Re: FreeBSD Foundation Laptop Support target hardware and desktop environments

Thanks for that feedback Ed. I also agree completely with that approach (coincidentally Ive been using the Framework Laptop 13 (11th gen Intel) since 2021 and reporting feedback on it's stats for basically all of the components since 2022. Around November 2024 I upgraded to the AMD Ryzen 7040 series mainboards which luckily also aligned with the work you all are doing. I recently updated my framework laptop page with all of that info.

If we look at Apple, they have very well polished and supported machines, but macOS only works on a very narrow set of hardware and specifications, those chosen by Apple themselves. They aren't trying to have broad hardware support. Similarly (and given the lack of resources) the same approach needs to be applied here. Select one or two models and give it all you got. Once there is a set of hardware that works 100%, then people can start using those machines, joining the project, etc, and start to expand the FreeBSD ecosystem forward, eventually leading to wider support based on the newly available resources and interest.

Jonathan Vasquez
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-------- Original Message --------
On 3/6/25 23:09, Ed Maste <emaste@freebsdfoundation.org> wrote:

>  On Tue, Feb 11, 2025 at 8:41 AM Ed Maste <emaste@freebsdfoundation.org> wrote:
>  >
>  > The FreeBSD Foundation's Laptop Support and Usability Improvements
>  > project is choosing a small list of laptops and of desktop
>  > environments that will be used as targets for our development effort.
>  > ...
>  
>  Thanks everyone for all of the feedback.
>  
>  One high-level comment is that our goal is to take a narrow but deep
>  focus: we'd rather have one laptop model where all functionality works
>  completely, than having several mostly functional models where for
>  example one has an audio quirk with headphone switching not working
>  and another where the special function keys don't work. I understand
>  the feedback that we need additional models though, and there are
>  candidates for inclusion in the supported list. Thinkpads and Dell
>  business laptops are already in the list; a few folks mentioned HP
>  Elitebook and it seems like a reasonable addition to the candidates.
>  
>  We'll probably create a tiered list, where the first tier meets the
>  criteria mentioned (multiple developers with that model, vendor
>  support, target 100% functionality). The second tier would not meet
>  all of the criteria, but still has some relationship to our effort
>  (e.g., at least one developer has the model, we know what is
>  functional).
>  
>  This is the same argument for focusing on KDE to start -- we'd prefer
>  one desktop environment where everything works, than two partially
>  functional ones. This doesn't mean that work on GLib or other
>  components is out of scope, just that KDE will be the environment we
>  use to test and measure our progress.
>  
>