a Framework (or even know it exists) and people who would choose an open source OS (or even know they exist) overlaps quite a bit, I imagine.

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  • [+] 58 points 5 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (9 children)
  • [–] 28 points 5 months ago (6 children)

    True, but don’t they also sell a no os edition?

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  • [–] 21 points 5 months ago (5 children)

    Not anymore. Ubuntu replaced the no OS option.

    Also curiously the only Windows option is Pro. Before you had Home or Pro.

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  • [–] 18 points 5 months ago (1 child)

    Not anymore. Ubuntu replaced the no OS option.

    It's only Windows and None, they've replaced the pre-installed Ubuntu with an installation guide.

    From FAQ:

    You can choose the operating system that best fits your needs, Windows 11 and Linux are both supported. For Linux, Ubuntu and Fedora are officially supported with installation guides, and the Framework Community offers additional setup guides for many other distributions; other operating systems like OpenBSD may also work but are community-supported.

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  • [–] 17 points 5 months ago*

    Not quite, no. Their DIY edition displays the options as you show, but if you select prebuilt then the options include Ubuntu.

    I assume with DIY they offer Windows only as a quick way to acquire a license, it may not even be installed. Not sure if anyone can confirm if thet just throw in a Windows USB.

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  • [–] 11 points 5 months ago (1 child)

    When I was looking for laptops regular laptops came out cheaper. I couldn't justify the cost of a framework at the time.

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  • [–] 16 points 5 months ago

    Yeah, they're not the cheapest but that's because of their goals.

    Designing with reparability and upgradeability in mind means more bespoke parts which cost more versus existing component assemblies in the market. That means more costly tooling and development, with smaller production runs than say a company like HP or Dell (which also costs more).

    They actually sell the components and parts at reasonable pricing, and more importantly... designed with end user repairs in mind. So instead of everything being soldered to the main oard, different components are on separate subboards that can be replaced or upgraded separately. And include easy repair guides, a screwdriver in the box, and even extra screws pre installed in the chassis when you inevitably lose one.

    Where possible, newer hardware they release can still be used on older models. Sometimes working 100%, sometimes with some limited capability depending on older system limitations. For instance, they just updated the 16" model and added an RTX 5070 GPU option, which you can purchase separately and pop into your old Framework 16 without needing to get a whole new system. Likewise, the same with the new mainboard/CPU in your old chassis. Or the new Laptop 13 2.8K Touchscreen which can be installed in every previous Laptop 13 model other than the Chromebook.

    Very few laptop manufacturers get close to that kind of repairability and upgradeability, and that does come with a cost.

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  • [–] 47 points 5 months ago* (6 children)

    does not surprise me. Framework appeals to users, who love DIY. The same applies for Linux.

    If you‘re not into Linux/DIY, MacBook gives you a much better offering for the same price. If you‘re a masochist wanting Windows, you simply have smooth other options for lower price.

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  • [–] 18 points 5 months ago (3 children)

    Honestly I'm surprised they ever didn't have a Linux first stance. Its literally the perfect fucking user base for em.

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  • [–] 22 points 5 months ago

    They always were Linux-friendly. Some hardware choices like the fingerprint reader were directly related to Linux compatibility. Firmware and UEFI updates have always been available on Linux. They sponsor a lot of FOSS projects (some of them unfortunately linked to nazi dipshits, stirring a lot of controversy, but 99% of them are clean).

    They may not have explicitely advertised Linux before, but they dropped a lot of hints.

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  • [–] 15 points 5 months ago

    When they started out, Linux had a lot less mindshare than it has now. Also Microsoft will absolutely retaliate against you, if you promote anything but their crapware. For a small manufacturer that can be a problem.

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  • [–] 14 points 5 months ago

    They've always designed around ensuring good Linux support with their component choices and support of fwupd, but their marketing focused on being repairable and upgradable, unlike companies like System76, who explicitly sell their laptops as Linux laptops. It seems they've recently started advertising their Linux support more, possibly due to their partnership to have Ubuntu pre-installed, possibly due to seeing just how many Linux users they already had or possibly due to the number of people switching from Windows to Linux.

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    [–] 42 points 5 months ago (1 child)

    And they say Microslop only does bad things lately. What do you call more people switching to Linux to avoid their enshitification, if not a good thing?

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  • [–] 40 points 5 months ago (11 children)

    Framework computers aren't really targeted at the average consumer.

    It makes sense that the kind of people who value hardware which they can easily and freely maintain and upgrade also value software which they can easily and freely maintain and upgrade.

    For sure Linux being a free option vs Windows being a paid for one also helps.

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    [–] 39 points 5 months ago

    Company when marketing works

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  • [–] 34 points 5 months ago (1 child)

    I'm so happy Framework appears to be doing well.

    I've already replaced the keyboard of my 5yo OG 13 and plan to Frankenstein this thing as long as I can. I secretly hope the mainboard fails so I'm forced to upgrade.

    Maybe after RAM prices recover...

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    [–] 33 points 5 months ago (6 children)

    Another sign its The Year Of Linux. Yes I said it. Someone had to!

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    [–] 31 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (6 children)

    I wonder how many would just do it for the extra discount and then use massgrave

    Edit:

    I went to watch their prices for the diy series

    • Win 11 home is +145€
    • Win 11 pro is +259€
    • Ubuntu is free

    (Preinstalled, is +220 € for win 11 pro or free Ubuntu, can't get win home edition if preinstalled)

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  • [–] 9 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

    Who knows. Their target group is usually perfectly capable of installing an OS themselves. But Framework is also a popular hardware brand among Linux users, because their hardware is already built with Linux in mind. If you look at their forum, it does not feel like everyone is just installing Windows on their hardware.

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    [–] 20 points 5 months ago (6 children)

    Wow, I was surprised that their release video leaned so much into Linux. They said that this is a response to user feedback. That reminded me of when there was a lot of ask for one-handable phone but their sales were too small. So glad to see it has paid off for framework.

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    [–] 17 points 5 months ago (6 children)

    I can't wait to be able to buy the chassis so I can drop my existing 13 mainboard in. That black chassis is sexy.

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  • [–] 17 points 5 months ago (5 children)

    Heads up if you are replacing the bottom part of the chassis for the pro version you also need to buy the new pro battery, audio adapter and the new pro speakers as the old ones are not compatible

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  • [–] 12 points 5 months ago

    I recently bought a used alienware x14 r1 from a co-worker but if I hadn't I would have picked up one of these if I knew about the company. The configurability (and upgradability) is very appealing to me.

    One of these will be my next laptop I think.

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  • [+] 12 points 5 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)
    [–] 9 points 5 months ago

    windows is extra no?

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