hi every1!!! 
never really had a proper laptop myself (except a steam deck 
what? it IS a computer!), so i was thinking, like, really hard, (never really thougth before 
) - wat is a good laptop? what IS a “good” hardware? does anyone know? well, lemme think…
first thought: system76. they make the most powerful ARM (home desktop) computers in the world right now (e.g. thelio/ampere astra/altra). they also make… LAPTOPS! but… i just wish they werent so obsessed with novidia (imagine nvidia on nixos lmao, rofl even)… and werent a CLEVO rebrand (good, but its just getting old atp)… and werent x86 (omg STOP)… and werent proprietary (EVIL!)… and werent laughably slow, compared to other ARM laptops (foreshadowing)… for 
sake! they’re not that modular either (cos proprietary lol). also expensive to ship to europe… yeah. 
oh well. more like orwell. 
me want OSHW computer. lemme think for real this time. hmmmmmm. ooh! i know! like a commodore amiga from the 80s/90s! 
you know what i mean? who makes amiga bits and bobs (nowadays)? well, a helluva lotta people, actually, such as amigastore, retropassion, amigakit, gotek, or these little guys that you may have heard about lol, 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). OKAY, wait wait wait, ONE MORE, i got one more, just 
with me:
MNT
heh, need i say more? 
MNT!!! aka mntre or mantra! (this is my second thought btw, just randomly popped in there). i was like, oh yeah, i had one of their zz9000+ thingies before, and then i looked at their shop and i was like. WHAT??? SINCE WHEN do they make OSHW laptops bro??? like whaaat! thats crazy. mind has been boggled, utterly speechless, mad respect for that. i mustve been asleep for 5 years cos i didnt know that THIS exists:
afaik there are currently 3 EXISTING (real) OSHW computers by MNT (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 / MNT Station (2025 desktop, PROTOTYPE - EDIT: will have a mini campaign on crowd supply soon perhaps?)
MNT development news 2025: april, may, june, july, august, september, october, november, december, nvm im lazy…
shipping Q1 2026 :)
i think this is what im gonna get, guys. i mean, just look at it! its so cute. open source hardware! you can “expand” your motherboard with another SYSTEM ON A CHIP (or is it an SBC? technically both? idk, im gonna have to read about it) (for example, you can plug in anything you want, including other architectures!)… its a completely DIY thing right here. u can even plug in an eGPU (via pci, no tb obviously, there is a video showcasing just that on mastodon somewhere but im too lazy to find it myself)! but thats part of the adventure of this thing! PCB kicad/gerbers are out there… you can print, solder and/or mold all of it yourself right away haha (sry im just so excited). check it out:
now… cos ive looked around a bit on this forum (actually, do you guys call nixos discourse a forum or am i weird?) and couldnt find a single mention, any life signal of anybody using an MNT! 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!! nah i know some of you already have one lul. but really wanna hear from folks who’ve hacked the shit out of their pockets, hahaha we’re gonna KILL corpo shitware with this one 
so 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? EDIT: this one looks dead.
edit2: yo check this out, this one should work (its actively maintained). this is the rk3588 module/option for nixOS:
edit3: sorry i yap too much so just come read these:
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! whats your use case for it? do you take it outside for a walk? is the (default) monitor alright out in the sun, actually? and, most importantly… was it difficult to get nixOS running on it for someone who is relatively a noob? asking for a friend…
thanks in advance for any tips & advice, n sorry for being lazy 2 type coherently.. much love!! bye <3
NOSTALGIA BONUS! smartphones wouldve been actually good by now if google didnt kill this project (its okay to cry). aww, man. i think it was a really cool concept… 
imagine if people actually cared to recycle e-waste responsibly, ever. but what do you know: google is still the best in one thing: killing.
p.s. own a framework laptop? make sure to recycle it properly! 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… and arent thinkpads like… “entry level” to modularity, and “we dont talk about this at lenovo” level of open hardwareness?? they’re just not good enough for me
edit: yoo valve gonna kill x86 with their new hardware LOL bye bye windows users ROFL. 
fex-emu FTW!!! also contributed by MNT btw 
imagine if they’re gonna partner with valve… crazy
edit2: YOOOOO in addition to the RCORE rockchip 3588 system on a chip (SoC), MNT just announced a new MNT Quasar 6490 system on a module (SoM):
yes, i would rather not use a computer at all if its x86, why do you ask? 
automatic