💾 Archived View for sbg.one › gemlog › 2021 › 2021-11-14-framework-laptop-update.gmi captured on 2022-04-29 at 11:11:12. Gemini links have been rewritten to link to archived content
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2021-11-14
A few days ago the Framework laptop was shipped via FedEx and arrived the next day which was last Friday. I don't have many good things to say about FedEx and how the delivery went, but I'll save that for another time.
Thankfully, I did get the laptop and all the contents were there and undamaged.
After getting it inside, I opened it up, did a quick inspection and inventory and then took off for lunch. I didn't want to get to playing with it right away because it was still rather cold. I wanted to wait for it warm up to room temperature first.
Once I arrived back home I started to assemble the parts such as removing the bottom, captive screws and popping off the keyboard. Then I used the built in pull-tab to remove the ribbon cable to fully disassemble the the keyboard from the chassis. Very nice to have that pull tab!
Then I installed the wifi card, RAM, and M.2 SSD and put it all back together. I then grabbed my USB drive with ArcoLinux and proceeded to boot it for the first time and install the operating system. Immediately I had a problem trying to get the system to start the install from the USB drive. The BIOS recognized the drive but wouldn't boot from it. Rebooting and getting into the BIOS I had to disable secure boot and retry the OS install. This time it worked.
If you buy a Framework laptop and plan to install Linux, check the secure boot status is the BIOS first.
After that the install process went smoothly and ArcoLinux with the Awesome WM was installed and running well. The only real issue I have so far is the 3:2 screen size. In my post about this laptop a couple of months ago I mentioned I was looking forward to this size. As it turns out 3:2 isn't the most popular size these days and Linux doesn't handle resolutions and DPI for a 3:2 screen very well. More of a Linux problem than a Framework problem from what I've been reading.
I'm able to get around most of the tiny resolution stuff by increasing font sizes and view zooms. But my panel bar is super tiny. Its Polybar and I'm sure there is a way to make it larger. I'll look into it sometime later.
Otherwise, the laptop is all setup and configured to my standards that I use on my main desktop PC. Everything is working well and I'm pleased with the performance so far.
I like the feel of the keys and keyboard, and it's a backlit one to boot. Installing the expansion cards was simple and felt solid. I chose to use the USB-C (which is needed for power), 2 USB-A cards, and a microSD card.
The microSD card slot already came in handy today. I needed to reorganize some files between two microSD cards and inserted one into the slot and the other into my USB-A adapter and connected it. Then I was able to do the work I needed between the two cards without having to use my internal storage drive as a mediator drive.
The screen looks good and is rich in color and bright enough too. The power adapter is USB-C as I mentioned and has a transformer brick in the middle and a standard AC plug at the end of the other cord. I like this very much so that I don't have to plug a giant brick directly into the wall or power strip taking up space and covering other outlets.
The trackpad is also very nice. It's quite responsive and is very much like an Apple MacBook trackpad. The built-in speaker(s) aren't that great sounding, but then again I never expect much from laptop speakers. I mean you can only do so much with such a small space and small speakers. If I want really good sound from it I'll hook up my DAC, amp and some good headphones.
I've used it on battery power for several hours too and it seems to hold it's charge well. Of course, YMMV on battery drain depending on your usage. I don't render video, audio or watch much videos on it so my drain rate should be respectable by comparison.
Overall I am well pleased with the build quality of this laptop. I'm glad I bought one and can recommend it to others as well.