5 ms·

> Chromebooks Actually the RK3399-based Chromebooks are the "most-rootable" device you can buy today, by a long shot. Far more rootable than any desktop machi

> Chromebooks Actually the RK3399-based Chromebooks are the "most-rootable" device you can buy today, by a long shot. Far more rootable than any desktop machine still in production. No Intel ME, no PSP, and with the Samsung Kevin laptop you can build coreboot to boot the device with absolutely zero blobs -- even the Cortex-M0 power management unit firmware source is in there. It's really one of a kind.

grishka 6y ago
I've never owned or used a chromebook, but don't they all have a "developer mode" that removes most of the restrictions?
- octoberfranklin 6y ago
  The "developer mode" thing is part of Google's bootloader. Coreboot is a replacement for Google's bootloader.
mwcampbell 6y ago
If I'm not mistaken, the RK3399 Chromebooks are all 3+ years old. Are there any recent models that are equally open? Giving Chromebooks to my nieces and nephew seems like it would be a good way to cover the mainstream content consumption use cases that they and their parents want, while giving them something more open than the Amazon Fire tablets that I'm embarrassed to admit I gave them a few years ago. But I'd like to buy a model that's near the beginning of its support lifecycle.
fsflover 6y ago
> Actually the RK3399-based Chromebooks are the "most-rootable" device you can buy today, by a long shot. No, they aren't: https://puri.sm/products/librem-14/ https://puri.sm/products/librem-14/
- octoberfranklin 6y ago
  That laptop has an Intel Management Engine in it. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_Management_Engine https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_Management_Engine
  - fsflover 6y ago
    Not exactly, it's neutralized and disabled: https://puri.sm/learn/intel-me/ https://puri.sm/learn/intel-me/
IggleSniggle 6y ago
Can you expand on this? I’m not familiar with this space. What capability do you have with these that you lose when you build your own desktop?

grishka 6y ago

I've never owned or used a chromebook, but don't they all have a "developer mode" that removes most of the restrictions?

octoberfranklin 6y ago
The "developer mode" thing is part of Google's bootloader. Coreboot is a replacement for Google's bootloader.

mwcampbell 6y ago

If I'm not mistaken, the RK3399 Chromebooks are all 3+ years old. Are there any recent models that are equally open? Giving Chromebooks to my nieces and nephew seems like it would be a good way to cover the mainstream content consumption use cases that they and their parents want, while giving them something more open than the Amazon Fire tablets that I'm embarrassed to admit I gave them a few years ago. But I'd like to buy a model that's near the beginning of its support lifecycle.

fsflover 6y ago

> Actually the RK3399-based Chromebooks are the "most-rootable" device you can buy today, by a long shot. No, they aren't: https://puri.sm/products/librem-14/ https://puri.sm/products/librem-14/

octoberfranklin 6y ago
That laptop has an Intel Management Engine in it. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_Management_Engine https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_Management_Engine
- fsflover 6y ago
  Not exactly, it's neutralized and disabled: https://puri.sm/learn/intel-me/ https://puri.sm/learn/intel-me/

IggleSniggle 6y ago

Can you expand on this? I’m not familiar with this space. What capability do you have with these that you lose when you build your own desktop?