3 ms·

> Cons the 11th gen is out of stock I really wanted to like Framework laptops. I travel a lot and break laptops frequently. I really liked IBM Thinkpads, was a

> Cons the 11th gen is out of stock I really wanted to like Framework laptops. I travel a lot and break laptops frequently. I really liked IBM Thinkpads, was all-in on Dell onsite warranty when it actually worked... But I just got the cheapest MSI Modern. It has ok hardware, 64GB RAM, two SSDs, bunch of ports... Repairability is nice if you actually can get support and spare parts next day. Without that its just a marketing BS. Today laptops are just disposable consumer goods. "Repairability" is a freedom to swap SSD from laptop #12 to laptop #13. Now all I need is a screwdriver and credit card to buy next laptop.

mschuster91 4y ago
> Today laptops are just disposable consumer goods. "Repairability" is a freedom to swap SSD from laptop #12 to laptop #13. Now all I need is a screwdriver and credit card to buy next laptop. Not really, if you're using Bitlocker chances are high that it's tied to the TPM keyset and depending on what's broken it is difficult to recover them.
- doubled112 4y ago
  This is a big reason to prefer password based drive encryption, or at least something that doesn't tie the key to your hardware.
  - mschuster91 4y ago
    Sadly, impossible to do on modern Apple machines (where the T2 co-processor handles all the crypto), and difficult to do with Windows as Bitlocker uses a TPM module by default [1] if it's available and modern enough. You'd need to manually mess around to disable TPM usage. (Side note, does anyone know if there is a workaround to allow multiple passwords for Bitlocker?) [1] https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/security/information-protection/bitlocker/bitlocker-countermeasures https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/security/informati...
    - bootsmann 4y ago
      I think you can do PIN + password by fiddling around with the group policy settings iirc (similar trick for PIN + TPM maybe you can find results for that first and then build on it)
  - kitsunesoba 4y ago
    To me the bigger takeaway is that if it’s important enough to encrypt, it’s important enough to keep backed up regularly. Even with password-based encryption, if your drive/laptop is stolen you’re no better off than you would’ve been with key-based encryption (potentially worse, as password-based may be more practical to bruteforce). On the other hand if the data is backed up properly, at worst you’ve lost between an hour and a day of work regardless of if the laptop gets lost, is stolen, bricks itself, or is subject to a highly localized short-lived black hole. You restore and go on with life.
- t344344 4y ago
  I run Linux. I have microsd card with bootable Linux kernel and encryption keys. Laptop has fake bootable livecd and luks partition.
- bootsmann 4y ago
  BitLocker has a recovery mode, either through your Microsoft account or through a 48 digit key that unlocks the disk on any hardware. If you have a dual-boot you will run into this from time to time, its not a big issue.
sanitycheck 4y ago
What's happened to the Dell onsite warranty? I last had a next-day on-site part replacement 2 years ago and it all went as smoothly as usual.. (UK)
izerik 4y ago
MSI Mosern are really good bang for the buck. I did some research about some budget laptops for a friend under 500$ and MSI won, not only by the specs but also from an extensibility standpoint (non-soldered RAM slots).

mschuster91 4y ago

> Today laptops are just disposable consumer goods. "Repairability" is a freedom to swap SSD from laptop #12 to laptop #13. Now all I need is a screwdriver and credit card to buy next laptop. Not really, if you're using Bitlocker chances are high that it's tied to the TPM keyset and depending on what's broken it is difficult to recover them.

doubled112 4y ago
This is a big reason to prefer password based drive encryption, or at least something that doesn't tie the key to your hardware.
- mschuster91 4y ago
  Sadly, impossible to do on modern Apple machines (where the T2 co-processor handles all the crypto), and difficult to do with Windows as Bitlocker uses a TPM module by default [1] if it's available and modern enough. You'd need to manually mess around to disable TPM usage. (Side note, does anyone know if there is a workaround to allow multiple passwords for Bitlocker?) [1] https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/security/information-protection/bitlocker/bitlocker-countermeasures https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/security/informati...
  - bootsmann 4y ago
    I think you can do PIN + password by fiddling around with the group policy settings iirc (similar trick for PIN + TPM maybe you can find results for that first and then build on it)
- kitsunesoba 4y ago
  To me the bigger takeaway is that if it’s important enough to encrypt, it’s important enough to keep backed up regularly. Even with password-based encryption, if your drive/laptop is stolen you’re no better off than you would’ve been with key-based encryption (potentially worse, as password-based may be more practical to bruteforce). On the other hand if the data is backed up properly, at worst you’ve lost between an hour and a day of work regardless of if the laptop gets lost, is stolen, bricks itself, or is subject to a highly localized short-lived black hole. You restore and go on with life.
t344344 4y ago
I run Linux. I have microsd card with bootable Linux kernel and encryption keys. Laptop has fake bootable livecd and luks partition.
bootsmann 4y ago
BitLocker has a recovery mode, either through your Microsoft account or through a 48 digit key that unlocks the disk on any hardware. If you have a dual-boot you will run into this from time to time, its not a big issue.

sanitycheck 4y ago

What's happened to the Dell onsite warranty? I last had a next-day on-site part replacement 2 years ago and it all went as smoothly as usual.. (UK)

izerik 4y ago

MSI Mosern are really good bang for the buck. I did some research about some budget laptops for a friend under 500$ and MSI won, not only by the specs but also from an extensibility standpoint (non-soldered RAM slots).