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Librem 13 would without a doubt be my next laptop if it had a >=Retina screen, USB-C†, and ideally a form factor as close to the current-gen MBP as possible. I

by buu700 9y ago

Librem 13 would without a doubt be my next laptop if it had a >=Retina screen, USB-C†, and ideally a form factor as close to the current-gen MBP as possible. I think they have a real opportunity to win over the group that doesn't like Windows and is getting increasingly scared off from macOS >= High Sierra, but not if it means a downgrade in any aspect of our current hardware. † (Edit): I see that it actually does have one USB-C port, but I'm thinking more along the lines of dropping all non-C USB ports and charging over USB-C.

r00fus 9y ago
Given the issues I consistently have with USB-C peripherals and adoption even in 2018, I wish my MBP had at least one USB-A port. Charging over USB-C is ok but MagSafe was better and I almost never care about which side I'm charging on. So mixed USB-C is the best bet IMHO.
- buu700 9y ago
  Fair enough about wanting at least one USB-A port, but I can't wait to upgrade from my 2013 MBPr to something that charges over USB-C. MagSafe is nice, but the magnetic breakaway USB-C cables look fine too, and it'd be much nicer to have chargers set up all around the house that work for all of my devices and don't cost a small fortune.
fouc 9y ago
Quality of build, Power, Cost. Pick 2. Unfortunately cost would probably be even higher than a macbook if it approaches that quality (retina display, form factor), because there's no economies of scale.
- buu700 9y ago
  I would say that cost is the lowest of those concerns for something I need to do my job everyday, and a Librem with MBP-level specs would be worth more to me than a MacBook Pro.
- criddell 9y ago
  Well that's easy: quality of build & power please! It's not hard to justify spending money on tools.
bitexploder 9y ago
As amazing as Retina/HiDPI is, is it really worth trading "freedom" for? I have found high quality traditional 96ish DPI displays are really quit fine. Objectively, what does HiDPI provide? Do you write code faster? Do you write better words? I don't mean this sarcastically, but in a positive inquisitive manner. HiDPI is one of the few real innovations in the last decade. And yet, as cool as it is it doesn't add much as far as I can tell. I went to a Dell. 32 GiB RAM. Xeon Quad Core. Heavy. But great.
- eropple 9y ago
  > Objectively, what does HiDPI provide? My eyes don't strain when I use smaller fonts that let me see more of what I'm working on (graphics, code, whatever) at the same time. The absolute lowest PPI display I use is a 108 PPI 27" 1440p display--but it also sits much further back than I do when I use a laptop and I have the physical real estate to use much larger fonts than I do on a laptop. On a laptop, where I'm under two feet from the screen at all times and am physically constrained, I have different needs. I would not use a laptop that couldn't at least match a Retina MBP's 220 PPI. It's noticeable. It makes my life worse not having that; the "freedom" to use a laptop that gives me eyestrain is not worth it to me (and Purism's touchpads are pretty bad, too). The tradeoff is worth it to me.
- xiaq 9y ago
  It is perhaps a niche use case here on HN, but as someone who regularly reads Chinese text, Retina has totally changed my reading experience. Pre-HiDPI you basically have to use a bitmap font (meh).
  - lioeters 9y ago
    That's a good point, I never heard this before about how retina displays can improve legibility of Chinese text. It makes perfect sense. As a person who reads Japanese regularly, I'm now considering getting a retina display for this reason.
- leadingthenet 9y ago
  > As amazing as Retina/HiDPI is, is it really worth trading "freedom" for? I think for most people that answer would be a resounding "Yes". Me included, unfortunately.
ulucs 9y ago
Have you tried plugging a charger into that port? I have a Dell 5450 with only one usb-c port which is marked as a Displayport; however my usb charger has no problems charging it (the pc warned me at first about the charger outputting max 29W, but I didn’t need the full 60W anyway. Although this problem is simply about the charger)
phelmig 9y ago
Just commenting in the hope that the Purism team also reads HN: I can totally second this, with an 2kish resolution and nice i7 w/4-6 cores + HT I’ll immediately replace my aged MBP with a Purism Librem 15. On a second note: Your offer of a privacy first notebook is worth to me as much of a premium as apple‘s OS and design are.

