5 ms·

Reviving Chromebooks with Ubuntu

98 points by edent 4y ago

dmitrygr 4y ago
Some chromebooks can be flashed with seabios and no longer nag you about developer mode, and happily boot linux (or windows even)
- vladikoff 4y ago
  +1 to this, SeaBIOS is great!
landgenoot 4y ago
Interesting. I assume this only works for x86 based Chromebooks?
- kramerger 4y ago
  I belive the unit seen in the picture is an ARM model.
vayup 4y ago
Reviving Chromebooks is a lot easier than that. Just install ChromeOS flex.
- sowbug 4y ago
  https://support.google.com/chromeosflex/answer/11552529?hl=en https://support.google.com/chromeosflex/answer/11552529?hl=e... Many of today's Chromebooks will be supported through 2030. It even works on Apple desktops and laptops!
- djaychela 4y ago
  That only works for a selected set of chromebook. And you still have an end of life date that is fixed. My girl friend's school is having to dispose of about 300 chromebooks for precisely this reason. Most are still functional, but now unsupported. They would be totally usable if they weren't being deliberately binned by Google. This is an environmental crime, as is a lot of support ending the useful lives of devices. These externalities are created by companies who make huge profits, and don't have to deal with what they have created. I've thought this for years, but part of the problem is that everyone is convinced they need to use windows (they don't), and everyone likes new and shiny.
  - throwaway2056 4y ago
    I assume you never used them for YouTube/zoom/meet? Whether you like or not streams become heavy - older devices cannot handle. With spectre/meltdown patches things became slower for these older devices. For reasons beyond comprehension everyone wants to see only 120fps or hfr. If you see all k12sysadmin forums you can see these are also motivated by the school admin - they get good contracts from Apple/others to upgrade or lose out. Parents too want shiny devices for their children. > environmental crime, as is a lot of support ending the useful lives of devices. It is the same like all large companies selling their windows 7 or 10 device (after 3 years of leasing) or TV. Ideally there could be FOREVER updateable windows version with only security support/patches - basic version. The WORLD business model is bad for environment/world. At least all these Chromebooks will be sold in eBay (for cheap) via resellers that are used well by linux community.
  - 2b3a51 4y ago
    Google Flex used to be Neverware's CloudReady until Google bought the company. https://support.google.com/chromeosflex/answer/11513094 https://support.google.com/chromeosflex/answer/11513094 As a concrete example: I have a Thinkpad L440 which is certified for Flex and receives support until 2026. The L440 runs any Linux X86 distro fine (EFI or legacy Bios).
thomasfl 4y ago
Planned obsolescence is annoying when it comes to light bulbs. But for general purpose computers and TV sets, planned obsolescence should be illegal. When buying a general purpose computer mac, pc or chromebook, the manufacturers should be imposed to make sure the computer can run an open source operating system too. Apple have not paid anything as far as I know to the community that are working on drivers to make Linux run on their M1 and M2 Apple Silicon Macs. Most of the software the powers the Chromebooks is open source.
- Dalewyn 4y ago
  Why should Apple have to pay for something they never asked for?
  - javchz 4y ago
    I think paid it's the wrong word, but I agree that at least they should offer drivers for the hardware you own. Like if I get an AMD card, they provide drivers for Linux, and windows. At least they should for devices they don't plan on supporting anymore themselves. A little bit idealistic, but we should make Apple accountable of their "eco friendly" image, we already have enough e-waste, to keep dumping good hardware to the trash because it not longer has support from Apple, despite working perfectly fine and safe with other OS like Linux.
  - nextos 4y ago
    I think the OP means Apple should pay because they will provide support after Apple declares EOL. And the OP argues support beyond EOL should be mandated by law. At very least, manufacturers should be asked to unlock things and provide documentation to let the community support devices. It's incredible the amount of devices that have perfectly fine hardware but are crippled due to the lack of software updates.
    - throwaway2056 4y ago
      I dont think majority of the lawmakers or population cares. Verizon/carrier locking. Apple app store.
ge96 4y ago
I've done it but chip aging is a thing. It sucks. They get to a point where they can barely open a website or only have a couple tabs open. If we're talking old ones from 2010s
- anthk 4y ago
  Use Ublock Origin and ZRAM.
  - ge96 4y ago
    Yeah I do (use UBO). In my case I was trying to use it for web development eg. run npm/react and yeah it was bad. This was a Rockchip 1.8GHz Processor (C100P) I had better luck with a ‎2.16 GHz celeron (Toshiba Chromebook 2) Other thing is say you visit YouTube and the tiles don't all immediately load in, that's an example of lowering performance (because time moves on, web grows).
    - anthk 4y ago
      Get Libredirect, and at Libredirect 's settings mark the box which says something like "find another instance if the first one it's down".
- javchz 4y ago
