I am a Computer Hardware professional. I started working with computer technology in the early eighties. I have seen the evolution of technology starting with closed platforms like the game console era and then the move toward open platforms like the Home Computer Golden Age. In the last 5 or 10 years, I have witnessed technology changes that are slowly moving away from open hardware designs towards hardware that is locked down and can’t be modified by the user.
I’d make an argument for the opposite if we’re talking about the general field. The major OEMs are going head first into enshittification, while other companies are building for more open ecosystems.
For anyone looking for a list of manufacturers intentionally trying to make their hardware more compatible with open ecosystems:
I’m sure there are others, but these are the ones that are deliberately building intentionally FOR mass compatibility, unlike HP, Dell, Lenovo, ASUS…etc.
This is not to say there aren’t some models from the major manufacturer product lines that aren’t widely compatible, but their main focus is not those products.
Hmmmmm, I’ll go with Clevo. Because I’m from Cleveland, and it’s called Clevo. It’s like the PC brand that was too drunk to spell Cleveland. Which is pretty on brand for this city.
They’ll get an upvote just for that explanation 😂
Framework is honestly the best thing on the market right now though, gotta say.
I had a rebranded clevo back in 2009. It worked great for a few years before the dedicated gpu died. It was a sleek design (especially for the time) too.
What are ASRock doing?
ASRock servers, minipcs and mitx industrial boards are highly compatible with Linux, and it’s intentional. Sometimes trailing chipset versions just to stay that way.
Oooh, didnt know asrock made minipcs, im gonna have to look into that!
Tuxedo Computers from Germany also make PCs specifically for Linux (you can run Windows if you really have to).
I want the pine products but every time I see the reviews it seems like they are not the greatest at the more common tasks.
At some point I want to get an MST if/when my system76 dies. But it’s a easy to repair so it will probably be a while.
If you’re looking for a general purpose device, go Framework. Look at their Refurb store. Very reasonable.
These brands selling their own refurbished products is great news.
It gives you the ability to still support them while not creating directly more e-waste and benefitting from a cheaper price.
Thanks but a friend of mine had bad experiences with it. Something to do with the power and hinges. Lots of costly repairs on the first year or so.
Hopefully they fixed the issue.
Never had an issue. What was your friend’s problem?
The power adapter died pretty quick witch caused a mobo failure if I recall.