We've spoken more than once about the horrors of planned obsolescence and the struggle users around the world face to repair their own devices. However, there are some open-source designed products that guarantee almost total flexibility, and one of them is the MNT Reform laptop. Its configuration is so permissive that the end user can change the processor, choose between a trackball or trackpad, and even replace individual cells of its battery.
Do you know Framework laptops? Personally, I think they are wonderful. The price and limited availability automatically take me out of the market, but the possibilities of their hardware are enormous. In the past I have shared alternatives like cyberdecks and All-in-One computers, two ideal formats for retired Framework motherboards.
However, those computers retain a proprietary profile despite their flexibility. Anyone who wants to add open-source hardware to this configuration will have to accept some compromises and invest even more money, but they will find an appropriate solution in the MNT Reform. Jeff Geerling recently received one of these devices, and that helps us examine it more closely...
MNT Reform: An open laptop where you can change (almost) everything
It is no exaggeration: The MNT Reform allows the user to replace its processor (three options on its official page), choose between a trackpad and a trackball with five buttons, greatly expand storage capacity with NVMe drives, and most impressively: Change one by one the 18650 cells of the battery. Add to this the gigantic amount of available documentation, meaning any user can manufacture their own components and/or modify existing ones.
Obviously, not everything is perfect on the MNT Reform, nor does it intend to be. The device is huge (with a thickness of four centimeters), there are no compatible x86 chips (the project focuses on ARM solutions), configuration details are the order of the day, the keyboard is not very standard, and the battery indicator performed some acts of rebellion, but these are things the advanced user will accept without thinking too much. The last barrier is the price: 1,200 euros for the base model.
Official site: Click here
