Buyer's Anxiety
+Posted: 11 September, 2025
+Last Edited: 11 September, 2025
+
+ + I can't say that I'm thrilled that my blog posts have only been when I'm + down or struggling with something. But, here we are: the third one. +
++ I'm stuck with an internal conflict. It feels like remorse, but before the + poor choice has happened, as opposed to fear? But it is fear. +
++ It's no secret that I love my Framework 16, the company's values, and Linux. +
+I also want to support my friends whenever and however I can.
+But what if those two things clash?... Spoiler: they have.
++ To preface this whole thing, my friend is looking for a new laptop. She + bought her old one because it was in her price range. Four years later, + it's... struggling. The enshittification of the tech industry took hold, one + hinge died a couple years ago, the whole body is weak, the system is + relatively underpowered for her needs, and it's not going to survive + university in any good condition, if even that. As a two-time published + author, she needs to be able to type and open this system a lot. That means + a good keyboard and good hinges. She also wants to play Minecraft, Roblox, + and probably Uno on it too. Thus, GPU demands aren't high and she'll want at + least a 15" display. She treats her devices well and cares for their + longevity. +
++ To me, this sounds like a great place for a Framework laptop. Expensive + upfront, sure. But the 16" model has an iGPU that runs Minecraft and Roblox + just fine, has a super easy to replace input module system to replace the + keyboard, good hinges, a CPU that's total overkill (even for the stuff I do; + I wanted a six-core), and it wears like a tank. A guy at our high school + proved that unintentionally. I have the dent in the lid and the pristene + display to prove it. It also has some added benefits, like the hardware + switches for the camera and mic, overall modular design, repairability, and + the upgrade paths, which save her from spending more money to buy a full + tower or another laptop. Framework recently annouced the new generation + boards for the FW 16, and knocked down the price of the 7040 series boards + slightly, but that's a nice-to-have. Even if you're a non-techie, you won't + need to get into the hardware unless you're building it or repairing + something, and Framework's guides have only gotten better. Even when trying + to replace the liquid metal, or solve an issue that I thought was a loose + display cable (it was a linux software issue of some kind), the guides got + me through the wholly unknown to me. +
+This makes it sound perfect.
++ The downside? Well, I feel like I'm just succumbing to brand loyalty. A + total shill. The whole above paragraph sounds like a sales pitch without the + company's values explicitly spouted. The one thing I envy of Apple fans, is + their ability to convince others that Apple is great and feel no conflict. +
++ Is this what a parent feels like when buying for a child? Probably not? + After all, the child likely isn't knowledgeable upon the context, or doesn't + care enough to question the rationale leading to the purchase. But here, I'm + buying for a friend. Someone smart (Before someone starts, I'm not saying + that a child can't be smart or that the rest of my friends are dumb). Sure, + she's not a techie the way I am, but she is more than capable of questioning + things for herself. What's the price? What's the rationale? Are you just + pushing me into an ecosystem that you love? Are you buying my friendship? + ...and so on down the rabbit hole my train of thought hops. +
++ I've already convinced two friends to try Linux, but their hardware and + personal needs caused too many problems. I also convinced a family member of + mine, who was an Apple fan, to shift to a Framework 13 running Linux. +
++ I feel like a manipulator. I left my proud, cheerful "switch to Linux" + chanting phase a while ago. But did I really? Am I so moral-driven that I'm + blind? Is this really a selfless gift to a friend? Is this because I'm + afraid of losing my friends? Or do I subconciously hold an agenda to migrate + everyone to Framework and Linux? As stupid as it sounds, I mean this + literally. +
++ Even if you consider the idea that "only a good person would think like + that, because a bad person would know it," it doesn't help. +
++ To make things worse again, I've long spouted buying something with the + intent to run it long term, instead of buying a bunch of cheap somethings + that die super fast. My previous laptop, which I got from my father, ran for + nearly 12 years before the display started dying; now it's a server. So + imagine a teenager with that kind of a background in keeping a computer + running for so long, sees a 3-year old laptop already in a far worse + condition than their 10/11-year old one (with comparable specs). I was that + teenager, and I started a "joke" once I got my new laptop, about it's easily + replaceable hinges... and so on. Of course, I was prideful in a sense, and I + kept that "joke" going too long... So how will it look when the laptop who's + death I foretold gets replaced by the exact laptop that it was compared to? + (Assuming that I didn't start the "joke" about the purchase decisions, age, + and condition of my previous one.) +
++ The only consolation I get for now, is that I have a few days to see how + Katie likes the FW 13, which is loaned off the aforementioned family member + of mine. The trouble, because of course there's more, is that I need to + discern between her impressions of the computer, and the OS, since it's + Manjaro Linux. Because of that, my plan is to dual boot the gifted system. + That way she can finish her computer science stuff in the same environment, + and then decide whether or not to scrap the Linux partition. +
++ Of course, as always, my troubles start just after having had a counselling + session. So, I'm left to deal with this myself for a few weeks. +
+Sometimes I wonder why things can't just be simple for me in life...
++
+ Now, as a note, I'm not saying that Framework is perfect. They've had, and + continue to have, their issues. The difference is that they actually listen + and work on them. The guides, the incorrect QR codes, the support system, + FW16 keyboard deflection, late UEFI updates, the FW16 keyboard wake-up issue + with the screen closed, the first-gen display expansion cards power draw + issue, and so on. And sure, they can be slow. But they're small, and they + try to do it right the first time. They release the software and hardware + patches to affected systems, and listen on to further critique in the + interest of improving. +
+