iTWire - Hardware

reMarkable announces world's thinnest paper tablet with a colour display, the reMarkable Paper Pro

2024-09-05T21:57:30+10:00

The reMarkable tablet is already pretty schmick, but the Oslo-based company has taken it to a new level with the Paper Pro, a brand-new colour paper tablet, and the world's thinnest.

In a world of distraction, sometimes you need the simplicity of paper but yet combined with the brilliance of tech to capture your notes, store them, file them, make them searchable, and to carry tomes of notebooks in a light package. That's what the reMarkable tablet brings; it's way thinner and lighter than a regular tablet. It doesn't run apps, it won't take your focus with pop-up messages, but it will help you record your thoughts and action items and mark up documents with ease - the natural, intutitive, simple ease of writing on paper.

reMarkable has upped the ante with its brand-new reMarkable Paper Pro, bringing an 11.8" colour display and adjustable reading light, while maintaining the unmatched feel of writing on paper. The new Paper Pro is available for pre-order now on remarkable.com.

“Millions of people around the world rely on reMarkable to find focus and do their best work,” said reMarkable CEO Phil Hess. “reMarkable Paper Pro makes the experience even better, adding just enough technology to your workflow without getting in your brain’s way. We’ve built upon the success of reMarkable 2 to create a device that offers the best writing and reading experience ever on a paper tablet.”

{loadposition david08}

For the first time on a reMarkable paper tablet, users can write and read in colour. This experience is made possible by reMarkable Paper Pro’s biggest innovation: the new Canvas Colour display stack, custom-made by reMarkable.

The introduction of colour creates completely new opportunities to express, visualize, and arrange thoughts — whether it's signing a contract in blue pen, marking up a report in red ink, or adding eye-catching yellow highlights to meeting or study notes. The display supports nine different colours — which can be blended and layered — when writing and sketching, and thousands when reading.

Other paper tablets put a filter on top of a black-and-white display to produce colours. On reMarkable Paper Pro, coloured ink particles inside the display move around to render what users write and read. The natural colours evoke the feeling of a printed newspaper page.

Compared to LCDs or LED screens found on laptops and smartphones, the Canvas Colour display doesn’t use bright, flickering lights to produce colours. The low-glare display reflects natural light for a more comfortable reading experience. In dim lighting conditions, a new adjustable reading light softly illuminates the display, making it possible to read and work for hours without eye strain.

The display sets a new industry benchmark for responsiveness, with latency as low as 12 ms — a 40% improvement compared to reMarkable 2. It also gives users 30% more space to fill with their thoughts and ideas, and reduces the distance between the Marker tip and the digital ink to less than 1 mm.

“reMarkable Paper Pro uses advanced technology to recreate something unimaginably complex yet incredibly simple: the feeling of putting pen to paper,” said reMarkable chief design officer Mats Herding Solberg. “It’s perfect for anyone who wants to bring the focus and clarity you get from working on paper into the digital age.”

At just 5.1 mm thin, it’s the thinnest device of its kind in the world, yet it lasts up to two weeks on a single charge. Users can personalize their reMarkable Paper Pro by adding a protective folio, available in six different colours and finishes.

Pricing and availability

reMarkable Paper Pro is available to order today on remarkable.com, where it comes bundled with a Marker ($US 579) or Marker Plus ($US 629). Add a Book Folio in Mosaic weave or premium leather for a discount.
Book Folio for reMarkable Paper Pro is available in six colours and finishes: recycled polymer weave ($US 89) in Gray; recycled Mosaic weave ($US 139) in Basalt, Burgundy, and Cobalt; and responsibly sourced premium leather ($US 179) in Black and Brown. It features auto wake-up and a magnetic Marker strap.
Type Folio for reMarkable Paper Pro ($US 229) is available in recycled Mosaic weave in Basalt, with layouts in seven different languages: US English, UK English, German, Spanish, French, Italian, and Nordic (including Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, and Finnish). It features backlit full-size letter keys, auto wake-up, and a magnetic Marker strap.
Creating and editing in the reMarkable mobile and desktop apps requires a Connect subscription. By subscribing to Connect, users can also enjoy unlimited cloud storage, automatic sync, the reMarkable Protection Plan, and exclusive offers. New reMarkable users get a free 100-day Connect trial. Afterward, Connect costs $US 2.99/mo. or $US 29.90/year. Cancel anytime.
reMarkable 2 will continue to be sold alongside reMarkable Paper Pro on the reMarkable website bundled with a Marker or Marker Plus, starting at $US 379.

