Partial agree on the privacy thing. It does make me feel better not to have an eye always pointed towards me no matter what I'm doing, so I do see value in being able to disable it physically. However, being paranoid enough to want to physically remove the webcam is an entirely different ball game than having a webcam cover and silently doing your thing, so I assume that everyone agrees that this is just a marketing gimmick. For the mic, I can see the argument that putting your phone away is easier than not having any sort of modern computing device around when you want to not be recorded, and so that could be useful for some people (but I agree: a very limited number). You might also consider that people currently don't take these privacy steps because it's inconvenient. If it were as easy as flipping a switch, maybe people would use it after all. Having the option isn't bad.
> Why would I buy this over a lenovo for instance.
Lenovo tells you to install Windows when there is any doubt that it's a software issue, and of course that's an easy doubt to cast. There is no support tier that will support Linux, let alone coreboot. Want to apply firmware updates? Again, get yourself a Microsoft license. At least, that's what I hear from colleagues, I don't have a Lenovo currently.
Also, competition. I'm not sure how many other modern laptops still have 5 USB ports, especially when considering the large 85 Wh battery and the gimmicky screen you get (in case anyone cares about >60 Hz or 4k at 16"). It does seem like a rare combo and not a bad one.
> Why would I buy this over a lenovo for instance.
Lenovo tells you to install Windows when there is any doubt that it's a software issue, and of course that's an easy doubt to cast. There is no support tier that will support Linux, let alone coreboot. Want to apply firmware updates? Again, get yourself a Microsoft license. At least, that's what I hear from colleagues, I don't have a Lenovo currently.
Also, competition. I'm not sure how many other modern laptops still have 5 USB ports, especially when considering the large 85 Wh battery and the gimmicky screen you get (in case anyone cares about >60 Hz or 4k at 16"). It does seem like a rare combo and not a bad one.