4 ms·

They call locked bootloaders "LandfillBoot" for a reason.

by KirillPanov 3y ago

CommanderData 3y ago
We need regulation to end this and have these devices unlocked so they can be used in third world countries.
- YeBanKo 3y ago
  So third world countries need to deal with out ewaste?
  - Wowfunhappy 3y ago
    GP presumably means so they can continue using the computers. Similar to how "recycled" American clothing often ends up in these countries.
    - YeBanKo 3y ago
      It is not locked, after it stops receiving software updates it is considered outdated and not supported with software provider contracts by schools in the US. Now it’s a very costly vendor lock in. It’s unlikely that a third world country will be able to efficiently repurpose them, where are better alternatives.
Wowfunhappy 3y ago
Luckily, most Chromebooks come with unlockable bootloaders. That's not really the problem. I worked at a coding after-school program. We had a bunch of Chromebooks which worked fine, but were no longer receiving security updates. Since all coding teachers need to be moderately technical people, I briefly considered installing some lightweight Linux distro. I then immediately discarded the idea, because I was absolutely not going to install Linux by hand on upwards of 30 Chromebooks, plus deal with supporting them in the future. A real school would have much more than 30 Chromebooks. Admittedly they might also have a dedicated IT staff for a project like this, but I bet it's still more economical to just replace the computers. (Which doesn't necessarily mean they can afford either of these things.)
- pessimizer 3y ago
  You don't install Linux over and over again (especially on identical boxen), you install it once, image it, and copy that image.
  - Wowfunhappy 3y ago
    Good point—I didn't actually get that far into the idea. It would still be a ton of manual work, however. Even just the bootloader unlock, while not overly difficult, would be laborious on 30 computers.
    - salawat 3y ago
      Now you know why people like me scream bloody murder as more and more forms of anti-user interlock are bumped to firmware and lower.

They call locked bootloaders "LandfillBoot" for a reason.

CommanderData 3y ago

We need regulation to end this and have these devices unlocked so they can be used in third world countries.

YeBanKo 3y ago
So third world countries need to deal with out ewaste?
- Wowfunhappy 3y ago
  GP presumably means so they can continue using the computers. Similar to how "recycled" American clothing often ends up in these countries.
  - YeBanKo 3y ago
    It is not locked, after it stops receiving software updates it is considered outdated and not supported with software provider contracts by schools in the US. Now it’s a very costly vendor lock in. It’s unlikely that a third world country will be able to efficiently repurpose them, where are better alternatives.

Wowfunhappy 3y ago

Luckily, most Chromebooks come with unlockable bootloaders. That's not really the problem. I worked at a coding after-school program. We had a bunch of Chromebooks which worked fine, but were no longer receiving security updates. Since all coding teachers need to be moderately technical people, I briefly considered installing some lightweight Linux distro. I then immediately discarded the idea, because I was absolutely not going to install Linux by hand on upwards of 30 Chromebooks, plus deal with supporting them in the future. A real school would have much more than 30 Chromebooks. Admittedly they might also have a dedicated IT staff for a project like this, but I bet it's still more economical to just replace the computers. (Which doesn't necessarily mean they can afford either of these things.)

pessimizer 3y ago
You don't install Linux over and over again (especially on identical boxen), you install it once, image it, and copy that image.
- Wowfunhappy 3y ago
  Good point—I didn't actually get that far into the idea. It would still be a ton of manual work, however. Even just the bootloader unlock, while not overly difficult, would be laborious on 30 computers.
  - salawat 3y ago
    Now you know why people like me scream bloody murder as more and more forms of anti-user interlock are bumped to firmware and lower.