by buu700 9y ago

r00fus 9y ago

Given the issues I consistently have with USB-C peripherals and adoption even in 2018, I wish my MBP had at least one USB-A port. Charging over USB-C is ok but MagSafe was better and I almost never care about which side I'm charging on. So mixed USB-C is the best bet IMHO.

buu700 9y ago
Fair enough about wanting at least one USB-A port, but I can't wait to upgrade from my 2013 MBPr to something that charges over USB-C. MagSafe is nice, but the magnetic breakaway USB-C cables look fine too, and it'd be much nicer to have chargers set up all around the house that work for all of my devices and don't cost a small fortune.

fouc 9y ago

Quality of build, Power, Cost. Pick 2. Unfortunately cost would probably be even higher than a macbook if it approaches that quality (retina display, form factor), because there's no economies of scale.

buu700 9y ago
I would say that cost is the lowest of those concerns for something I need to do my job everyday, and a Librem with MBP-level specs would be worth more to me than a MacBook Pro.
criddell 9y ago
Well that's easy: quality of build & power please! It's not hard to justify spending money on tools.

bitexploder 9y ago

As amazing as Retina/HiDPI is, is it really worth trading "freedom" for? I have found high quality traditional 96ish DPI displays are really quit fine. Objectively, what does HiDPI provide? Do you write code faster? Do you write better words? I don't mean this sarcastically, but in a positive inquisitive manner. HiDPI is one of the few real innovations in the last decade. And yet, as cool as it is it doesn't add much as far as I can tell. I went to a Dell. 32 GiB RAM. Xeon Quad Core. Heavy. But great.

eropple 9y ago
> Objectively, what does HiDPI provide? My eyes don't strain when I use smaller fonts that let me see more of what I'm working on (graphics, code, whatever) at the same time. The absolute lowest PPI display I use is a 108 PPI 27" 1440p display--but it also sits much further back than I do when I use a laptop and I have the physical real estate to use much larger fonts than I do on a laptop. On a laptop, where I'm under two feet from the screen at all times and am physically constrained, I have different needs. I would not use a laptop that couldn't at least match a Retina MBP's 220 PPI. It's noticeable. It makes my life worse not having that; the "freedom" to use a laptop that gives me eyestrain is not worth it to me (and Purism's touchpads are pretty bad, too). The tradeoff is worth it to me.
xiaq 9y ago
It is perhaps a niche use case here on HN, but as someone who regularly reads Chinese text, Retina has totally changed my reading experience. Pre-HiDPI you basically have to use a bitmap font (meh).
- lioeters 9y ago
  That's a good point, I never heard this before about how retina displays can improve legibility of Chinese text. It makes perfect sense. As a person who reads Japanese regularly, I'm now considering getting a retina display for this reason.
leadingthenet 9y ago
> As amazing as Retina/HiDPI is, is it really worth trading "freedom" for? I think for most people that answer would be a resounding "Yes". Me included, unfortunately.

ulucs 9y ago

Have you tried plugging a charger into that port? I have a Dell 5450 with only one usb-c port which is marked as a Displayport; however my usb charger has no problems charging it (the pc warned me at first about the charger outputting max 29W, but I didn’t need the full 60W anyway. Although this problem is simply about the charger)

phelmig 9y ago

Just commenting in the hope that the Purism team also reads HN: I can totally second this, with an 2kish resolution and nice i7 w/4-6 cores + HT I’ll immediately replace my aged MBP with a Purism Librem 15. On a second note: Your offer of a privacy first notebook is worth to me as much of a premium as apple‘s OS and design are.