Synology introduces new ActiveProtect appliance line for effortless backup of all business critical data

2024-06-06T00:44:19+10:00

Storage, network, and security hardware provider Synology has announced a new purpose-built range of data protection appliances labelled ActiveProtect. These combine centralised management with a highly scalable architecture to comprehensively backup endpoints, servers, hypervisors, storage systems, databases, and Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace services.

Backups are essential, but if you were to assess your organisation for what is backup, when, where, and how, chances are you're going to find many gaps. The rise of cloud providers can lull us into a false sense of security too, with a recent high-profile case where a cloud provider inadvertently deleted a customer's entire environment. Of course, you can use a NAS - such as the many excellent options by Synology - and manually configure and set up all kinds of backups, robocopy scripts, scheduled tasks, and other processes. Or, you could use Synology's new ActiveProtect appliances which provide the hardware and tools all-in-one to help you set and forget your backups.

"The launch of ActiveProtect reflects Synology's unceasing commitment to empowering our users with the tools to manage their most valuable asset—data," said Synology chairman and CEO Philip Wong. "In today's rapidly evolving digital landscape, businesses face unprecedented challenges in safeguarding their data. With the new ActiveProtect offering, we aim to empower organisations of all sizes to address cybersecurity challenges head-on."

ActiveProtect centralises organisation-wide data protection policies, tasks, and appliances to offer a unified management and control plane. Comprehensive coverage for endpoints, servers, hypervisors, storage systems, databases, and Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace services dramatically reduce IT blind spots and the necessity of operating multiple data protection solutions.

{loadposition david08}

"Organisations are tasked with maintaining overly complex and costly data protection strategies, and we aim to solve all the challenges at once with ActiveProtect," said Synology EVP Jia-Yu Liu. "ActiveProtect is the culmination of extensive research, development, and experience working with our customers. We are confident in delivering a solution that will exceed modern businesses' expectations."

IT teams can quickly deploy ActiveProtect appliances in minutes and create comprehensive data protection plans via global policies using a centralised console. From implementing immutability and air gapping policies to performing recovery procedures, ActiveProtect is designed to be intuitive, significantly reducing operational overhead.

Each ActiveProtect appliance can operate in standalone or cluster-managed modes. Storage capacity can be tiered with Synology NAS/SAN storage solutions, C2 Object Storage, and other clustered ActiveProtect appliances. Additionally, existing Synology Active Backup for Business deployments are manageable from the unified interface, providing high deployment flexibility.

Purpose-built ActiveProtect appliances leverage incremental backups with source-side, global, and cross-site deduplication to ensure fast backups and replication with minimal bandwidth usage. ActiveProtect is up to seven times faster at backing up with a typical deduplication ratio of over 2:1, significantly reducing operating costs.

ActiveProtect will be available through Synology distributors and partners later in 2024.

ASUS announces complete portfolio of AI-powered Copilot+ PCs at Computex 2024

2024-06-05T04:51:14+10:00

The AI revolution is here, and ASUS has ushered in a new era of Copilot+ PCs featuring advanced AI capability with 45+ TOPS NPU AI engines, across its ProArt, ZenBook, and Vivobook portfolios.

The new range of ASUS laptops are among the first new Windows-based Copilot+ PCs, and bring ASUS' classic flair for design and innovation, making them wonderful options for creators, gamers, business users, and others.

