My dream of a new device

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I could imagine that if clockworkpi and HackerGadgets were to collaborate on building a modular, open-source (mini-) laptop, it could also be a commercial success for end customers.

I still miss the good old ThinkPads, where even the charging port could be replaced individually and there was a hardware maintenance manual with over 200 pages.

Such a device could then – assuming it had standard hardware components – also be recommended to laypeople as a sustainable, solid and flexible work tool.

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now there is a “framework laptop”

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Thanks, but perhaps that’s taking modularity a bit too far. Forty-five bucks for a single Ethernet port. A simple configuration aims at 1,000. And it doesn’t seem to be open source either.

Last but not least a designed piece like this doesn’t have the visual charm of a uConsole or an old ThinkPad.

I’ll continue dreaming… :winking_face_with_tongue:

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sure, new thinkpads were (are) definitely cheaper

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Of course not. But they were ThinkPads.

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Thinkpads aren’t exactly open source either, framework is a lot closer to that ideal than a thinkpad.

And the uconsole has nice labels claiming to be open source, but if you actually dig in it’s not as open as they claim either with missing stuff

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I know all that.

Nevertheless, I still consider the old ThinkPads to be unrivalled to this day. And the technical appeal of an aluminium made uConsole is closer to my heart than any laptop where I can swap proprietary adapters.

I wish I hadn’t told anyone about my dream… :joy: