5 ms·
I didn't buy the MNT Reform because it simply didn't have enough RAM to be useful to me. Now this new one has enough RAM, but it dispenses with the trackball -
by theodric 2y ago
I didn't buy the MNT Reform because it simply didn't have enough RAM to be useful to me.
Now this new one has enough RAM, but it dispenses with the trackball - which was the thing that initially drew my eye to the Reform - in favor of a painfully tiny trackpad.
I just can't win with these guys! So frustrating. I want to love it.
- nine_k 2y agoI hope they will offer options for the keyboard, with a trackball or (better) a trackpoint. Maybe not themselves but somebody who cares enough, given the complete openness of the thing.
- nosioptar 2y agoI don't ever want to buy another laptop without a trackpoint.
- fuzztester 2y agotrackpad, trackball, trackpoint ... interesting. what are the pros and cons of them? I've only used laptops with trackpads.
- nine_k 2y ago- Trackpad: multi-finger gestures. Usually no explicit buttons or scroll wheels detectable by touch, so you need to look down sometimes. Potentially the trackpad allows you to jot arbitrary gestures / glyphs, given proper software. Sits tunder your palm, so you have to move your hand significantly away from the keys to operate it. Good palm rejection is a must. - Trackpoint: single-finger micro joystick. Sits in the home row, so you can operate it by barely moving your fingers along the home row. Requires explicit buttons; combined with them, usually emulates scroll wheels, etc. Tiny precise gestures are harder. Never bothers you while typing; can be operated entirely without looking, like a mouse. - Trackball: I have little experience with it. Sits under your thumb usually. Allows for very precise small motions; big motions are harder. Has buttons (see trackpoint), sometimes a larger assortment, accompanied with scroll wheels, etc. Some balls have considerable inertia, some totally don't. Some allow for extremely comfortable hand placement, but it's not a given. Have hard time not being rather tall / thick. Need most cleaning of the three.
- fuzztester 2y agoThanks.
- theodric 2y ago> Requires explicit buttons I had a ThinkPad i1300 back in 2003 which allowed, in Windows anyway, a thump on the trackpoint to serve as a click. That functionality seems to have been abandoned during the couple of decades I was mainly using desktops and/or MacBooks, because none of my more recent ThinkPads offer it under any OS.
- numpad0 2y agoThat's a default off option in Control Panel. I'd recommend everyone enable that tap to click feature, sensitivity raised to ~240/255, and middle button as wheel click as must have QoL improvements for TrackPoints.
- nosioptar 2y agoNot having to move off the home row with a trackpoint is great for RSI.
- stonogo 2y agoThe SoM in this is available for the original Reform. Plus other SoMs with 8gb or 16gb have been available for some time.
- evgpbfhnr 2y agohttps://shop.mntre.com/products/mnt-reform-rcore-rk3588-processor-module https://shop.mntre.com/products/mnt-reform-rcore-rk3588-proc... 500/750€ for the som is a bit spicy considering the soc itself can be brought for $150 in orange pi 5 plus (16GB); being part of the business I know how big the economy of scale is, but it still is off putting as a consumer. Hopefully selling it as part of the new laptop will allow sufficiently bigger batches to bring this down a bit
- stonogo 2y agoIf you're concerned about cost, the small-batch handmade laptop market probably isn't ever going to make you happy.
- doublepg23 2y agoIsn't part of the ethos of the laptop being fully hackable? I'd assume you could design the case to your liking or upgrade the SoC.
- prmoustache 2y agoYou can change the cpu/ram module on the original reform, or order one with a different module.