In summary:

AI for creators: ProArt P16/PX13/PZ13 portable studios; latest AMD Ryzen AI 300 Series processors and Snapdragon® X Series processors; GeForce RTX 40 Series GPUs; StoryCube and MuseTree AI apps
AI for the highly mobile: Ultrathin Zenbook S 16 with Ceraluminum lid, latest AMD Ryzen™ AI 300 Series processors with advanced cooling for 28 W TDP in a 1.1 cm-thin profile
AI for all: All-new Vivobook S 15 is the first Copilot+ PC from ASUS; 2024 Vivobook S 14/16 models now feature AMD Ryzen AI 300 Series processors
AI for gaming: New 14" TUF Gaming A14 and 16" TUF Gaming A16 feature AMD Ryzen AI 300 Series processors and new ultraportable design

{loadposition david08}

AI for creators: ASUS ProArt P16 / ProArt PX13 / ProArt PZ13

The new ASUS ProArt AI laptop lineup is designed to empower every creator — whether they are everyday users, outdoor content creators, or professionals — to transform their precious life moments into enduring stories. The lightweight, durable, and powerful laptops allow users to create anywhere, create faster, and create smarter.

All three new models are Copilot+ PCs and feature the ASUS-exclusive StoryCube and MuseTree apps to enable smarter and more streamlined creative workflows, made possible by the power of fully local AI. StoryCube is a smart, convenient, and powerful digital asset-management tool with AI assistance for scene categorisation and clip generation, allowing users to effortlessly manage and export the contents of their file library. MuseTree transforms inspiration into imagery swiftly, allowing users to generate more creativity through simple graphical interactions, while intelligently storing and managing their ideas at all times. The devices also include a dedicated Copilot key for quick access to your everyday AI companion.

The 16" ProArt P16 laptop delivers unparalleled creative on-the-go experiences anywhere, boasting cutting-edge components within its premium-feel black chassis that's just 14.9 mm thin and 1.85 kg light. Powered by a 50 TOPS NPU integrated into the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 processor and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU that can deliver up to 321 TOPS, it becomes the first AI PC of its kind built for advanced AI workflows across creativity, gaming, productivity and more. Its GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU provides creatives with RTX AI acceleration in top 2D, 3D, video editing and streaming apps. RTX GPUs breeze through video editing tasks 2.5x faster with DaVinci Resolve. Adobe Premiere Pro’s AI Speech Enhance runs 4.5x faster. 3D is accelerated by as much as 6x in Autodesk Arnold, andProArt P16 has access to exclusive NVIDIA AI software like NVIDIA Broadcast, RTX Video, and the ChatRTX tech demo.

For increased portability, the 1.38 kg 13-inch ProArt PX13 convertible laptop is designed to excel in any user scenario, with a 360° hinge that allows seamless flipping between laptop, tent, stand or tablet modes. Whether creating on-the-go or working from home, its high-resolution 3K ASUS Lumina OLED display ensures lifelike visuals that captivate and inspire. Powered by up to an AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 processor, ProArt PX13 is an NVIDIA Studio-validated laptop, with up to a GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU that delivers over 300 TOPS for an advanced AI PC experience, enabling creators to unlock unique AI capabilities and dive into AI-accelerated workflows, from textures to lighting effects to AI-generated imagery. Along with ultrafast WiFi 7 connectivity, there are extensive I/O ports including twin 40 Gbps USB4 for fast charging and external displays, HDMI 2.1 FRL, and a UHS-II MicroSD card reader for quick action-cam transfers.

Finally, the ultracompact and ultraportable ProArt PZ13 detachable laptop enables users to experience the ultimate portability without sacrificing performance. Weighing just 0.85 kg, this device packs a punch with its AI-enabled Snapdragon X Series processor, 3K ASUS Lumina OLED screen and Copilot+ PC AI capabilities. Whether working on the go or enjoying multimedia content, the lifelike visuals provided by the world-leading display ensure an immersive experience. PZ13 has dual functionality as a tablet or a laptop, thanks to its magnetically attached full-size detachable keyboard. The long-lasting 70 Wh battery, IP52-rated durability for dust and water resistance, and an SD slot with a microSD adapter all combine to make this device the perfect choice for ultimate creative mobility.

