[HN Gopher] Framework Ethernet Expansion Card is now available ___________________________________________________________________ Framework Ethernet Expansion Card is now available Author : onli Score : 44 points Date : 2022-09-12 18:12 UTC (1 days ago) (HTM) web link (frame.work) (TXT) w3m dump (frame.work) | liminalsunset wrote: | This is a nice throwback to the form factor of PCMCIA cards for | really old laptops - the original expansion card slot for | notebook computers. [1] The cards often had to stick out, whether | to host a thick connector or an antenna. Here, we see a | miniaturized version of that form factor... | | Later, this was replaced by ExpressCard, but that never took off | as much as PCMCIA cards. Back in the day, laptops came with one | or two PCMCIA slots, which could be used to add full size | IEEE1394, USB, Ethernet, or even Wi-Fi ports. I remember having | to use an ORiNOCO Gold Wi-Fi card to get online back in the day. | I had a desktop that had a slot in the front that it plugged into | | [1] https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffab&q=pcmcia&iax=images&ia=images | sschueller wrote: | Sadly USB-C is not the same as PCMCIA or PCIe. | [deleted] | reisse wrote: | USB-C (as a connector) is perfectly capable of delivering PCI | Express via either Thunderbolt or USB4. | smoldesu wrote: | I would hope that we've learned our lesson after all the DMA | attacks we had with Thunderbolt 4. | micromacrofoot wrote: | transparent cases in electronics seem to be making a comeback | lately | HeckFeck wrote: | Now we just need to get them tinted in every colour of the | rainbow, and we're back on the hueful road we foolishly | abandoned. | Jiejeing wrote: | It does look a bit cheap, and the protruding part is not | aesthetically pleasing, but at least it has good specs. I wish | they could make it work while keeping it the same form factors as | the other parts. | liminalsunset wrote: | The problem with the protruding part is that the Ethernet port | itself is thicker than the laptop body itself. In this case, | even if they were to go the route that some thin laptops use | (hinged collapsible port), it would likely hit the table due to | the thinness of the laptop. | | If you put the port on a little cable, you're back to the USB-C | dongle thing. | Jiejeing wrote: | Yes, I know there is no good engineering solution unless you | accept to have thicker expansion cards on both sides (e.g. | with rubber pads on the bottom) that would be used as | slightly elevated support for the laptop. | ChuckNorris89 wrote: | It wouldn't hit the table because foldable Ethernet ports | fold up, not down. | | https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2017/12/8/16750574/p. | .. | danudey wrote: | More moving parts reduces reliability. | | Also, most laptops with collapsable ethernet ports do | indeed fold down. I've seen dozens of them, but I've never | seen a port like the one you posted (probably because it's | a terrible idea, but maybe for other reasons). | TapamN wrote: | I don't understand what the advantage of an expansion card that | sticks out like that is over using something external on a cable. | | The main point of the self contained expansions is that you are | unlikely to loose them and they can safely travel around with the | device. With a card that protrudes like that, if you want to put | the laptop in a bag, you have to take the card out, or risk | damaging the card and/or laptop as the protrusion gets levered | around. The expansion cards plug into USB-C connectors that are | soldered directly onto the motherboard, so the risk of damaging | the motherboard though the expansion card does exist (although | it's probably not that likely, and any damage would probably be | localized to just the motherboard's USB connector). | | With a external Ethernet port, you can have the USB expansion | card in between the motherboard and the USB Ethernet device, to | prevent wear on the motherboard's connector when repeatedly | connecting and disconnecting the device. | | So what's the gain by using the expansion card format, when it | can't permanently live in the laptop? You might as well just use | a cable. I guess maybe if you only carry the laptop by hand and | have to constantly use Ethernet, like if you're debugging a | network installation, it would be good? But a regular USB | Ethernet port seems like it would be more practical for most | cases. | kelnos wrote: | I was thinking the same thing. Sure, this is better than a | dongle in some ways, but is still an order of magnitude worse | than the normal, flush-fitting expansion cards. | | I do recall someone on the Framework subreddit saying that they | carry a laptop around with them on a shop/factory floor, but | mostly use wired ethernet when they stop and put it down on a | workbench. Using a dongle wouldn't be great because it'd be | something that would swing around unpredictably as he'd walk | around a crowded room with lots of people and machines running. | | Regardless, a retractable "XJACK"[0] from the PCMCIA days might | have been a better choice for this, if the hardware could be | made "short" enough in that dimension. Downside there is of | course fragility; I imagine they're easy to snap off. | | [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XJACK | smm11 wrote: | Why do I think "desktop" when I see such fast-access ability? | soneil wrote: | I use 10gig for a dedicated link to a NAS. It drives me nuts | that easily-accessible networking is so far behind storage | speeds. SATA-I (2003) is faster than gigabit ethernet. SATA-II | (2004) is faster than 2.5GigE. | | So why 2.5GigE on a laptop? So when you're at your desk, where | your laptop spends 90%+ of its life, your bulk storage can have | access speeds that are at least from this century, if only | just. | rektide wrote: | 80Gbps usb4 2.0 host-to-host connectivity is 32x faster. (2^5 | magnitudes.) | | Coming soon to almost all decent laptops. | sschueller wrote: | I'll repeat what I said in yesterday's thread. | | I want to see SFP ports. Specifically SFP28 so I can stick in my | 25gbit fiber modules etc. | | There is no way to get SFP28 on a laptop to my knowledge as USB-C | (yet, USB 4 could do it) is not fast enough. It has to interface | directly with PCIe. | reisse wrote: | Thunderbolt 3 to SFP28 adapters exist (though cost a fortune), | and TB3 is supported by a lot of existing laptops. | jbotdev wrote: | What would you do on one of these laptops that would take | advantage of a 25Gb connection? | sschueller wrote: | Connect it to my internet connection [1]. | | [1] https://www.init7.net/en/internet/fiber7/ | alexchantavy wrote: | Whoa, 25Gb symmetrical for normal consumers? Is this | Switzerland only? | OJFord wrote: | > There is no way to get SFP28 on a laptop to my knowledge as | USB-C | | So what do you expect to happen? Framework expansion cards are | built-in USB-C adapters; if USB-C can't do it, they can't do | it. | sschueller wrote: | Looks like it is possible with thunderbolt 4 which framework | exposes on the USB-C expansion. | ortusdux wrote: | Previous discussion (yesterday): | https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32814453 ___________________________________________________________________ (page generated 2022-09-13 23:00 UTC)