System76 To Begin Their Own Product Design & Manufacturing

[phoronix]

Phoronix: System76 To Begin Their Own Product Design & Manufacturing

In looking to make their Linux-powered systems more appealing and original to the masses, System76 will begin their own product design and manufacturing...

http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=system76-Phase-3

[meklu]

Looks pretty interesting.

Michael, final paragraph, second sentence: "principals" → principles.

[boxie]

this is pretty damn cool. I hope we get some very interesting designs out of it

[lem79]

First 15" laptop with Raven Ridge and a high refresh IPS screen gets my money!

[DrYak]

Comparing their original designs to the Tesla Model S

Well on the other sense given the context in the blog post, it makes sense :

The previous phase was like the Tesla Roadster. The Roadster was basically a car designed by somebody else (a Lotus) where they have put their innards (their own electric drive platform).

So of course the next phase will be like the Model S : finally something entirely designed by the company and not just an engine swap / respectively OS+boot firmware swap.


Also other parallels beyond those mentioned by the post can be drawn :

- The Tesla Roadster and the previous System76 laptops were not though by "experts" to stand a chance on the market.
(Tesla was criticized that electric doesn't have a useable range and nobody will buy it ; Linux laptops were criticized for not being able to work due to driver/firmware and that nobody will want them).
But - Surprise ! - "experts" were proven wrong and the products were enough successful to encourage more of them.

- Things made by Tesla are fucking expensive, though by the time Model 3 gets to the road, it will change bit (of course they need to develop a whole new electric drive platform, including sourcing batteries). Similarly I don't expect that the System76-designed laptop will come initially cheap (the labour needed to design them, and then adapt firmware and drivers will come at a cost).

[uid313]

Things I want:

• Open source UEFI firmware
• Support for coreboot.
• Open hardware. Schemata, wiring diagrams and CAD drawings for the PCB and the chassis.
• USB Type-C.
  • Charging over USB Type-C.

[laryllan]

Hopefully their devices will not be as expensive as the Model S.
I'd rather like a Volkswagen.

[bug77]

Things I want:

• Open source UEFI firmware
• Support for coreboot.
• Open hardware. Schemata, wiring diagrams and CAD drawings for the PCB and the chassis.
• USB Type-C.
  • Charging over USB Type-C.

Oh good. For a moment there I thought you wanted something unachievable.

[franglais125]

Things I want:

• Open source UEFI firmware
• Support for coreboot.
• Open hardware. Schemata, wiring diagrams and CAD drawings for the PCB and the chassis.
• USB Type-C.
  • Charging over USB Type-C.

Your account has probably been hijacked! We all know you first and foremost want a stripped down Xserver that serves as XWayland only.
Second point would be date types in Firefox.

:P Just kidding!

[torsionbar28]

Also other parallels beyond those mentioned by the post can be drawn :

- The Tesla Roadster and the previous System76 laptops were not though by "experts" to stand a chance on the market.
(Tesla was criticized that electric doesn't have a useable range and nobody will buy it ; Linux laptops were criticized for not being able to work due to driver/firmware and that nobody will want them).
But - Surprise ! - "experts" were proven wrong and the products were enough successful to encourage more of them.

Uh, no, I think you mean the experts were proven right. The Tesla roadster was smaller inside than a Geo Metro, and the electric range was terrible. The build quality was questionable, and they didn't sell many of them. Of the ones sold, very few are even still on the road. Tesla Motors has been losing money every year since their inception, they don't have a single profitable product. That's not to say they haven't developed some interesting technology along the way, but if we're going to evaluate them in terms of competitiveness and profitability on the open market, they fail miserably. The only reason the company hasn't gone out of business, is the backing of their billionaire owner, media hype, and their stock market cap i.e. individual investors.