[ale] Is there anyone in the Atlanta area who repairs Netbooks?

[DJ-Pfulio]

On 06/06/2015 11:10 AM, Jim Lynch wrote:
> Can it run Linux?  Can it boot from something (cd, thumb drive)? The lack of an
> ethernet port is pretty critical.  I'm not really satisfied with wireless
> speeds.  It's a waste of time and at my age, I don't have  a lot of time left
> :).  The missing DELETE key is disturbing, but maybe you can repurpose another key?

Let's see if we can correct those misconceptions ....

YES, it runs Linux.  I wiped chromeos 5 minutes after getting it - booted into
it only long enough to enable legacy boot mode.  Then wiped ChromeOS.  It has
been running different versions of Ubuntu Server/Desktop since then.

Boots off flash drives fine. Of course, some flash sticks don't work, but most
do. This is just like normal PCs booting off flash drives - some USB ports don't
like some flash sticks.

It is a chromebook - no CD/DVD. I suppose if you have a USB optical drive, that
might work. I dunno.  It works with every 2.5" external USB3 device that I've
connected - though I have NOT tried booting that way.

I agree that wifi is bad.  Spent $19 on a USB3-to-GigE device with 3 USB3 ports.
Support is built into 14.04 Ubuntu and later, unless you do a
"minimal-alternate-server install" ... then you may choose the wrong kernel and
not get any network support at all.  I still build the touchpad drivers manually
after every kernel update, but I insist on only running LTS releases. The newer
versions have the touchpad drivers built-in.

The Chromebook keyboard is different.  Had to remap ctl-backspace to be delete.
The WM settings do that. I miss F11 and F12 keys too. The lack of home/end and
PgUp/Dn aren't nearly the same hardship as missing the DEL key ....  The power
key is where the delete key belongs.  For a few months, I was powering off the
box constantly, until fixing logind.conf to ignore it.

Besides that, it is an x86 computer with CPU support for VT-x (virtualization),
even if 2G of RAM isn't enough to do anything useful.

Plus the video playback is great with the Haswell CPU onboard GPU.  I routinely
connect a 15ft HDMI cable to the TV in a hotel for a little mindless relaxation.

-- 
Got Linux? Used on smartphones, tablets, desktop computers, media centers, and
servers by kids, Moms, Dads, grandparents and IT professionals.