Hello new friends! Would love to know where you are from!! 🤗 Houston Texas here. Biggest takeaway for me: It’s not AI that will replace my work, it will be those who learn the tools. 🤯

📝 TL;DR Framework just raised its RAM and storage prices again and openly says more increases are likely in early 2026.The culprit is a global DRAM and NAND crunch driven by AI data centers, which is now spilling over into everyday laptops and desktops. 🧠 Overview Framework published a detailed update explaining why memory for its laptops and desktop just got significantly more expensive, and why it may have to raise prices again soon. Behind the scenes, contract prices for DDR5 chips have exploded, with some indices showing 200 to 300 percent jumps since late summer, as manufacturers prioritize ultra profitable AI server memory over consumer parts. This is one of the first times a PC maker has pulled back the curtain and said the quiet part out loud, memory is now a strategic bottleneck for the whole computing ecosystem. 📜 The Announcement In mid December 2025, Framework increased the price of DDR5 memory on its DIY laptop configurations by around 50 percent, then updated the same post on December 17 and 24 to add further hikes and include SSDs. The company says it now prices RAM based on the weighted average cost it actually pays suppliers, landing at roughly 10 dollars per gigabyte for 8, 16, and 32 gigabyte modules and even higher for 48 gigabyte sticks. That is still below what it sees on the open market and far below the per gigabyte markup some big brands charge, but Framework is blunt that supplier quotes keep rising and another increase within a month is very likely. It also warns that storage pricing is now climbing in the same way and promises to keep adjusting both up and down as its own costs move. ⚙️ How It Works • Weighted average pricing - Framework is constantly buying memory in small batches at different, often higher, prices, so it sets its RAM prices based on the weighted average cost of its current inventory rather than a flat margin. • Clear per gigabyte math - The company has aligned its memory configurations at around 10 dollars per gigabyte for common sizes, with a premium on 48 gigabyte modules, so buyers can easily compare against third party memory kits.

Any other caregivers here? This is a big commitment for so many of us and a regular part of our daily lives. Caregiving has run quietly alongside my professional life for most of my adulthood. At age 19 I became a caregiver for my mom while serving in the U.S. Navy, and I carried that role for 28 years alongside full time work, raising a family, and managing long term medical needs across changing stages of care. The mental load has never turned off. I track, plan, anticipate, and make decisions constantly, often without visibility or support. I’m so grateful for the AI tools we have now! I wish they were available back when I REALLY needed them. That experience shapes how I think about everyday cognitive support. I look past productivity hacks and focus on practical ways of reducing friction and mental overhead. My life in a 7 person multigenerational household is complex and emotionally loaded. My household ranges in age from 5 years old to 92 years old. I’m interested in what tools, systems, or approaches other caregivers find genuinely helpful while balancing caregiving with their work and daily responsibilities, even just small things that make life feel more manageable. I’m right here in the trenches with you, Sandwich Generation friends. Hugs.