Additionally, across the new ProArt laptop lineup, ASUS and CapCut have partnered to give users an exclusive free six-month CapCut membership program that provides access to premium features and thousands of assets, giving them the benefits of a flexible editing workflow, magical AI tools, and a stock library.

AI for the highly mobile: ASUS Zenbook S 16 (UM5606)

A stunning fusion of art and technology, the premium ASUS Zenbook S 16 is a sleek and lightweight ultraportable laptop, measuring just 1.1 cm slim and weighing 1.5 kg. It's a masterpiece of craftsmanship that, despite its ultra-sleek design, can deliver up to 28 W TDP and 50 TOPS from the NPU in its formidable AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 processor, aided by an advanced 3D vapour-chamber cooling system that's unique in such a slim device, and which is capable of ultra-quiet <25 dB cooling. In the CNC-machined keyboard area, a novel geometric grille design ensures maximum airflow while reducing dust ingress.

The all-metal chassis features an outer lid made of Ceraluminum, ASUS’ exclusive new material that blends the beauty and feel of ceramic with the strength of aluminium. Ceraluminum is durable and has a pleasantly warm and tactile feel compared to aluminium. The device is available in elegant Scandinavian White or sophisticated Zumaia Gray.

Equipped with a highly efficient 78 Wh battery and a full array of I/O ports — including two USB4, USB 3.2 Type-A, HDMI, an audio jack, and an SD card reader — on-the-go connectivity is seamless.

Users can prepare to enjoy lightning-fast responsiveness with up to 2 TB PCIe 4.0 x4 SSD and up to 32 GB LPDDR5x RAM. The immersive 16" 3K 16:10 panel with a 120 Hz refresh rate, NanoEdge bezels, and a 90% screen-to-body ratio offers stunning home theatre-grade visuals. Certified by TÜV, with low blue-light and flicker-free technology, it also ensures the highest degree of eye protection. With the six-speaker sound system — unprecedented in such a compact device — the laptop delivers cinematic sound, and AI Noise Cancellation for enhanced conference calls ensures calls are clear and undisturbed by the world around them. The FHD AiSense IR camera supports AI effects, while Dolby Atmos provides multidimensional sound. With a 40%-larger 16:10 touchpad supporting smart gestures for easy navigation and control, the user experience is further elevated.

Zenbook S 16 also includes enhanced privacy features. Inside, the Microsoft Pluton security processor creates a protective boundary around critical components to safeguard them from external threats. Outside, the FHD AiSense IR camera supports Windows Hello, Adaptive Lock and Dimming, and Windows passkeys. It enables users to log in to apps and accounts with just their faces.

AI for all: ASUS Vivobook S series

ASUS Vivobook S 15 (S5507) is at the vanguard of the new-era ASUS AI PCs, kickstarting the new paradigm at its recent dedicated launch event. This 1.47 cm-thin, 1.42 kg-light 15.6" ultraportable laptop was the company's first Copilot+ PC to launch, harnessing the AI power of the Snapdragon X Elite Platform with its hardware-accelerated AI functions and a powerful battery that delivers up to 18 hours of seamless productivity or entertainment. Leveraging this powerful hardware, the ASUS Vivobook S 15 integrates advanced features such as Windows Studio Effects, which adjusts lighting and offers new creative filters to enhance call collaboration, and ASUS AiSense Camera with AI-powered Security, enabling the adaptive lock feature to auto-lock when the user walks away and auto-unlock upon their return, as well as auto-dimming when the user looks away. Furthermore, it incorporates Live Captions which turns any audio that passes through the PC into a single, English-language caption experience in real-time on-screen across all apps consistently; and Cocreator, which empowers users to transform sketches into finished artworks using natural language to describe what they want to create. These innovative technologies not only enhance security and privacy but also elevate the audiovisual experience and unlock creativity. The expansive 3K 120 Hz ASUS Lumina OLED display and immersive Harman Kardon-certified Dolby Atmos® audio system are encased in a premium all-metal 1.47 cm-thin, 1.42 kg-light body that’s built for effortless mobility. The mood-setting single-zone RGB keyboard features a dedicated Copilot key for quick AI assistance to revolutionise work and play.