  Yes a no. A Sandy bridge computer (something like a 2500k i5) it's still perfectly capable to run as a home computer (and even light game, or pro tasks). And if you add a light distro to the mix and a GPU, it's even better than a new Celeron cpu you can get from current gen Intel.
- squarefoot 4y ago
  I do not own any Chromebooks yet, but have a bunch of Chromeboxes, which essentially are the same thing in desktop small form factor, and liberated all of them over the years using the unscrew+script method described at https://mrchromebox.tech https://mrchromebox.tech. They may not be very fast, especially the older ones, though still have their use. I turned for example a Asus CN62 (CPU: i3-5010U) to a Kodi media center, and it flies compared to the Raspberry Pi4 I used before. Only drawback compared to the RPi is the lack of native CEC support, which I solved by adding an external Pulse Eight dongle. https://www.pulse-eight.com/p/104/usb-hdmi-cec-adapter https://www.pulse-eight.com/p/104/usb-hdmi-cec-adapter
realjhol 4y ago
> The other part of this article will go into the reasonings behind this, and talk more about planned obsolecnece, computers, capitalism, permacomputing, and post-scarcity anti-capitalist futures. Cringe
mlukaszek 4y ago
Slightly off topic, but I'm wondering if alternatives aren't safer. Does anyone have any experience with Brunch Framework https://github.com/sebanc/brunch https://github.com/sebanc/brunch and its compatibility with actual chromebooks? Context: I own a Samsung Chromebook Pro (codename Caroline), which goes out of support in June...
- ragingrobot 4y ago
  I've used it on non-chromebook x86-64 machines with no issues. It will use an official image, so I can't tell you what will happen if that image goes end-of-life (probably the same as if you were using the actual hardware - end of updates). You'll probably want to find a similar machine's image to start with, one that won't be EOL any time soon.
vorticalbox 4y ago
Rather than Ubuntu I would suggest galliumos[0] [0] https://galliumos.org/ https://galliumos.org/
- mlukaszek 4y ago
  Isn't that project mostly dead? Last release years ago, tons of people having trouble on Reddit... Also, https://github.com/GalliumOS/galliumos-distro/issues/631 https://github.com/GalliumOS/galliumos-distro/issues/631
  - MonkeyClub 4y ago
    GalliumOS is done since last December, but if the hardware is supported, it is usually the most performant solution. One needs to keep in mind though that, depending on the device, some features might not be fully supported (like custom touchpad drivers).
  - penguin_booze 4y ago
    I installed it couple of years ago. I still get package updates from the Ubuntu base repo on which it's based. But it's true that there haven't been any newer OS releases since. My machine keeps going nevertheless. I only use it for light browsing while I commute, so I'm not that bothered about lacking OS updates. As long as it turns on, connects to WiFi, and opens Firefox, I'm content.
- usr1106 4y ago
  I would also migrate away from Ubuntu because of the snap lock-in. Just have not decided where to go with low end machines (2 GB are enough to give you a decent experience for basic tasks.) But not if you run everything in a container or insist that you must keep dozens of tabs open.)
Aleklart 4y ago
I have rebuild a dozen of ewaste atom laptops into smart home controller displays with 3d printer. Hardware wise it went fine. But make them working reliable is next to impossible. Lots of problems with linux gui/wifi drivers. Anything graphic and gui related is a mess. Updates just not worth it because they can kill the boot. In order to get stability you need router style firmware with Squashfs blob . With outdated kernel that at least let you have hardware accelerated output and no wifi dropouts after 2-3 days uptime, and you can reset it without fear of bricking. I can’t tell people to admin and google for linux problems daily. So these devices will die under Linux quickly anyway as kernel development direction is to make painful, by wasting time of backporting, fixing and recompiling old drivers, to use any old hardware.
- nivenkos 4y ago
  Is it really that bad now? 7 years ago or so I installed 32-bit Edubuntu (IIRC) on some old Atom netbooks for my little cousins, and it was very straightforward. But back then there was more 32-bit support still.
nivenkos 4y ago
We really need proper e-waste and obsolescence laws. I.e. once official support ends the company must release datasheets, schematics, PCB designs, a FOSS bootloader and firmware, etc. - so that old devices can be repaired and re-purposed. It'd increase the threat of cheap clones - but that's not necessarily a bad thing either.
- yencabulator 4y ago
  > a FOSS bootloader and firmware Many of these devices never had these to begin with, and the firmware came from the SoC manufacturer not the gadget manufacturer. That'd be a huge chain reaction rippling through the supply chain; unlikely. I can't even imagine the amount of money Apple, NVidia & Intel would sink into lobbying against needing to disclose internal datasheets. I wish, but wishing isn't helping much. In the meanwhile, I buy Framework laptops...
turtleyacht 4y ago
Here's to hoping for another sale of Lenovo 11e, quad-core models: small enough to strip into "server stacks," and just enough SSD to practice home lab stuff, without too much fuss. I realized if I wanted an (automated) testable staging environment, I would need to "duplicate the stack," in a sense: a test firewall and a production one; a test router--and a production one.

