hi every1!!! 
never really had a proper laptop myself (except a steam deck 
), so i was thinking, like, really hard, (never really thogth before 
) - what is a good laptop? does anyone know?
firs thought: system76. they make the most powerful ARM (desktop!) computers in the world right now (e.g. thelio/ampere astra/altra - expensive! 
). they also make… LAPTOPS! but… i just wish they werent so obsessed with novidia… and werent a CLEVO rebrand… and werent x86… and didnt have proprietary hardware in them… for fux sake! they’re not that modular eiter…! (and theyre from the US of A, which is, uh… well, inconvenient, when you’re 6000 kilometers away, apart from other things, haha)… sure, they have coreboot, lol haha, but that’s nothing??? does anyone own a system76 laptop here, please stand up, haha.
so, anyway, yeah, i love me some modular stuff, as you can see. ooh! i know! like a commodore amiga! 
you know what i mean? who makes amiga bits and bobs? well, a helluva lotta people, actually, such as gotek, amigastore, retropassion, amigakit, just to name a few! the list goes on and on (just look em up! im too lazy!), and which is out of topic (sorry, adhd), BUT! there is one more name i havent heard in a long minute…
MNT!!! aka mntre or “mantra”! looked them up again (i was using their zz9000+ thingies before), and how theyre doing: literally just chilling, actually. yeah. APPARENTLY!!! they make laptops (since 2020 i believe?)! mind has been boggled, utterly speechless, mad respect for that (ive been asleep for 5 years).
so! there are currently 3 READY options here (as of summer 2025):
- MNT Reform Touch (2025 touch device, PROTOTYPE)
- MNT Pocket Reform (2023 mini laptop)
- MNT Reform (2019 laptop)
- MNT Reform Next (2025 laptop, PREORDER)
- MNT Desktop Reform (2025 desktop, PROTOTYPE)
MNT development news 2025: april, may, june, july, august, september, october, november, nvm im lazy…
shipping Q1 2026 :)
i think this is what im gonna get, guys. i mean, just look at it! open hardware, SYSTEM ON A CHIP (you can plug in anything you want, including pi or x86… but there wont be any firmware/drivers, obvs, cos thats how ARM stuff works, right? its a completely DIY thing right here. but thats part of the adventure of this thing! PCB kicad/gerbers are out there… you can print, solder and/or mold this YOURSELF (if u can), right NOW! JUST LOOK:
so, is that a nice choice, guys, does anyone know? (i actually dont need your opinion, im getting it ANYWAY, its gonna be my daily driver, i adore it!!!) cos ive looked around a bit on this forum and couldnt find a single mention, any life signal of anybody using an MNT reform! STRANGE. yep. my thread is the ONLY thread in this entire forum about MNT. but you guys seem the type of nerds who love this kinda stuff!! really wanna hear from folks whos hacked the shit out of their pockets, hahaha we’re gonna KILL corpo shitware with this one 
anyway, i found this old git, but there’s cobwebs on it, right, and its like a bunch of overlays here and there… is that all necessary to get uboot working, guys? via an SD, really? edit: apparently, yes, thats how it works with SoCs, apparently; didnt know…
edit2: yo check this out. this is the rk3588 FLAKE module/option for nixOS:
edit69: guys you better come follow these threads, they got more to say than me:
ANYWAYZ! so, uhm, does anyone ALREADY own a reform next? well, HOW IS IT? do you love it? or do you love it VERY MUCH?? please do tell! do you take it outside for a walk? is the (default) monitor alright out in the sun, actually? are you sad that there is no trackball module this time (or is there?)… was it difficult to get nixOS running on it for someone who is relatively a noob? asking for a friend… old note: i mean, of course, it should work, right,EVENTUALLY, but is it like ready-ready, or like “write ya own module ya @#$%!”? cos i really dont wanna distrohop again, ya know! nah, i wont, dw.
thanks in advance for any tips & advice, n sorry if im a bit confusing.. git used to it, alright? much love!! bye <3
yez me no like x86-64, me like ARM (and by extension, m68k) and RISC-V 
MODULARITY!!!11! (and declarativeness!)… amirite? best of two worlds, really. ah. i really dont like steam deck.s theyve got everything and fuck all at the same time, d’yknow what i mean? i am EXTREMELY, insufferably picky. dont mess with me, man, my cpu is twice as fast at 1 watt than yours at 100 xdd.
thanks to fucking g**gle, this amazing concept is still dead…
*p.s. FUCK OFF with frameworks. recycle your framework ASAP!!! thanks :3
p.p.s. THINKPADS! love em! who doenst? but 0 information about their ARM variants… HUH? also… soldered on RAM is not amusing… at all. and thinkpads are like… “entry level” to modularity, and “we dont talk about this at lenovo” level of open hardwareness. they’re not good enough. im talking HARDCORE OSHW, its ARM/RISC or NOTHING, yknow?
p.p.p.s. oot, but dont forget to check out (search in ur favourite internet search engine) all the awesomesauce and epic style OSHW (open source hardware) periphery as well, like completely open source headphones, mice, trackballs, keyboards, etc. they may look like 3d printed boogers, but hey. its open and diy!!
edit: yoo valve gonna kill x86 with their new hardware LOL bye bye windows users ROFL. 
fex-emu FTW!!! (also heavily contributed by MNT) 
speculation time: it might be coincidence that both MNT reform next and valve hardware coming out the same trimestre and the fact that both MNT and valve contributed to fex-emu, i think this means there will be a possible partnership in the future, as in, hardware-wise! i will be so happy for MNT!
edit2: YOOOOO in addition to the RCORE rockchip 3588 system on a chip (SoC), they just announced a new MNT Quasar 6490 system on a module (SoM):
x86* going down. 
automatic