MNT April 2025 Update
First update of 2025, let's see what's been happening at the MNT headquarters.
Latest Developments
NLnet Funding (Qualcomm QCS6490)
We are happy to announce that we have official confirmation from NLnet that they will fund our next MNT Reform series Processor Module, the Qualcomm QCS6490, through NGIZero Core. As we will adapt the Thundercomm TurboX C6490P solderable modules as the base, we will also get pin compatibility with more processors including the very powerful Qualcomm Dragonwing QCS8550 that can go up to 3.2 GHz. Since good mainline Linux support for the QCS8550 (and other future processors) has still a long way to go we will focus on the development of the QCS6490. A nearly identical processor (the QCM6490) has been successfully integrated into the Fairphone 5 and supports PostmarketOS as well as mainline Linux which is perfect for our purposes. It is good to have a roadmap of the future though and we check in regularly with the latest electronics developments.
Prototype of an MNT Touch Device
We constantly evaluate future MNT devices and ask ourselves what our customers might be interested in. We had this idea of creating an open source hardware touch device that runs Linux and fits into the pockets of your jacket, pants, dress, or handbag. Greta made a super low-fi and chunky prototype of a potential MNT touch device using cardboard, tape, and MNT Pocket Reform electronics which Lukas then posted on the Fediverse to get some feedback from the community.
This device idea resonated with a lot of people who posted enthusiastic comments on the prototype and gave feedback on weight, size, and display preferences. The actual device will, of course, look somewhat different and (a bit) less chunky but it was a fun experiment prototyping this.
State of the MNT Desktop Reform Prototype
This prototype of the MNT Desktop Reform is already an alpha version and we think it looks pretty good already.
It's a 3D printed box with the top panel made from aluminum. Some electronics are integrated into the side panels that turn the MNT Reform motherboard into a standalone computer with upgradeable CPU/RAM modules. We are deciding on the final material options and are ordering more components, buttons, and LEDs at the moment.
New About Page: The MNT Difference
Anri wrote up a new About page called "The MNT Difference" for our website and illustrated it with graphics to highlight the core ideas of what we do. There are three sections: Extension of First Life, Second Life, and Open Computing Autonomy. Here is an example from the section "Second Life" that depicts our approach to modularity:
We hope that the text and images help understand our philosophy and what is important to us. The page could also serve as a reference point if you want to explain MNT to others or need authorization from your boss to buy something from us.
Update on MNT Reform Motherboard 3.0
A few days ago we got confirmation that a batch of 100 MNT Reform Motherboards 3.0 are finally on their way to us from PCBWay.
With this new version you get USB-C power delivery, the NVMe SSD slot bumped from 1x to 4x PCIe lanes (for RK3588), a fixed headphone jack detection (resistor update), and a lot more. A detailed list of changes can be found in our repo on GitLab.
Side note: If you ordered an MNT Reform laptop and it hasn't been shipped yet, it will automatically receive the motherboard upgrade and contain the latest 3.0 version.
GNOME Desktop
Lukas wrote a longer post in the MNT Community forum about the roadmap for integrating the GNOME desktop again for the Pocket/Reform/Next devices.
Lukas has been testing GNOME on MNT Pocket Reform for weeks now and we also want to release this desktop option to the public. You can chime in with the aforementioned thread and ask questions or contribute your ideas.
Report Bugs on our Git repository
We finally have a quick way to report bugs! It serves as a central bugtracker for all bugs, no matter which MNT device and no matter if hardware or software. We wanted to have a way of bundling bug in one place to minimize effort and avoid confusion on where to file said bugs. If you want to report (or even fix) bugs you can do so by:
- Creating an account on source.mnt.re
- Writing an email to support@mntre.com:
- (Subject: report bugs)
- Tell us which bugs you want to report (this is a pre-condition to the account getting activated)
- Include your account name
- We will activate your account
- After the activation you will be able to file bug reports, send merge requests, etc. on our GitLab
- Go to mnt.re/bugs to report bugs
- We will review each report
MNT Reform Next Update
At the beginning of February 2025 our campaign on Crowd Supply came to a close and we are delighted that so many people backed MNT Reform Next. The project is 535% funded at the time of writing and we received the money from Crowd Supply at the end of March and have started ordering components for the production. Some of them have a longer lead time, so this will take a while. We are planning on shipping the first devices in fall 2025 and right now it looks like a realistic estimate.
New Products From MNT
1. MNT Pocket Reform Back Plate
After discovering that the original back plate for MNT Pocket Reform had a full (instead of a partial) copper back side, we took immediate action and produced the back plate we wanted to have initially. It is now available at cost in our shop and includes a Wi-Fi antenna.
Due to the plate only being partially coated with copper, the Wi-Fi reception has significantly improved.
2. MNT Pocket Reform Upgrade Bundle with RK3588 Processor Module
A while ago we launched the upgrade bundle for MNT Pocket Reform. It includes our most performant processor module (RCORE RK3588), an optional (but recommended) Wi-Fi card with antenna, and an optional NVMe SSD with 1 TB storage.
Features:
- Very fast CPU/GPU, 16/32GB RAM
- Dual display capable
- Fast PCIe 3.0+2.0 and USB 3.0
That's a wrap! To keep you more up to date we are planning on publishing MNT News more regularly (once a month). Until then you can read us nearly daily on the Fediverse or in the MNT Community Forum.