98 points by edent 4y ago

Some chromebooks can be flashed with seabios and no longer nag you about developer mode, and happily boot linux (or windows even)

vladikoff 4y ago
+1 to this, SeaBIOS is great!

landgenoot 4y ago

Interesting. I assume this only works for x86 based Chromebooks?

kramerger 4y ago
I belive the unit seen in the picture is an ARM model.

vayup 4y ago

Reviving Chromebooks is a lot easier than that. Just install ChromeOS flex.

sowbug 4y ago
https://support.google.com/chromeosflex/answer/11552529?hl=en https://support.google.com/chromeosflex/answer/11552529?hl=e... Many of today's Chromebooks will be supported through 2030. It even works on Apple desktops and laptops!
djaychela 4y ago
That only works for a selected set of chromebook. And you still have an end of life date that is fixed. My girl friend's school is having to dispose of about 300 chromebooks for precisely this reason. Most are still functional, but now unsupported. They would be totally usable if they weren't being deliberately binned by Google. This is an environmental crime, as is a lot of support ending the useful lives of devices. These externalities are created by companies who make huge profits, and don't have to deal with what they have created. I've thought this for years, but part of the problem is that everyone is convinced they need to use windows (they don't), and everyone likes new and shiny.
- throwaway2056 4y ago
  I assume you never used them for YouTube/zoom/meet? Whether you like or not streams become heavy - older devices cannot handle. With spectre/meltdown patches things became slower for these older devices. For reasons beyond comprehension everyone wants to see only 120fps or hfr. If you see all k12sysadmin forums you can see these are also motivated by the school admin - they get good contracts from Apple/others to upgrade or lose out. Parents too want shiny devices for their children. > environmental crime, as is a lot of support ending the useful lives of devices. It is the same like all large companies selling their windows 7 or 10 device (after 3 years of leasing) or TV. Ideally there could be FOREVER updateable windows version with only security support/patches - basic version. The WORLD business model is bad for environment/world. At least all these Chromebooks will be sold in eBay (for cheap) via resellers that are used well by linux community.
- 2b3a51 4y ago
  Google Flex used to be Neverware's CloudReady until Google bought the company. https://support.google.com/chromeosflex/answer/11513094 https://support.google.com/chromeosflex/answer/11513094 As a concrete example: I have a Thinkpad L440 which is certified for Flex and receives support until 2026. The L440 runs any Linux X86 distro fine (EFI or legacy Bios).