ASUS Vivobook S 15 also offers incredible on-the-go connectivity with WiFi 7 and a full set of I/O ports — including two full-function USB4, two USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A, HDMI 2.1, a microSD card reader, and an audio combo jack.

In order to provide the latest AI capabilities to the widest range of users, the existing ASUS Vivobook S lineup has been refreshed to feature up to an AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 processor. The 14" ASUS Vivobook S14 (M5406), the 15.6-inch ASUS Vivobook S 15 (M5506), and the 16-inch ASUS Vivobook S (M5606) have all been reimagined for 2024 with even slimmer and lighter designs. Sporting elegant all-metal chassis, these laptops start at a mere 1.39 cm in thickness and weigh as little as 1.3 kg. Alongside their exceptional portability and minimalist aesthetics, they boast uncompromising performance powered by the latest AMD Radeon® graphics, up to 32 GB LPDDR5X memory, and lightning-fast up to 1 TB PCIe 4.0 SSD storage. Enhanced cooling is ensured by the ASUS IceCool thermal technology, now featuring two heat pipes, two 97-blade IceBlade fans, and two air vents.

AI for gaming: TUF Gaming A14 and A16

Also announced today were two new models in the popular TUF Gaming laptop series, the 14-inch TUF Gaming A14 and the 16-inch TUF Gaming A16. These feature new ultraportable chassis designs, up to AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 processor, and dedicated NVIDIA GPUs. Combined with improved cooling and superior upgradeability, the new TUF Gaming laptops are the most advanced yet.

Thanks to their AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 processor, with a built-in NPU capable of 50 TOPS of AI performance, the new TUF laptops can enhance productivity with AI features such as background blur and eye-gaze correction with low power consumption. For creators or gamers doing more demanding AI tasks such as gaming or local image generation, the laptops are accelerated by up to NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPUs with up to 371 TOPS. Gaming features like DLSS super-resolution, frame generation, and ray reconstruction will also run with excellent performance, making for a perfect companion to the 2.5K 165 Hz displays on both machines.

Lunar Lake Security, Connectivity, Power Management & Ai Innovations Explained

2024-06-02T14:15:22+10:00

Intel ran some useful Lunar Lake presentations at its pre-Computex Tech Tour. Here we cover four regarding the technologies.

Every element of Intel's Meteor Lake architecture has been overhauled as part of a mission to improve power efficiency and peak performance. We've covered the headline improvements in other articles, but here are the 'other' innovations which will be no less important to every relevant industry.

First up is Intel Fellow, Raishree Chabukswar, talking about Power Management and the important new Thread Director...

In another session, Principal Engineer, Systems Security Architecture, Nivedita Aggarwal, talked about Architecting Next-Gen Client Security...

In the following presentation, Intel Fellow and Wireless CTO, Client Computing Group, Carlos Cordeiro, talks about connectivity and Lunar Lake.

Finally - for here - TAP talks about Ai on client PCs...

For more on Intel's new processor architecture, check out the Lunar Lake articles, here.

Lunar Lake Efficiency Cores Set to Run The Show - Deep Dive Tech Presentation

2024-06-02T13:29:28+10:00

When Lunar Lake processors appear in Q3, new Thread Director technology will attempt to pass all workloads through the new high-performing and power-efficient 'Skymont' Efficiency cores.

Intel Fellow and Lead Architect, Stephen Robinson, gave this deep-dive presentation into how they work at Intel’s pre-Computex Tech Tour in Taipei.

Just be aware that this talk is incredibly technical and most people will be better off seeing the more-general Lunar Lake presentations, here.

Lunar Lake P cores and HyperThreading Depracation Explained

2024-06-02T13:06:38+10:00

Intel's Senior Principal Engineer for P cores, Ori Lempel, gave a brief talk on the new ‘Lion Cove’ P cores explained why HyperThreading was no longer required.

The talk took place at Intel's pre-Computex Tech Tour in Taipei. You can find out more general and detailed information about the new Lunar Lake CPUs in these articles.

