Although the framework laptop is amazing in terms of how it is designed (so easy to repair and upgrade), it is really expensive for what it provides. For example the Slimbook Executive 16 is a beast. The CPU and dedicated GPU are far superior to even the most expensive (over 2k) Framework. And a much bigger screen.

I was thinking these days about this idea of the Framebook. I love it, but let's be honest about some things. For laptops most of the time what you need to upgrade are the RAM and storage space. Most of the time, by far. And most laptops allow you to do that quite easily.

Battery? Yeah, after a few years of use is good to be able to renew it. Many laptops still allow for that. The Slimbook sells batteries too so likely it is not that hard to replace.

What else? CPU/GPU? Framework is the only one that allows you to upgrade the CPU with the integrated GPU, HOWEVER you basically replace the entire motherboard for a massive price.

What else? Webcam? Maybe if Framework will provide better webcams in the future can be worth upgrading. However personally I do not use the webcam of the laptop. The rest are not really important unless something breaks.

So in terms of real upgradability, at least for my case, it makes no difference if I were to buy a Slimbook. How many times one wants to replace a monitor hinge? The screen? .... and if you really need a new screen it is likely yours broke so it is already an issue and takes time to replace. I bet is not that hard with the Slimbook.

The expansion cards of the Framework.

OK.

A 16inch super powerful laptop like the Slimbook Executive 16 seems to be the perfect one for me in all regards. But to buy it with all I need, it would be around 2k Euros. This is an enormous amount of money for me. Maybe next year close to when TROM II will be released or after, I can make a donation campaign to maybe get some help :D - my goal is to move all of my work for TROM and all of the children projects, from a bulky and poorly built laptop, and a shoe-box full of HDDs, to a portable and powerful laptop. For example a powerful CPU allows me to more quickly make ISOs for TROMjaro. Now I have to wait around 40-50 minutes for one to be done and I normally make several a month to test stuff.

And ofc, doing videos, books-design, so many files that I have, server management and moving of files, and testing stuff in VMs for TROMjaro, takes a lot of power.

I would love to take all of the mess I have right now in terms of hardware, and squeeze it into a well built laptop that I can take with me anywhere.

Let's see....but it is good to do a lot of research before buying such super expensive devices. And mind you, I would not buy anything if it were not for managing so much stuff/projects and having so many files and the need for a powerful computer + me moving at the end of the next year, hopefully in a motorhome. Most tech is still BS in my view. I do not need a 2k or 4k screen since it makes no difference for a 16inch monitor. I also do not need a beefy computer that is well beyond my use. Or fancy shit.

Ok. Done. :)

For the newcomers to the fediverse (mastodon and such) let me tell you a dark secret about this network. They tell you that you can choose any instance (server) and join the network. It is true, but what they do not tell you is that these instances cut ties with other instances quite often, so if you join instance X, is not like you can connect to everyone in this network. It fully depends on what the boss of this instance (the admin) wants to let you connect with.

And you never know much about these.

Therefore if your friend joined the instance Z and you are on the instance X, you may not be able to connect with your friend and you'll have no idea why. In that regards it is less transparent and more awful than Twitter.

Please tell instance admins to stop cutting ties with other instances. Tell them to keep their house clean without telling you who you can call from their house.

Twitter is like a massive apartment building controlled by 1 boss. And this boss is motivated by money. And the building is full of crappy shit, like marketers, ads, they knock on your door with offers. You don't feel at home. You feel controlled. You know you have no power.

The fediverse is like a network of hippies that let you in their own houses and tell you that you can connect to any other house out there, talk to any friend you want. And if you do not like this house, you can pack your stuff and move. But it is deceiving. You may try to call your friend from the other house, only to realize you cannot. You think it may be a phone-line issue, but in fact the hippie home boss intentionally cut the connection to that house, without you even knowing it. It is a shady practice and entirely non-transparent. And if you want to move, you realize you can't move your favorite furniture, the bed, the clothes, and your belongings. You can just move your address somewhere else. And your belongings will stay at the other house. Thus, moving, is hard.

Welcome to the Internet.

The best network is a decentralized one, where your account is local and there are no servers. But the fediverse is still great for now. However be aware of such things....

It is funny to me that people feel outrage by Musk buying Twitter and then flock to the fediverse, but were not outraged by Twitter's ads, complete control over their accounts, data collection and so on. Maybe they should understand that first, so that they know what to stay away from.

Also it is worth mentioning, Musk is not the problem here. The system that creates Musk is the issue. It was Bill Gates, and Zucky, and before were oil-giants, and bankers, and royal families and so forth.... Musk is not the one we should throw rocks at, but the system of trade is. This global insane system that all it wants from us is to trade this for that, giving rise to businesses, inequality, waste, billionaires, useless products, data collection, ads and so forth.

That being said, welcome to the fediverse and understand that this network is going to be ok only if we keep it away from trades. As soon as any federated platform will start asking something in return from you, like your data, attention, currency, freedom and so forth (trade), shit will hit the fan. Big instances have enormous power in this network too. They can de-federate and stop communicating with other instances, and slap a monthly fee on their own instance, or insert ads and who knows what.

So, the fediverse is great right now, since it is mostly made up of honest instances - different people from around the world creating their own instances. However more and more such people (admins) are cutting ties with other instances from a lack of thicker skin (knee jerk reactions), so in time, the network will grow divided and broken.

The fediverse should, in my view, be seen as a network-protocol. You can have your own instance and manage it (whatever rules you have) but never cut ties with other instances. This way we can all connect with each other, and your home (your instance) is still as clean as you want it to be. But if I am on your instance, let me connect to whoever the hell I want. It is not your business, dear admin, who my friends are, as long as I personally respect the rules of your instance.

Ok.

I was so impressed by that Fujitsu laptop that I convinced my parents to replace their shitty full-on plastic and hard-to-open and upgrade laptops with those Fujitsu ones. My father will have that 100 Euro model I was writing about. And my mother a similar model but with 8GB of RAM, 180 GB SSD and a core i5-4a. For 200 Euros. So almost double the power. In the same format. We should get it this week.

Overall, and so far, I love these laptops. Super easy to upgrade, fix, and clean. Took me some 10 minutes to access the Disk and RAMs from my father's old computer, but around 20 seconds for the new one. That's the difference. Not only they are easy to fix, repair, and upgrade or clean, but they are sturdy enough. Top lid and top part where the keyboard is are metal.

They are also very Linux friendly. Everything works out of the box. The screen is decent. No webcam tho. Perhaps that's better for privacy, they don't use webcams anyway.

Anyhow, I love these laptops for the package: good build quality, easy to deal with them, linux friendly, and cheap as hell. 300 Euros for 2 laptops + 1 year warranty is not at all bad,