thomasfl 4y ago

Planned obsolescence is annoying when it comes to light bulbs. But for general purpose computers and TV sets, planned obsolescence should be illegal. When buying a general purpose computer mac, pc or chromebook, the manufacturers should be imposed to make sure the computer can run an open source operating system too. Apple have not paid anything as far as I know to the community that are working on drivers to make Linux run on their M1 and M2 Apple Silicon Macs. Most of the software the powers the Chromebooks is open source.

Dalewyn 4y ago
Why should Apple have to pay for something they never asked for?
- javchz 4y ago
  I think paid it's the wrong word, but I agree that at least they should offer drivers for the hardware you own. Like if I get an AMD card, they provide drivers for Linux, and windows. At least they should for devices they don't plan on supporting anymore themselves. A little bit idealistic, but we should make Apple accountable of their "eco friendly" image, we already have enough e-waste, to keep dumping good hardware to the trash because it not longer has support from Apple, despite working perfectly fine and safe with other OS like Linux.
- nextos 4y ago
  I think the OP means Apple should pay because they will provide support after Apple declares EOL. And the OP argues support beyond EOL should be mandated by law. At very least, manufacturers should be asked to unlock things and provide documentation to let the community support devices. It's incredible the amount of devices that have perfectly fine hardware but are crippled due to the lack of software updates.
  - throwaway2056 4y ago
    I dont think majority of the lawmakers or population cares. Verizon/carrier locking. Apple app store.

ge96 4y ago

I've done it but chip aging is a thing. It sucks. They get to a point where they can barely open a website or only have a couple tabs open. If we're talking old ones from 2010s

anthk 4y ago
Use Ublock Origin and ZRAM.
- ge96 4y ago
  Yeah I do (use UBO). In my case I was trying to use it for web development eg. run npm/react and yeah it was bad. This was a Rockchip 1.8GHz Processor (C100P) I had better luck with a ‎2.16 GHz celeron (Toshiba Chromebook 2) Other thing is say you visit YouTube and the tiles don't all immediately load in, that's an example of lowering performance (because time moves on, web grows).
  - anthk 4y ago
    Get Libredirect, and at Libredirect 's settings mark the box which says something like "find another instance if the first one it's down".
javchz 4y ago
Yes a no. A Sandy bridge computer (something like a 2500k i5) it's still perfectly capable to run as a home computer (and even light game, or pro tasks). And if you add a light distro to the mix and a GPU, it's even better than a new Celeron cpu you can get from current gen Intel.
squarefoot 4y ago
I do not own any Chromebooks yet, but have a bunch of Chromeboxes, which essentially are the same thing in desktop small form factor, and liberated all of them over the years using the unscrew+script method described at https://mrchromebox.tech https://mrchromebox.tech. They may not be very fast, especially the older ones, though still have their use. I turned for example a Asus CN62 (CPU: i3-5010U) to a Kodi media center, and it flies compared to the Raspberry Pi4 I used before. Only drawback compared to the RPi is the lack of native CEC support, which I solved by adding an external Pulse Eight dongle. https://www.pulse-eight.com/p/104/usb-hdmi-cec-adapter https://www.pulse-eight.com/p/104/usb-hdmi-cec-adapter

realjhol 4y ago

> The other part of this article will go into the reasonings behind this, and talk more about planned obsolecnece, computers, capitalism, permacomputing, and post-scarcity anti-capitalist futures. Cringe

mlukaszek 4y ago

Slightly off topic, but I'm wondering if alternatives aren't safer. Does anyone have any experience with Brunch Framework https://github.com/sebanc/brunch https://github.com/sebanc/brunch and its compatibility with actual chromebooks? Context: I own a Samsung Chromebook Pro (codename Caroline), which goes out of support in June...

