For the most part it really is. A lot of what it does I would do anyway, but it has that by default, which saves a lot of time for me every time I install it (which is quite often due to my endless distro-hopping). Not everything works perfectly, and a lot of that is intentional (such as spoofing the timezone). I would definitely recommend giving it a shot, and if something doesn't work well you can probably just turn it off (and they'll probably explain how in their FAQ).

Yeah, Framework definitely needs to eventually make a less expensive device (right now they aren't really price-competitive), but they are a small company with very limited resources, so it's perfectly understandable that they haven't yet. In any case, getting something like a used Thinkpad definitely still at least partially follows Framework's vision while being less painfully expensive (I had some trouble justifying the purchase at first given the high price compared to the competition, although ultimately it was definitely nessisary to replace my aging Zenbook, and it will probably age better than the competition) and would probably work well for you (their reputation didn't come from nowhere after all). Anyways, sorry for the long and somewhat rambling response (I need to work on cutting down all those parenthesis), and I wish you luck on your laptop-finding adventure!

Well, while I presume you meant to say less than 400$, if you really did mean more then I would highly recommend getting a Framework laptop. They are amazing fully repairable and upgradable ultrabooks, and they have mostly excellent Linux support (you can even buy them without windows preinstalled!). I've had one for several months now and it's been great.

I have a Framework and it's been an amazing device! As a company, they have definitly followed through with their promises too and I've been very satisfied with them. I've heard that System76 devices are fine too, and they have nice stuff like coreboot and lvfs, which Framework lacks right now, but they aren't nearly as unique as Frameworks, and in my view, are a bit generic. I would definetly reccomend the Framework! Just note that you may have to wait a while to get one, so if you need a new laptop asap (which it sounds like you don't), you may have to look elsewhere. If you can wait though, definitly get a Framework!

Oh, I almost forgot that it exists! I seem to remember it being a bit glichy (but the whole of libreoffice was like that on my system then due to an unrelated issue) and I'm not sure how well it will work on a tablet (it is libreoffice though, so even if it doesn't work well out of the box, I can probably get it to work better). I'll definitly give it another shot though!

Well, I'm putting it on a Microsoft Surface Pro (which really is just a tablet with an optional well-integrated attachable keyboard, and I'm only really going to be using it as a tablet). Due to it being a Microsoft device, it doesnt completely work out of the box with Linux, but there are a few projects out there to help it do so (like this).

Yeah, I've used Okular for a while now on my desktop and it's generally been fine (definitly far better than GNOME's pdf reader), but I've found it's text insertion routine to be a bit finicky (although it's possible I may have missed a better way to do it), and I don't think it'll work well on a tablet. I will still give it a shot though once I can!

It looks great! I'll definetly give it a try. Thanks!

Proton has a great free tier that may work well for you. I've used them for a while now and it's been great. They have what is probably the most feature-complete private email service out there (unless I'm forgetting something). The main nitpick I have with them is how little they focus on Linux, but that applies more for their other services than email.