What You Need To Know About Intel's New Lunar Lake CPU

2024-06-02T13:00:00+10:00

At Intel's pre-Computex, Taipei Tech Tour, the new Lunar Lake processors were officially announced.

Despite initial concerns that it was just an evolution of Meteor Lake, it quickly became apparent that the wide-ranging overhaul of performance and power efficiency to every element of the processor might undermine Meteor Lake itself!

There were several presentations given on Lunar Lake, but this is the best overarching view of all the improvements.

Framework upgrades laptops, to sell in three more countries

2024-05-31T08:50:27+10:00

Consumer electronics firm Framework will expand its operations to three more countries in June, offering its customisable laptops in Finland, Sweden and Denmark.

In a statement, the company said it would be introducing a new 13-inch laptop built on Intel Core Ultra Series 1 processors, an optional 13.5” 2880x1920 120 Hz display on both Intel and AMD systems, a new webcam with 9.2MP image sensor, and configurations designed for businesses and professionals with a 3-year warranty.

Framework founder Nirav Patel said the prices of the Framework Laptop 13 (AMD Ryzen 7040 Series) systems would also be lowered.

"We designed Framework Laptop 13 to last, and we’re eager to make it better each year. We’ve upgraded nearly every part since first shipping in 2021, and we read through press reviews and feedback constantly to find ways to improve it further," he explained.

{Loadposition sam08}"Our focus this year is on refining the end-to-end experience for both current and new customers, making this the ideal laptop for Linux in addition to Windows, and enabling businesses to enter the world of repairable, customisable computing.

"We’ve also revamped our software pipeline, with new firmware and driver releases now landing regularly for each product."

Patel said the new Framework Laptop 13 was the fourth iteration with Intel processors, with performance being optimised each time.

"With Intel Core Ultra Series 1, Intel delivered major improvements in efficiency and battery life, especially on use cases like video playback.

"With a new graphics architecture, up to 6 Performance cores and 8 Efficient cores, and support for up to a massive 96 GB of DDR5 memory, the new generation drives productivity performance and a huge leap in gaming capability," he added.

"In integrating this processor, we’ve redesigned our thermal system and tuned fan control algorithms to keep the system cooler while reducing noise."

He said the new models could be ordered right away.

Apple unveils new iPad Pro, iPad Air models

2024-05-08T12:22:24+10:00

Apple has unveiled new iPad Pro and iPad Air models, with both 11-inch and 13-inch devices on offer.

The Pro is built on an M4 chip while the Air has an M2 chip inside. The iPad Pro has four storage options: 256GB, 512Gb, 1TB and 2TB.

The company did not hold back on the hype around the Pro model, claiming it would be an "outrageously powerful device for AI".

The new iPad Pro is claimed to have Apple’s most powerful Neural Engine, capable of 38 trillion operations per second, or 60x faster than the first Neural Engine in the A11 Bionic chip.

{loadposition sam08}The Neural Engine has machine language accelerators in the CPU, a high-performance GPU, more memory bandwidth, and intelligent features and powerful developer frameworks in iPadOS.

The release of the new iPad Pro comes after Apple reported that iPad sales brought in US$5.5 billion (A$8.36 billion) for the three months ending on 30 March, a sizeable fall from the US$6.6 billion for the corresponding period a year earlier.

Apple also released a new Apple Pencil Pro.

The company said customers could order the new iPad Pro right away with 29 countries set to have stock by 15 May.

It said the 11-inch iPad Pro would start at US$999 for the Wi-Fi model, and US$1199 for the Wi-Fi + Cellular model.

The 13-inch iPad Pro starts at US$1299 for the Wi-Fi model, and US$1499 for the Wi-Fi + Cellular model. Both models will be available in silver and space black finishes.

The new iPad Air with M2 can be ordered from today in 29 countries and stock is expected to begin arriving on 15 May.

The 11-inch and 13-inch iPad Air will be available in blue, purple, starlight, and space gray, with 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB configurations.

The 11-inch iPad Air starts at US$599 for the Wi-Fi model and US$749 for the Wi-Fi + Cellular model. The 13-inch iPad Air starts at US$799 for the Wi-Fi model and US$949 for the Wi-Fi + Cellular model.

