We, the coreboot community, and those passionate about Free and Open Source Software are passionate about more than just openess in software, but also openess in hardware. We view the Chromebooks as a step in the direction we've worked for over a decade to take. We would like to see a chromebook which empathizes not only openess in hardware, and software, but also presents an attractive device for everyday computing.
Although the curent line of Chromebooks is, from certain considerations, an attractive lineup, we feel more should be done to align Chromebooks with the desires and needs of our community. We value open firmware and we find the current methodolgy of initializing Intel-based hardware unsatisfactory. Components such as MRC and ME are still closed, and we, as a community, are unable to tinker with them, nor can we be confident that such components present no risks to the security of our systems and to our privacy. The trend with Intel hardware is to close down even more of the firmware, with FSP. We find this direction completely unacceptable.
We also feel that the current lineup of Chromebooks does not meet the everyday computing needs of many of us. The keyboards on current Chromebook models are small, and difficult to use in dimly lit places. The quality of the displays is less than satisfactory, while the overall performance of the Chromebooks could be improved to better suit those in our community who make heavy use of computing resources.
We would like to see a Chromebook which solves all of the above issues. Although we do not wish to impose a specific requirement for a midrange Chromebook, we would like to mention some ideas that our community has voiced.
We note that AMD-based hardware is not plagued with the closeness that Intel-based hardware exhibits. We also note that an AMD A10 mobile processor costs about the same as the Celeron 2955U used in newer Chromebooks. We feel that an A10 processor would solve the sub-par performance of the current Chromebook lineup, and would eliminate many of the proprietary code blobs that Intel systems have to ship with.
We note that the Pavilion Chromebook 14, a $300 Chromebook, comes with an Innolux N140BGE display panel. This panel's quality is appalling at best. We note that an AOU B140HAN01 panel provides a much better resolution, and much improved viewing angles, with a more consistent and pleasant color reproduction, while only costing $60 more than the N140BGE.
We note that most manufacturers which offer a backlit keyboard charge a $30 fee for the upgrade from a regular keyboard.
We feel that the A10 processor, better display, and backlit keyboard would produce a much better and sexier Chromebook than the Pavilion 14, but would only increase the production cost by approximately $90. Even if such a Chromebook were to retail for $450, it would be a great device, meeting the needs of some of the most demanding members of our community.
We are, with great hopes and prayers, looking forward to being able to purchase such a system in stores.
Sincerely, The coreboot community Alexandru Gagniuc mr.nuke.me@gmail.com
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