
MNT Reform: The Campaign Is Live - lelf
https://www.crowdsupply.com/mnt/reform/updates/the-campaign-is-live
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ddevault
Great work mntmn! I love the no-compromises design - blob-free, mechanical
keyboard, user-replacable batteries, open hardware... it's great. Nice work.

And a quick question: have you considered selling more parts separately? It
would be nice to pick up the trackpad+controller, and maybe the keyboard too,
for other projects.

~~~
mntmn
Thanks, I’m honored to get your feedback. And yes, we’ll offer all parts
separately and I hope they’ll be cloned, too!

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mntmn
Main link incl. video:
[https://www.crowdsupply.com/mnt/reform](https://www.crowdsupply.com/mnt/reform)

Also, AMA!

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zenexer
1\. Roughly how heavy is it? It looks big but not too dense.

2\. How easy is it to remap keys on the keyboard and trackball? For example,
I'd probably want to swap the Alt and Space keys, the Shift and Up/Del keys,
and the Primary/Secondary Click and macro buttons. Are we talking config file
change or manually patching firmware?

3\. How generic is the SoM connector? Are there any existing alternative SoMs
I might be able to stick in there?

4\. How many times can I open the body without running into issues? For
example, if I swap out the batteries every day for a year, am I going to run
into problems?

5\. It looks like you opted for a barrel jack instead of USB-PD for charging.
Why'd you choose to go that route?

6\. Why the lack of USB Type-C ports?

7\. "The keyboard not only works as a USB HID device, but it also has a direct
UART cable connection to the system controller on the motherboard. By pressing
the Circle key, you can interact directly with the system controller,
bypassing the main SoC." That sounds really cool. Do you have more info about
that? How hackable is it?

Edit: I like where you're going with the project, and I think I could easily
turn this into my daily driver. Keep up the great work!

~~~
mntmn
Thanks for your questions and encouragement.

Answers:

1\. ~1.9kg fully loaded with batteries, WiFi card and SSD.

2\. Currently you need to rebuild the firmware, which is "make" and then
"flash.sh", but it's absolutely feasible to make a nice keymap editor.

3\. The connector itself is generic and cheap (SO-DIMM), you stick a bare PCB
in it (card edge). There's currently no other SoM with this pinout, though.
We'll work to change that.

4\. Haven't run into issues yet, and opened and closed mine many many times.

5\. Simplicity.

6\. Type-A is still much more common. The next version could have Type-C or a
mix possibly.

7\. Totally hackable. The sources are already in our Git / on GitHub but I'll
post an article about this during the campaign.

~~~
zenexer
1\. That's pretty damn good, especially given the size.

2\. Since it's all in git, I'd consider `make && ./flash.sh` fine; that's not
really any more difficult than a config file.

3\. I particularly like the potential for switching architectures without
needing a whole new device.

4\. Awesome

5 & 6\. I've been refusing to buy new portable electronics unless they have
Type-C ports and support USB-PD, since it's simplified my life a lot--one
charger for everything. That being said, I'm normally making that decision
under the assumption that I won't be able to upgrade what I buy today, and I
don't want it to hold me back tomorrow. That's not an issue with your device,
but I'd definitely love to see USB-PD down the road, even if it's an external
accessory or a DIY guide.

7\. That's definitely something I'd love to learn more about. From my
perspective, the integrated-yet-fully-hackable HIDs are key selling points.

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nine_k
I very much like the keyboard layout that gives more action to thumbs and some
rest to pinkies.

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RodgerTheGreat
I absolutely love the trackball and approach to replaceable batteries.
Currently this device is a bit outside my price range, but I'll keep an eye on
the project in the future and spread the word to friends who might be
interested.

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teddyh
Unless it has a RYF certification, it doesn’t stand out from all the
alternatives.

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zenexer
What alternatives are you thinking of? I don't know much about this niche,
although I've come across System76 a few times over the years.

~~~
teddyh
Off the top of my head, there are also the Librem laptops from Purism and the
Vikings X200 laptop, the latter of which _does_ have an RYF certification.

~~~
zenexer
Are those actually comparable? Neither of those options appeal to me, but the
MNT Reform does. I would say the biggest advantage of the MNT Reform is that
it appears to be fully hackable, both hardware and software. I don't really
get that impression from most of Purism's products or the Vikings X200

~~~
teddyh
If that’s your priority, there was also the Novena, I think?

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Grumbledour
I have constantly be impressed by the progress of this project. I really like
some of the design decisions, like the mechanical keyboard or the trackball.

But I have to say, while I really liked some of the early design sketches, the
final design I find quite ugly.

I wish them success with this project and hope this can lead to more and
potentially cheaper open source computing options in the future, but for now,
I will have to pass.

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mntmn
That’s OK. Tastes differ wildly.

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Grumbledour
Yeah, of course.

And I do feel bad for being so harsh, because I really like the concept. It is
just so chunky and looks no fun to lug around.

I do look forward though to maybe getting a copy of the trackball/keyboard to
use with other devices.

~~~
zenexer
Chunky isn't necessarily bad if it's light. It looks like there's a lot of
empty space inside compared to modern non-repairable laptops.

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twic
Was i the only one who clicked through expecting to read about new monetary
policy in Mongolia?

Oh, i was.

Still, this is a cool project, and i'm happy to have learned about it!

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WhyKill
The hardware heroes we need. Amazing and the best laptop design in years.

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8088mph
Is there an option for clicky keyboard switches?

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mntmn
You can write me an email after backing and I'll see what we can do! (Clicky
switches do exist)

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mightypirate
is it possibile to replace the display with an e-ink one?