ragingrobot 4y ago
I've used it on non-chromebook x86-64 machines with no issues. It will use an official image, so I can't tell you what will happen if that image goes end-of-life (probably the same as if you were using the actual hardware - end of updates). You'll probably want to find a similar machine's image to start with, one that won't be EOL any time soon.

vorticalbox 4y ago

Rather than Ubuntu I would suggest galliumos[0] [0] https://galliumos.org/ https://galliumos.org/

mlukaszek 4y ago
Isn't that project mostly dead? Last release years ago, tons of people having trouble on Reddit... Also, https://github.com/GalliumOS/galliumos-distro/issues/631 https://github.com/GalliumOS/galliumos-distro/issues/631
- MonkeyClub 4y ago
  GalliumOS is done since last December, but if the hardware is supported, it is usually the most performant solution. One needs to keep in mind though that, depending on the device, some features might not be fully supported (like custom touchpad drivers).
- penguin_booze 4y ago
  I installed it couple of years ago. I still get package updates from the Ubuntu base repo on which it's based. But it's true that there haven't been any newer OS releases since. My machine keeps going nevertheless. I only use it for light browsing while I commute, so I'm not that bothered about lacking OS updates. As long as it turns on, connects to WiFi, and opens Firefox, I'm content.
usr1106 4y ago
I would also migrate away from Ubuntu because of the snap lock-in. Just have not decided where to go with low end machines (2 GB are enough to give you a decent experience for basic tasks.) But not if you run everything in a container or insist that you must keep dozens of tabs open.)

Aleklart 4y ago

I have rebuild a dozen of ewaste atom laptops into smart home controller displays with 3d printer. Hardware wise it went fine. But make them working reliable is next to impossible. Lots of problems with linux gui/wifi drivers. Anything graphic and gui related is a mess. Updates just not worth it because they can kill the boot. In order to get stability you need router style firmware with Squashfs blob . With outdated kernel that at least let you have hardware accelerated output and no wifi dropouts after 2-3 days uptime, and you can reset it without fear of bricking. I can’t tell people to admin and google for linux problems daily. So these devices will die under Linux quickly anyway as kernel development direction is to make painful, by wasting time of backporting, fixing and recompiling old drivers, to use any old hardware.

nivenkos 4y ago
Is it really that bad now? 7 years ago or so I installed 32-bit Edubuntu (IIRC) on some old Atom netbooks for my little cousins, and it was very straightforward. But back then there was more 32-bit support still.

nivenkos 4y ago

We really need proper e-waste and obsolescence laws. I.e. once official support ends the company must release datasheets, schematics, PCB designs, a FOSS bootloader and firmware, etc. - so that old devices can be repaired and re-purposed. It'd increase the threat of cheap clones - but that's not necessarily a bad thing either.

yencabulator 4y ago
> a FOSS bootloader and firmware Many of these devices never had these to begin with, and the firmware came from the SoC manufacturer not the gadget manufacturer. That'd be a huge chain reaction rippling through the supply chain; unlikely. I can't even imagine the amount of money Apple, NVidia & Intel would sink into lobbying against needing to disclose internal datasheets. I wish, but wishing isn't helping much. In the meanwhile, I buy Framework laptops...

turtleyacht 4y ago

Here's to hoping for another sale of Lenovo 11e, quad-core models: small enough to strip into "server stacks," and just enough SSD to practice home lab stuff, without too much fuss. I realized if I wanted an (automated) testable staging environment, I would need to "duplicate the stack," in a sense: a test firewall and a production one; a test router--and a production one.