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One of the terrible parts of these kind of "modular" laptops is all about the size of the different modules. If you built a laptop even 10 years ago with modul

One of the terrible parts of these kind of "modular" laptops is all about the size of the different modules. If you built a laptop even 10 years ago with modular parts, the ratios would be all out of whack compared to modern laptops. The battery would be half the size it should be, and the storage and ram sections would probably 2x too large. The only laptop that came close to true modules was novena[0], as the ratio between parts could be changed. However, it was a beast. If anyone has more info on what it means to be able to "change the motherboard" and if it includes different sizes/shapes, it's much more interesting. [0]: https://www.crowdsupply.com/sutajio-kosagi/novena https://www.crowdsupply.com/sutajio-kosagi/novena

gizmo686 5y ago
There is a bit of a Ship of Theseus question going on here; but if you built your modular laptop 10 years ago, then you have a 10 year old laptop. A modular design offers more opportunities to maintain and upgrade your laptop (potentially with modules more advanced then what was available at the time you built it), but at the end of the day, you are maintaining and upgrading a 10 year old laptop, not constructing a new one. Of course, even the ability to meet this promise depends on the continued availability of parts in the old form factor.
- wmf 5y ago
  If a sealed laptop lasts 4-5 years then a modular one should last 8-10 years to be worth bothering. Future-proofing generally isn't compatible with rapidly advancing tech but maybe the slowdown of Moore's Law will make modularity more worthwhile.
  - fao_ 5y ago
    My X200 is very performant on Ubuntu 20.04, and for my mother, her X230 is a good daily driver.
  - pmontra 5y ago
    My HP ZBook 15 from 2014 is still good. I upgraded it to 32 GB RAM, 2 TB SSD starting from 8 GB and 750 GB HDD. I replaced several keyboards (usually because I worn out the most used keys) and a defective screen when it was under the original guarantee. I hope it won't break. I can see me using it for many years, no need to buy something else. If only HP would offer an option without the number pad.
  - fancyfredbot 5y ago
    Why does it need to last twice as long? If a sealed laptop lasts 4-5 years then a modular one only needs to last a bit more than 4-5 years to be worth bothering?
e12e 5y ago
> The battery would be half the size it should be, and the storage and ram sections would probably 2x too large. Maybe. But a module that used to fit a 2.5 HD, might fit up to two(?) m2 drives - but it depends on what kind of connection was used (eg: does the HD box come with a disk controller card, and connect via pcie?). The IBM thinkpad line used to be able to swap the CD rom drive for an extra battery - or an empty slot (save on weight). I don't see why you couldn't have more modular batteries (say 4 to 6 batteries that each lasts about 60 or 90 minutes) - and a connector (proprietary for batteries + thunderbolt?) in each slot, so you could fit something else in there, like a gpu, fpga or whatnot? https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/ThinkPad_UltraBay https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/ThinkPad_UltraBay
- luke2m 5y ago
  The ultrabay could even be switched for more ports as well.
- Closi 5y ago
  Is the IBM thinkpad possibly proves the point... Across 13 years it looks like there was over 10 different types of UltraBay. Your laptop from 1995 couldn't have an accessory from 2005, and your 2005 laptop can't handle accessories from 1995.
  - e12e 5y ago
    I'm not so sure. There's a difference between a big line of laptops that were transferred to a new company - and designing with a goal of keeping compatability. Eg: https://support.lenovo.com/no/en/solutions/pd024289-thinkpad-battery-43-3-cell-bay-overview https://support.lenovo.com/no/en/solutions/pd024289-thinkpad... Is a lot better than most alternatives - were you probably couldn't swap anything between different models/generations. But yes, sure - thinkpad might just have been least bad in this regard - not great.

gizmo686 5y ago

There is a bit of a Ship of Theseus question going on here; but if you built your modular laptop 10 years ago, then you have a 10 year old laptop. A modular design offers more opportunities to maintain and upgrade your laptop (potentially with modules more advanced then what was available at the time you built it), but at the end of the day, you are maintaining and upgrading a 10 year old laptop, not constructing a new one. Of course, even the ability to meet this promise depends on the continued availability of parts in the old form factor.

wmf 5y ago
If a sealed laptop lasts 4-5 years then a modular one should last 8-10 years to be worth bothering. Future-proofing generally isn't compatible with rapidly advancing tech but maybe the slowdown of Moore's Law will make modularity more worthwhile.
- fao_ 5y ago
  My X200 is very performant on Ubuntu 20.04, and for my mother, her X230 is a good daily driver.
- pmontra 5y ago
  My HP ZBook 15 from 2014 is still good. I upgraded it to 32 GB RAM, 2 TB SSD starting from 8 GB and 750 GB HDD. I replaced several keyboards (usually because I worn out the most used keys) and a defective screen when it was under the original guarantee. I hope it won't break. I can see me using it for many years, no need to buy something else. If only HP would offer an option without the number pad.
- fancyfredbot 5y ago
  Why does it need to last twice as long? If a sealed laptop lasts 4-5 years then a modular one only needs to last a bit more than 4-5 years to be worth bothering?

e12e 5y ago

> The battery would be half the size it should be, and the storage and ram sections would probably 2x too large. Maybe. But a module that used to fit a 2.5 HD, might fit up to two(?) m2 drives - but it depends on what kind of connection was used (eg: does the HD box come with a disk controller card, and connect via pcie?). The IBM thinkpad line used to be able to swap the CD rom drive for an extra battery - or an empty slot (save on weight). I don't see why you couldn't have more modular batteries (say 4 to 6 batteries that each lasts about 60 or 90 minutes) - and a connector (proprietary for batteries + thunderbolt?) in each slot, so you could fit something else in there, like a gpu, fpga or whatnot? https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/ThinkPad_UltraBay https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/ThinkPad_UltraBay

luke2m 5y ago
The ultrabay could even be switched for more ports as well.
Closi 5y ago
Is the IBM thinkpad possibly proves the point... Across 13 years it looks like there was over 10 different types of UltraBay. Your laptop from 1995 couldn't have an accessory from 2005, and your 2005 laptop can't handle accessories from 1995.
- e12e 5y ago
  I'm not so sure. There's a difference between a big line of laptops that were transferred to a new company - and designing with a goal of keeping compatability. Eg: https://support.lenovo.com/no/en/solutions/pd024289-thinkpad-battery-43-3-cell-bay-overview https://support.lenovo.com/no/en/solutions/pd024289-thinkpad... Is a lot better than most alternatives - were you probably couldn't swap anything between different models/generations. But yes, sure - thinkpad might just have been least bad in this regard - not great.