Depends on where you live, but here in Canada, PiShop (https://pishop.ca) usually has 4B kits in stock. I haven't seen single boards being available for a long time though.
Just make it hibernate after X time (2 hours for me). There a repo of scripts on github (https://github.com/lightrush/framework-laptop-formula) where you might find information on how to do it. I'm sure it's not a 1 to 1 port to Arch, but it might get you started. Just note I had to disable secure boot for hibernate to work.
I can vouch for the Framework. It doesn't feel beta at all. I'm running Xubuntu 21.10 on it an it rocks. Someone created a repo with salt scripts which works all the kinks of the laptop under Ubuntu. The only thing I needed it for was to fix the touchpad issue after resume from sleep (it would be at max acceleration) and to enable hibernate (just note that you must disable secure boot first). https://github.com/lightrush/framework-laptop-formula
+1 for Framework as well. With recently launching a company, I have been evaluating laptop builds for my soon-to-hire employees. Thinkpads were at the top followed by XPS builds (which have been terribly variable in quality in recent year, unfortunately).
I am now using a Framework as a daily driver w/ Fedora and it is wonderful! Deep sleep needs work still, but everything else is working great. Plus Framework works well with Windows as well.
Hi. OP here. ThinkPads have come up a lot generally in this and other threads. I am definitely considering them too.
The Framework Laptop still has some issues that need ironing out from what I could tell so cannot to commit to them this time round. Will definitely keep an eye on them though.
Anyone else here have the annoying hinge issue where the laptop screen won’t stay up? I even got new hinges and the problem remains… maybe just bad luck. Between that and battery life though I would exercise some caution OP.
I love the framework ethos and plan to continue supporting them but imo they do have kinks to work out.
Haha this is one of the thing I wanted to know about the framework, thanks for the feedback. All of my laptops were still running fine when they became unusable because of the broken plastic structure around the hinges. I managed to fix that on this one using small bolts. I was eyeing towards Framework for my next laptop after this one falls apart wondering how durable it could be. Maybe I'll still buy that if they ever allow us to buy just the plastic case but I am seriously considering the sturdiness of a M1 running Linux. I may have to start to donate to Asahi Linux now as MacOs is a big nono. Or maybe I can find an old intel MPB that runs Linux well ?
Framework has said they are going to release new hinges that are sturdier, and they are extremely easy to swap out. The benefit of the Framework is that any kinks can be easily fixed... still kinks are annoying.
+1 to the Framework as well. My only issue is the aforementioned sleep power draw, but they're a pretty smart group of folks. I'm pretty sure they'll figure this out in time.
I can't vouch from personal experience but the framework is so good that one of my friends is just giving away his old laptop to me, which I think says a lot
I've also gotten a Framework laptop, and am happily running XFCE on Debian testing.
One thing I'm curious about is how other people are handling the resolution of the screen on Linux? It doesn't seem like XFCE currently supports fractional scaling well, so I ended up defining a custom 3:2 resolution and using that to increase the size of everything by about 1.5x.
Battery life on my Framework on Windows is decent. I can get probably 5 hours out of it doing light dev work. Doesn't hold a candle to my work M1 Macbook's battery, but I enjoy using it a lot more.
Actually, it probably isn't that bad if it's well balanced. I own a Meta Quest 2 and I added an external battery at the back of the headstrap because it helps balancing the headset while playing, preventing it from dropping on my nose too much.
I see people have issues with the price tag, and while it is by no mean cheap, since it's actually a full blown computer AND a VR headset all in one, it is somewhat justified. The computer specs match my Framework laptop and the headset is, on paper, on par or better than other high-end VR headsets (and a miles ahead of my Meta Quest 2 and other consumer-grade VR headsets).
We pushed hard on our specs; I appreciate you noticing =] We actually compared the Simula One to the Framework Professional Edition in an earlier post, so the comparison is apt.[1] We have also created a $100 discount code ("DISCOUNT_HN") for this thread to help out somewhat on the price.[2]
It feels strange to be used as a reference point, but we’ll take it! Like other folks on this thread, I’m interested in seeing what you do with Simula One. I agree that it is the sort of ambitious though likely niche product that is worth testing the wide open future of VR with.
Yeah they have a tethered version too, 2x cost. I'm saying if people think the Index is expensive for what it is/was, this thing is way up there. But hey not everyone drives Lamborghinis but that's still a market.
