08-21-2019, 11:08 AM
(08-21-2019, 10:02 AM)binarian Wrote:(08-21-2019, 08:12 AM)Arwen Wrote: People are expecting a bit too much for a product not even released. Further,
this is not a user laptop, it's a hobbiest or tinkerer type laptop. It's somewhat
expected that a person can perform a flash drive swap out themselves.
Hear Hear! This is most certainly not a laptop for Joe Shmoe off the street. Comparing the PBP to a chromebook or similar hardware just isn't fair. It's not SUPPOSED to be a chomebook etc. competitor. Heck, I'd argue it's not really designed to compete with ANYTHING, at least not yet. Right now, I'd say the PBP exists to fulfill 2 needs. First, it's a Cool Thing that people can play with and explore to their heart's content, because second, it's an open source project. For me, the PBP is an at-least-99% open source laptop (allowing for binary blobs for very low level firmware, etc.) that will provide a competent user experience for people who are willing to meet it halfway, more or less.
Considering it's being sold at-cost, asking to have free factory customization is excessive.
Yeah, this is meant for developers, IT/computer nerds, DIYers, hobbyists, and the like. These early batches are definitely not meant for people looking for a highly polished shrink wrapped consumer computing experience.
I think this is important to emphasize now. The PBP specs as described(and given what the stated goals are for it) are actually pretty awesome at this price point. Even if you "only" get the 64GB version. That's enough space to hold multiple full linux/BSD/Chrome installations, have a huge dedicated swap partition, and still have tons of space left over for adding new software and your own coding projects.
I really want to encourage people to buy into the PBP and take part in the growth and development of ARM on the desktop, but only if they understand the developmental nature of the experience at this point. It's better not to buy one if you're going to judge the experience using it compared to laptops made for general consumers running on OS/hardware combos that have been tested and polished for decades. That's just not the point of it at all right now. Down the road it might well be different.
