Technology

That's the Framework logo. People have been talking about them a bit on here, as they're relatively-modular, as laptops go.

I like the general idea, but they don't really make the things that I care about modular. They let you:

• Pick a keyboard layout. Okay, but this is basically available for other laptops. I'm just gonna get their US layout.

• Pick little blocks that provide ports, like Ethernet or USB-A or DisplayPort or USB-C or audio. That's not bad, but I'm broadly okay with the ports on a laptop today. It might be slightly nicer to pick exactly where they are or have another USB-C port, but for my needs, not a big issue. This one is their big selling point, and for some people, I can believe that it's a really big deal.

• Discrete video or no. That's also fine, but a lot of vendors provide this option.

• If one chooses a smaller keyboard on a larger laptop, spacers, which can be an LED array. That's pretty unique, but I don't know what I'd use it for. You can also get a numpad or "macropad", but, again, not something that I'd use; if I'm gonna use macros, I'm gonna run them chorded off the main keyboard and keep my hands there. The numpad does say that it supports N-key rollover (NKRO), which could be a point for people playing certain video games, as you can have more keys down at once than a keyboard with a grid encoder, but doesn't really affect me.

• There also isn't soldered-on memory or such, which is nice in terms of not paying a premium for it, but then, you're also paying a premium for the laptop in the first place.

I'd like more battery size and a Thinkpad-style Synaptics (mechanical buttons) touchpad. But those aren't options that they make modular.