Anyway I preordered one (half up front), I'm down, will practice on my Index in the mean time. I am curious about their choice of Godot in case I ever get to the level to mess with rendering. Would be nice to have curved panels, maybe that snap together vs. floating square ones. Excuse to learn a new language I guess.
Godot was mostly chosen for expedience and hackability. With e.g. StardustXR existing now, it's not impossible we'll do something new down the line.
Curved panels etc are doable. We primarily use Haskell as a "scripting" language for at least some type safety, but it should be fairly manageable to get into.
Sweet. Yeah I am not talking from experience at all. Just think it would be C# or Unity or something cliche like that. Anyway I'm going to try out your Simula repo on my Index.
The stock headset definitely needs to be upgraded for this kind of application.
I own a BoboVR headband with an external battery, which helps balance the weight of the headset. I had the elite strap with external battery and the BoboVR is much more comfortable for me. It’s also leatherette instead of foam, so much easier to clean.
I also have a fan (BoboVR F2) attached to the face mask in order to prevent condensation and overall I get a great experience even when I drip of sweat after exercising.
I do pretty much the same thing. I own a Quest 2 and I play Pistol whip, Thrill of the fight and Moon rider (a free VR game which is played in the browser where you need to hit blocks with your hands synced to music).
The only issue I have with Thrill of the fight is that when I get into it, I hit hard, but find no resistance as I would hitting a punching bad or sparring with someone, so my elbow tends to overextend and I feel some pain for a couple days after playing for about 30 minutes. That’s something that will probably get better over time as I gain more control, but as of now, that’s something I need to be careful of.
If you tie an elastic around your elbow and hold it in your hand or hold one around your back and in both hands, you won't overextend your elbow and it should give you the resistance you are looking for.
I loved Thrill of the Fight.
I sweat like a pig on it.
Too bad I get obsessed with fast knockout punches and my shoulders hurt like hell after a couple of days.
I also learnt the hardway you cannot outrun a bad diet. I would routinely burn 600+ callories in Thrill of the Fight only to get extremely hungry after and eat double what I've burnt.
For me weight training is better than cardio because I don't get the same hunger afterwards, on the countrary, if I do it late in the evening I can't eat at all. I also can't sleep afterwards.
I also became obsessed with shooting/hunting simulators and haven't done any exercise in VR for a long time.
Gaim compact, but it's really pricey(I'm just playng the Demo, still trying to justify the price) or if you're ok with shotgun shooting flying things --skeet/trap/sporting/pigeon/pheasant then Clay Hunt VR -- it's an incredible value for money.
If you're looking at land-hunting, take note that Gaim compact is geared towards european style driven hunting.
Pavlov Vr is free, I only used the firing range (which is much better than Contractors).
I also did play quite a bit of Contractors but right now I just play the Ninja mode, hunting bots with bow&arrow.
I also got Onwards, but given that it's very realistic (you die very fast if shot), it's too slow pace for my liking.
Space Pirates is also really nice, but it's not a simulator.
I was gifted a punching rig for exactly this type of workout a few years ago. You’ll find them around a few types of gyms sometimes (MMA, Military). It’s similar to what was mentioned elsewhere (elastic wrapped around body) except as an actual rig that is adjustable for resistance and reach.
I'm running Xubuntu on mine and it works fine. Battery life goes down pretty quick when sleeping, and battery life is definitely lower than Windows, but I can still get 4-5 hours of actual work on it.
After changing a couple of Group Policy sleep settings in Windows 10, and removing some expansion modules, my framework Laptop uses around 300 mW while asleep. That means it takes the whole night before it drains 5% off the battery (and switches to hibernate). I haven’t yet replicated this in Linux, but I assume it’s possible (someone can correct me if I’m wrong).
Im not sure yet whether it was the settings changes, or certain expansion modules which affect standby drain the most, but I’ve seen forum discussions where people were making progress narrowing it down, and I think the framework peeps were going to look into it. I will do more experimenting today.
Unrelated, but I have been most impressed with the framework guys already adding two BIOS settings I love based on other peoples’ feedback (dimming the power led & max battery charge).
I was very happy when they released the max battery charge BIOS enhancement so quickly. A very positive sign for future development. It was the most requested feature on the Framework community boards and they delivered it in a matter of months.