Simple and minimal laptops: Nirav Patel, the man behind that idea, speaks

2024-05-02T08:36:28+10:00

After the first personal computers were built in the last quarter of the last century, it was the commoditisation of the industry that enabled Bill Gates and his Microsoft Windows operating system — terrible as it was — to get ahead. PCs built by the bigger American companies were just too expensive for the rest of the world, but the fact that one could put together a box by buying grey-market parts led to the spread of Windows.

Nirav Patel, the founder and chief executive of the Framework consumer electronics firm, may well turn out to be the person who commoditises the laptop industry. When the first laptops emerged in 1984 — and forever thereafter, no matter the brand — the only parts that could be replaced were the hard drive (or SSD or NVME nowadays) and the memory.

In some cases, even that was not possible unless one bought again from the same manufacturer – who used lock-in to make money. And now with Apple leading the trend of soldering memory to the motherboard, one is stuck with the memory configuration which one bought at the start – unless one is willing and able to buy a brand new overpriced Apple laptop.

Patel builds what he calls "simple and minimal" laptops, starting from a base to which consumers can add the modules they want. Those who do not need an operating system do not need to pay the Microsoft tax; they can buy and then run whatever they want. True, people will have to buy modules from him again whenever a part dies or the owner wants a replacement - but one avoids paying for the whole caboodle again. And if his laptops keep selling as well as they have, then I'm willing to bet that a grey market will arise (probably in Shenzhen, China) to undercut him.

{loadposition sam08}But one doubts that would bother Patel. He comes across as something of a dreamer, someone who is environmentally conscious and wants electronic devices to be used longer, rather than just being throwaway items.

Patel says he chose this path "deliberately to position the upgradeability, repairability, and overall mission as the differentiator, rather than the industrial design, and also to prioritise having a design that is more 'timeless' to enable longevity, rather than bringing in design flourishes that could become dated".

Framework produces neat laptops. Supplied

Framework recently raised US$17 million (A$26.2 million) in a funding round. Patel is unwilling to say whether his firm will branch out into other products, but given his personality type, one can hazard a guess that he will decide on products only after much thought.

Framework first built a 13-inch laptop. Now Patel has added a 16-inch model.

Judging from the way he expresses himself, Patel is not the typical Silicon Valley narcissist who is full of himself and willing to sell any kind of junk as long as it makes money. His products are more down-to-earth and he aims to be around for a long time. Of course, he wants to make money, but what he offers in return will have value.

He was interviewed by email.

I assume that being a Patel, you are from Gujarat, the same state as the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Have your origins had any impact on the course you chose to study?

I was born in the US and have spent essentially all of my life here. What I did carry in from my roots though is the immigrant mindset of self-improvement, work ethic, and driving the change you want to see.

What personality type are you?

Myers-Briggs says that I'm INTP, but I think "indefatigable" is a closer definition of my personality.

What do your parents do? Did their occupations have any influence on the course you finally took? Family members?

My parents were immigrants to the US, and my dad was/is an electrical engineer. This was certainly a direct influence on me, since my parents encouraged and fed my curiosity about the world and how things work.

The innards of a Framework laptop. Supplied

At what age did it come to you that starting your own company was the best way to realise your dreams? I take it that you were not exactly unhappy at Oculus, Facebook or Apple.

I was fortunate to be the eighth person to join Oculus, which let me see first-hand just how much a small group of people aligned to a common mission and vision can accomplish in a short period of time.

Several years into our acquisition by Facebook, I saw just how much we were slowed down by big-company bureaucracy, and I knew that I needed to start my own company to be able to solve important problems with urgency.

What factors annoyed you at these three companies?

Noted above on Facebook. One of the biggest issues with Apple is just how strictly teams and individuals are siloed from each other. This results in not just an unpleasant working environment, but worse products than the company could otherwise build.

What was your experience like with OLPC? I ask because I consider it a wasteful project that wasted a lot of time and money and achieved nothing.

