I’m one of those that use mine heavily for media. As my portables are all my methods of media access (my own and streaming) a quite large amount of time on it involves watching something.
I’m privacy minded in work and even greater just daily life usage, but also media enjoyment.
I’m genuine in this request. And I hope it’s heard and addressed - stronger mounting hinges. I will totally buy the beefiest model you have if that can happen. I’m serious.
There’s lots of other items in there I agree with:
but hinges, hinges, hinges, it is for me. I’m almost a single topic voter on this one. 
I can agree with you partially. I mean the hinge is crucial to a laptop, but isn’t the current one already pretty nice? I mean I don’t see any problems forthcoming with the hinge on my v2/v3. How exactly would you like the hinge beefed up?
There’s a lengthy thread here that discusses the challenges that myself and other users have had: Librem 13 hinge and screws. Like others in the thread, I had what seemed like a disproportionately catastrophic breakage to the level of resistance in the metal hinge itself. The breakage occurred at the mount point with what I can only describe as a couple of tiny screws mounted into small plastic receivers. Disproportionately low quality assembly for an otherwise high quality laptop. I feel like a spurned lover! I love my laptop but it doesn’t love me back!
There are a few counterpoints made by some participants that the mount points MIGHT be sufficient but I feel that when I compare it with other laptops, like the HP I am using now due to my Librem breaking, the mounts are not equivalent. For example, the hinge assembly in the HP is a discrete single unit that runs continuously. Is this the right mode? Maybe yes, maybe no. But it certainly speaks of better attention to durability than my previous Librem.
I really, really want to use Purism for my phone, laptop, and more but I feel like some changes are in order to make that happen.
Ahh, so from that perspective, I totally agree with you. Metal hinge means very little if secured by plastic components…
I have a 13" laptop and the touchscreen is very handy when I’m just browsing and relaxing on the couch. I don’t think this would be in v5, but maybe v6. It would also help in developing for the Librem 5.
I have been using a Librem 13v2 for a few years.
The only drawback I really notice is that wifi reception is not competitive with other modern laptops. I need to be closer to the router. How is this on v4?
Everything else is perfect and I would buy this laptop today in a heartbeat for the same price. Keyboard and trackpad are fantastic for me (I recall the trackpad took some getting used to vs Mac but now I love it). Very sturdy, has survived some dents. I’m very satisfied with the battery life but that is always something I would ask to prioritize. Screen, killswitches, hinges great. Fan noise rarely audible except under heaviest loads.
Just a fantastic machine. Can’t speak for newer models but again, except for wifi, the 13v2 nailed it.
This is pretty much the only thing I ask ^^ would be great to be able to charge the laptop using USB.
Also, wired ethernet would be nice, but that’s just a bit of hassle.
Longer battery time would be nice in general. I don’t care about greater CPU or GPU performance if it comes at expense of battery time. If I wanted a full-time plugged in gaming laptop I’d buy some alienware thing.
System76’s Lemur Pro (https://system76.com/laptops/lemur)
-is smaller & lighter than the Librem 13
-but has a larger display (14.1”)
-has the latest CPUs (on Coreboot & with disabled Intel ME)
-dual channel RAM up to 40GB
-a higher capacity battery to last much longer
-…and…USB-C charging.
(Maybe Purism should consider either putting on a larger display in the same sized chassis Or shaving those bezels. Just a thought.)
System76 is also moving back manufacturing (not just assembly) of their products back to the US, business is doing very well it seems for System76. But that shouldn’t be a surprise right? The better the specs, the larger the market segment it captures, the easier it is for Librems to sell, the more money goes to the Purism cause. One shouldn’t have to choose between productivity & the Purism cause.
Why should I care to disable Intel ME if I get blob for WiFi ac?
If there’s enough room for Dell and HP, there’s enough room for System76 and Purism. I agree with you. So much of this is bound up in supply dynamics. All that behind the scenes jazz. Frankly, it’s my hope that our server rooms and desks are filled with hardware from System76 and Purism. Kind of fascinating to see how it all unfolds. And it’s my hope that the two vendors can really start to make truly high quality equipment. Not just pretty good. Which is they are now.
Because Intel ME allows attacks that are not possible with a WiFi blob?
You should care about both.
Both are potential exploits.
Exactly, both are dangerous, so if you disable only Intel ME and you accept a blob for WiFi like System76, then you are solving partially and you cannot trust your laptop.
System76 is now claiming open source EC firmware with Lemur Pro. Is this something Purism is looking into with the next revisions?
Depends whether Purism laptops happen to use one of the supported ECs of that firmware or, if not, Purism is prepared to change EC. I think I read in this forum that Purism v5 laptops will have a different EC, as compared with Purism v4 laptops, so there is a possibility.
Not that that has anything to do with WiFi.
No, it’s an independent question. I have been facing a lot of problems with my L13v3’s thermals; to the point that I’m in the market for another laptop just after a couple of years from buying the Librem. Maybe, having further control over the battery and the fan might help in gathering more info about such deep rooted problems which is my primary interest in the open source EC firmware, apart from it being aligned with Purism’s stated goals.
I think WiFi is a moot point as one can easily switch to modems which support free and open source firmware, however, changing BIOS to disable ME or changing EC firmware is not so easy. Also, one has an option to buy the Librem without a modem and then just buy the modem they wish to use off the market.
Concerning the EC, yes, we are pursuing this all the time, i.e. making it free. But this is not so easy. We have been negotiating this with sources, providers and factories, to get the necessary information for porting or creating a free EC firmware but so far have not been successful. But I can tell you as much at least that we are still trying, we haven’t given up, this is our ultimate goal, to make everything free. But we are limited with what we can find on the market from suppliers. It is often a trade-off between this and other features we want to support and in the end we have to make choices. So far the choice we made was for other features, but we still pushing hard and I am confident that we’ll manage soonish.
Honestly, for M.2 PCIe connected cards I have been looking around like forever and can not find any with free drivers and either free firmware or at least no firmware blob download requirement, which is also the reason why we are stuck with the ATH9k ones we are shipping. Any pointers to more recent cards are very welcome!
Cheers
nicole
System 76 is at least 10 years older then Purism and I think they have more staff and a larger budget. We could also compare the hardware to the Dell XPS developer edition that comes with Linux. Purism has there their niche they are aiming for and they cannot compete directly with System 76’s market. System 76 also had to differentiate from Dell’s market so they have their own OS.
Everyone wants quality hardware and good customer service, and I hope Purism lives up to everyone’s expectations or will do in the future.
Purism has very ambitious goals and makes them public long before they are achieved. Do you like this or do you feel they will just let you down?
both ?
I feel the only central consideration is the time signature. The issue with publicly announcing one’s aspirations is that listeners may or may not have realistic expectations. The tradeoff is that it can galvanize support for something that’s missing in the market - a trustworthy hardware vendor that’s Linux and F/OSS friendly.
I know S76 gets bandied about a lot but I’ve watched staff members struggle installing non POP_OS distros and deal with the Nvidia blob issue that their laptops require. It can get ugly. Evolution, change, requires many attempts to find a sustainable path. Both vendors are welcome in my world. And a third wouldn’t be too bad either.
For me - I like this. I like ambition.