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How are Chromebooks for use with other Linux distributions? Would be nice to have hardware which was made for use with the Linux kernel (and therefore, presumab

How are Chromebooks for use with other Linux distributions? Would be nice to have hardware which was made for use with the Linux kernel (and therefore, presumably, guaranteed to have near-perfect hardware support).

deleted 13y ago
[deleted]
- reirob 13y ago
  If this is true, then it is really a shame. Just my opinion.
- supergauntlet 13y ago
  3.4 isn't that old. Debian stable and Ubuntu 12.04 LTS are still on 3.2. It's not ideal, sure, and it'd be great if they were running 3.12 or something but its not a huge issue in most cases. If you're trying to run docker or something on it then sure it's a problem but they don't have a ton of memory in the first place.
- snogglethorpe 13y ago
  > Not very good. Asus chromebook has a locked boot loader, so it seems to only boots Google signed OS. If this is true, then "Not very good" would still be specific to the ASUS model (I don't know much about the ASUS); other chromebook models do better. Even if true, of course, the solution is obvious: don't buy the ASUS chromebook; it has few distinguishing features anyway, and then the problem becomes self-correcting over time. Linus himself, for instance, uses a Chromebook Pixel as his laptop, and he most certainly cares about which kernel it runs... :] [Here are directions for installing Linux on the Chromebook Pixel: http://vger.kernel.org/~davem/chromebook_pixel_linux.txt http://vger.kernel.org/~davem/chromebook_pixel_linux.txt ]
- Crito 13y ago
  The Pixel allows you to boot unsigned OSes. I wiped ChromeOS from my Pixel and now have Debian Wheezy on it (though I build my own kernels for it. The Pixel is supported in recent kernel versions but not the version that Wheezy comes with).
- charleslmunger 13y ago
  Is there a source for the Asus not being able to be unlocked?
cbhl 13y ago
It's hit-and-miss, as with any other Linux-based mass-market device. For example, the ARM-based Samsung Chromebook used a Mali graphics chip that only had a binary blob graphics driver (maybe an Android one?) that had a ugly nonfree license on it. IIRC, custom code for each device can be found in the main chromium tree somewhere; extracting those bits and using them with a standard Linux distro is painful at best; e.g. locking you to specific kernel revisions for binary driver compatibility. It reminds me of the win/softmodem shenigans we saw in the late 90s. Virtually every Chromebook has a hardware or software developer mode that lets you boot an unsigned operating system. Developer mode is rather intrusive (sad face; full screen message; beeps if you don't dismiss it early enough so that you can't do it to install malware on a lay user's laptop without them noticing) but usually can be quickly dismissed with Ctrl-D on each boot-up. There exists some very nice hardware that is built from standard components and/or will run well on standard drivers. As a starting point, prefer x86_64-based Chromebooks over ARM based ones if you're going to run a Linux distro on them.

deleted 13y ago

[deleted]

reirob 13y ago
If this is true, then it is really a shame. Just my opinion.
supergauntlet 13y ago
3.4 isn't that old. Debian stable and Ubuntu 12.04 LTS are still on 3.2. It's not ideal, sure, and it'd be great if they were running 3.12 or something but its not a huge issue in most cases. If you're trying to run docker or something on it then sure it's a problem but they don't have a ton of memory in the first place.
snogglethorpe 13y ago
> Not very good. Asus chromebook has a locked boot loader, so it seems to only boots Google signed OS. If this is true, then "Not very good" would still be specific to the ASUS model (I don't know much about the ASUS); other chromebook models do better. Even if true, of course, the solution is obvious: don't buy the ASUS chromebook; it has few distinguishing features anyway, and then the problem becomes self-correcting over time. Linus himself, for instance, uses a Chromebook Pixel as his laptop, and he most certainly cares about which kernel it runs... :] [Here are directions for installing Linux on the Chromebook Pixel: http://vger.kernel.org/~davem/chromebook_pixel_linux.txt http://vger.kernel.org/~davem/chromebook_pixel_linux.txt ]
Crito 13y ago
The Pixel allows you to boot unsigned OSes. I wiped ChromeOS from my Pixel and now have Debian Wheezy on it (though I build my own kernels for it. The Pixel is supported in recent kernel versions but not the version that Wheezy comes with).
charleslmunger 13y ago
Is there a source for the Asus not being able to be unlocked?

cbhl 13y ago

It's hit-and-miss, as with any other Linux-based mass-market device. For example, the ARM-based Samsung Chromebook used a Mali graphics chip that only had a binary blob graphics driver (maybe an Android one?) that had a ugly nonfree license on it. IIRC, custom code for each device can be found in the main chromium tree somewhere; extracting those bits and using them with a standard Linux distro is painful at best; e.g. locking you to specific kernel revisions for binary driver compatibility. It reminds me of the win/softmodem shenigans we saw in the late 90s. Virtually every Chromebook has a hardware or software developer mode that lets you boot an unsigned operating system. Developer mode is rather intrusive (sad face; full screen message; beeps if you don't dismiss it early enough so that you can't do it to install malware on a lay user's laptop without them noticing) but usually can be quickly dismissed with Ctrl-D on each boot-up. There exists some very nice hardware that is built from standard components and/or will run well on standard drivers. As a starting point, prefer x86_64-based Chromebooks over ARM based ones if you're going to run a Linux distro on them.