[sf-lug] Big progress on launchpad's bug number one

[Michael Shiloh]

so now we have to root our laptops and desktops as well...

On 01/07/2013 10:49 PM, Kevin J. Smith wrote:
>  From the Chromium OS site (open-source project for ChromeOS), this page has
> links to how to enable "Developer Mode" - which allows for booting into a
> non-signed OS
>
> http://www.chromium.org/chromium-os/developer-information-for-chrome-os-devices
>
> Based on a cursory Googling, appears that they have guides for installing
> Ubuntu and Debian on many of the devices.
>
> On Mon, Jan 7, 2013 at 10:19 PM, Ehud Kaldor <ehud.kaldor at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>>   Akkana wrote:
>>
>> At least, most of the
>> x86 Chromebooks have firmware that can only boot specific signed
>> kernels. You can install another distro, either instead of ChromeOS
>> or in a separate partition as a dual-boot; but it has to be a distro
>> that's capable of running with Google's signed ChromeOS kernels.
>>
>>   there is a hack available out there to disable this signing check. I
>> vaugely remember there is a physical switch you can move if you take out
>> the battery, and then it will warn you about dragons and will boot unsigned.
>>
>> Cheers,
>> Ehud
>>
>>   On 01/07/2013 07:06 PM, Akkana Peck wrote:
>>
>> Rick Moen writes:
>>
>>   one reason I haven't looked closely is that, if someone gave me a
>> somewhat hardware-anaemic Atom-based netbook preloaded with ChromeOS,
>> probably the first thing I'd do is overwrite the preload with my
>> preference in standalone (and genuinely open source) Linux distro.
>>
>>   Unfortunately, it's not as easy as that. At least, most of the
>> x86 Chromebooks have firmware that can only boot specific signed
>> kernels. You can install another distro, either instead of ChromeOS
>> or in a separate partition as a dual-boot; but it has to be a distro
>> that's capable of running with Google's signed ChromeOS kernels.
>> So you can't run something like Debian Squeeze that uses an older
>> version of udev, for example.
>>
>> My impression is that ARM models, like the model under discussion,
>> are worse -- harder to bypass UEFI, harder to find a distro that
>> works with any given kernel. But that's just rumor and may be wrong.
>> I'd love to hear a firsthand account of someone installing a full
>> Linux distro on one. Looks like nice hardware! Wish they'd sell
>> it with a less restrictive BIOS.
>>
>> But consider this: however annoying the ChromeOS restrictions are,
>> weaning people from proprietary office suites and into cloud apps
>> also makes it more possible for them to use Linux -- a real one,
>> not ChromeOS -- next time they buy a machine. It makes them more
>> OS agnostic, and may also make them more open to the idea of using
>> other cloud servers some day. So while I may chafe at the
>> restrictions and privacy implications of ChromeOS, I still see
>> Chromebook sales as a good sign for Linux. A small step, but it's
>> in the right direction.
>>
>> 	...Akkana
>>
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>
>
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