I think one model with the bog standard stuff and one with the modules is a good compromise, or will be when they're more established and can afford the overhead you correctly point out. Right now they're very much a startup, and so I agree with you that it makes sense for them as a company right now.

>bog standard stuff

That's the question, though: What is "bog standard"?

Apple will tell you bog standard is two USB-C ports.

A tech enthusiast will tell you bog standard is at least 10 mixed USB-A and -C ports, at least three DisplayPorts, at least one ethernet jack, and a headphone jack.

Jane Average over there will tell you bog standard is a power button.

A DIYer will tell you bog standard is GPIO and serial.

USB-IF will tell you bog standard is USB4.11 For Workgroups Revision 5 Type D 50gbps 2x4.

At this point, for better or worse, and I know some may not like it... would be almost all USB-C. With thunderbolt, power delivery and video adapter options over the port, there's really not much reason to go otherwise, noting that some ports are not the same.

One option might be to have a backplate adapter similar to ATX motherboards, where that just slots into the case itself attached to the motherboard... so Gen 3 could have 3x usb-c, 1 usb-a and a 4-pole headphone jack... Then all usb-c + headphone a generation after... but the horizontal spacing pre-defined like ATX backplane.

The problem with forcing everything over USB-C is that you end up overloading hubs. I have four laptops in front of me, and I've got a setup in front of me that just about works tolerably, but:

1. None of the machines I have to switch between have remotely enough sockets for the USB devices I actually need to use. Mouse, keyboard, headset, external webcam, yubikey are all USB-A. For the machines I've got that are USB-C only I need at least two hubs daisy-chained if I want to have the first in the chain be something I can put in my bag.

2. If I try to power some of them through the hub, they complain that they can't get enough power.

3. If I plug those same ones into the power directly, I don't have enough ports to also have a USB-C monitor connection, forcing that over onto HDMI.

4. Only one of the machines I use has an HDMI socket, but the hub I tend to use has one so that's usually fine.

5. It's not fine on my XPS13, which for some reason can't power both its own screen and the external screen when plugged into the hub, and it goes into a flickery loop as it tries, fails, and resets. So that's either lid-closed-only, or is the only device connected over USB-C as a direct connection, which means an extra plug to plug in for only that laptop, and I end up fiddling with the screen controls every time I switch to it.

This is supposed to be a unified ecosystem but it just falls apart in practice, and my desk has never had more wiring all over it. I get that I'm an outlier here: two work laptops, two personal laptops, and regularly needing to use any of them, but there's nothing I'm trying to do that's outside what USB-C claims to be within its sphere of capability. Maybe the problem is the hub I've got but if that's the case I can't see how you're supposed to make better purchases. The ecosystem just seems to be broken.

Sounds like you would be better served with a Thunderbolt dock.

Pretty sure Jane Average would also include a charging port ;)

Joking aside, to my mind bog standard is by definition not given by Apple, enthusiasts, hardware hackers, USB-IF, or someone who never needs a port ever. My mom is very tech illiterate and even she uses a cheap wireless mouse, and other USB stuff.

It's obviously something Framework would have to research and think about. But I don't think it's unreasonable to say there is some definition of bog standard that should be able to serve 80% of customers. Where the 20% is made up of various niches that are happy to pay a premium for the modularity because they really need it.

Well, the Framework doesn't give you most of those options. You get 4 total of any of the following: USB-A, USB-C, DisplayPort, HDMI, MicroSD, Ethernet. (In practice a USB-C is mandatory for charging.) Plus built-in headphone. If you want any more than that, or anything different, you're gonna need a USB dongle like any other laptop.

There was one laptop made by ASUS. It had SO much connectivity in a 12" case no one attempted ever since. And it would be the best if not for poor battery life. But the battery was swappable. The model is U6Sg. If I could buy anything like that today (with good battery life and AMD processor), I'd be happy.

Bricklink list 76527 unique Lego parts, including Duplo. So much for the "fewer SKUs". There's also 15155 mini figures.

I agree with your point, but generally when people say "like LEGO" they mean "modular". Not that you can build literally any shape the way you can with actual LEGO.

Compare 76527 unique Lego parts to number of elements in the power set of those 76527 Lego parts — imagine if each combination also had its own skew. That’s the sort of comparison being made — providing simple components and letting the user combine them as they see fit means managing fewer SKUs than otherwise. This logic does not change with respect to the number of simple components — if Framework wanted to provide module for 76527 distinct peripherals, that’s 1 SKU for the laptop plus 76527 SKUs for the modules… which is a lot less than selling 2^76527 distinct laptops for every set of peripherals (leaving aside size constraints, and the fact that many people actually want more than one of the same peripheral).

Additionally, fewer is fewer, regardless of scale. 999,999 of something is fewer than 1,000,000 of something.

So yes, the "Lego approach" would mean fewer SKUs.

My wife and I each got an 11th Gen Framework in late 2021, and I think it's mostly this - e.g. my wife wanted an HDMI port and I didn't - but I've also found reason to switch ports around a few times. It's certainly not everyday, but I've had a few different workspace arrangements where sometimes it was better to have my charging port on one side or the other; not strictly necessary, but nicer for cable management. Next month I might borrow my wife's HDMI port when I need to give a few presentations.

I occasioanlly set my Framework down in a place where it's more convenient to have power and/or HDMI on the other side and it's simple to rearrange the modules.

It’s also standardized, so you don’t have to only pick ports that Framework decides are valid. You can also add 3rd party ports of your own choosing.