I participated in OLPC through Google's Summer of Code, writing a webcam interface library. OLPC was massively influential in being able to approach computing from a blank slate and create a path for it to be much more accessible from a cost standpoint than anything that was available prior to its creation.

The unfortunate flip side to that, though, was that there was a lot of infrastructure, technology, hardware, and software that was created specifically to enable OLPC that came from a place of academic and philosophic ideals, rather than from the practical realities of what would allow for a deployable, scalable, maintainable solution.

For example, although the Sugar operating system was really theoretically interesting, very few developers created applications for it because the environment was pretty different from any of the other platforms that they could develop for.

A clean interface is a distinguishing feature of the Frameworkd laptops. Supplied

Coming to Framework, how many staff do you have working under you?

We have a team of 50 people here.

What kind of management style do you adopt – making most decisions yourself (the way Charles Simonyi did at Microsoft, calculating that if he was right 85% of the time all would be fine) or do you delegate decision-making?

This is always a careful balance. I'm a firm believer in 'doing things that don't scale' for early stage start-ups, but also in identifying individuals in the team who have significant growth potential and empowering them early with ownership and decision making.

Your laptops look very much like Apple's hardware. They look clean and neat as well and I'm guessing that these traits are very much part of your personality. Correct?

Our laptops, especially Framework Laptop 13, are deliberately simple and minimal from a materials and industrial design standpoint. We (our head of Industrial Design, Nick, and I) chose this path deliberately to position the upgradeability, repairability, and overall mission as the differentiator, rather than the industrial design, and also to prioritise having a design that is more 'timeless' to enable longevity, rather than bringing in design flourishes that could become dated.

Cost-wise, the Framework laptops are prohibitive, at least in Australia. I configured one for myself and the cost came to $3600+ My current laptop, a Lenovo Thinkpad, cost me $1024 and will complete 10 years in June. Given my usage, would it really be cheaper for me to buy from you or pick up a Lenovo unit every decade?

Our pre-built Framework Laptop 13 starts at AU$1,689, which is lower than the starting price for the lowest end MacBook Air or Dell XPS 13. Every individual and business ultimately needs to make their own decision based on what they are looking for in a computer.

We've prioritised building a high-performance computer with a great display, keyboard, webcam, and other functionality that is also designed to last. The sales traction we've seen suggests that this is resonating with a large number of consumers and businesses.

"A high-performance computer with a great display, keyboard, webcam, and other functionality that is also designed to last." Supplied

Of course, the parts on the Framework machines would be of much better quality that those on the Lenovo machines. The DVD drive, headphone socket and some keys on my ThinkPad no longer work and if I want replacements I will have to probably buy huge parts of the machine. Have you calculated how much saving one can make by buying from you?

This ultimately depends on the what each individual is looking for out of a computer. Someone who is always looking for the latest and greatest performance would get cost savings over alternatives by being able to replace just the Mainboard every two years rather than picking up a full new laptop.

On the other hand, someone who has very minimal performance needs may only need to replace something like a battery every four or five years and be happy to continue using their laptop for longer.

How do you plan to use the new funding (US$17 million) which you announced recently? Any phone in the wings? Any tablets? Or are those spaces far too crowded now?

We're not sharing the specific categories we're entering, but our philosophy is to continue to go into mature spaces and build products that solve longstanding problems. We're also continuing to support and scale the categories we already operate in.

What is the fundamental principle that drives you? I mean, why do you get up and go to work every day?

Ultimately, I'm driven by the desire to succeed in our mission to remake consumer electronics to respect people and the planet. That is the long term principle that fuels me, while day to day, I'm excited to work with the amazing team we've assembled and solve interesting challenges on the path of building and scaling our products.

Do you plan to study further or attend any courses/engineering workshops to improve your understanding of your product? If so, where?

I spend a lot of time learning from our team members, who are world-class experts in their fields.

Final words – what would you like people to remember you for?

Ultimately, I would like people to remember me not just for solving an important problem or for shifting an industry, but for doing so with a healthy and happy team. It's often the case that world-changing companies are full of totally-avoidable chaos, and so I want to avoid that chaos.