On 11/14/2013 06:38 PM, ron minnich wrote:
Then the problem is not that people don't care. Any plans for a quad-core chromebook in the near future?
Actually, thinking about this, now I disagree with you. People do care. But they don't care enough to make it the highest priority.
Your priorities are something like this: backlit keyboard Al. case upgradable ram upgradeable 2.5" storage ... other stuff coreboot
No currently sold coreboot laptop can meet all those requirements. You can get upgradeable (acer c710) but not alum. case. You can get alum. case but not upgradeable. In any event, however, coreboot is far down on your list.
If your list read as coreboot etc. etc.
Then it would be clear: that kind of openness is a high enough priority that you'll give up other wants for it. But, clearly, it's not. Other things come first.
You are not alone; but, that said, it's the problem we've been fighting all along. People don't care enough about coreboot to put it first.They have other wants, and they'll accept closed, locked-down systems to get those wants.
ron
You make a very good point; however, I think we can all agree usability comes before novelty, no matter how much in love we are with novelty.
I think, I would classify the usability priorities in the following order:
1. All the software I use for work is linux-based => It needs to run linux. (usually a non-problem) 1b. I use linux => no linux-unfriendly hardware => no nvidia graphics. 2. I often use my laptop in poorly lit environments => backlit keyboard. 3. I crunch data often => full-sized keyboard with number pad. 4. I use my laptop for long periods of time, and can't re-adjust the screen every time I stretch => IPS display. 5. I am seldom near an ethernet port => great WiFi performance.
And the novelty priorities in this order:
1. It needs to be FLOSS-friendly => coreboot. 2. Nice to have hardware from a FLOSS-friendly chain of vendors => AMD stuff. 3. Less blobs is better. 4. Needs to look cool => Al/Mg case and/or frame.
I would stick an Intel system if it ran coreboot off the factory floor, but the usability will always come first. I know I sound like one of those old men who think they have everything figured out, but when you consider I spend 12+ hours a day in front of the laptop, everything needs to be just perfect. If I got one of the currently available coreboot solutions, I would probably make that 16+ hours a day in front of the laptop.
Here's another idea. there are plenty of FLOSS-friendly manufacturers of linux-preinstalled laptops. Why not introduce them to coreboot? I am probably officially a broken record, aren't I?
Alex
On Sat, Nov 16, 2013 at 12:09 PM, Alex mr.nuke.me@gmail.com wrote:
You make a very good point; however, I think we can all agree usability comes before novelty, no matter how much in love we are with novelty.
So, I repeat: you're setting the requirements as you are because you don't consider openness down to the hardware level a usability feature, you consider it a novelty feature.
That's you. And in fact it's most of the Linux community. It's why it's so hard to make progress in this area, because the Linux community does *not* consider openness down to the hardware level as a priority, when measured against their other wants.
Which, I have to say, sets all my "Irony-detection" devices to 11 out of 10. :-)
In many other cases, coreboot *is* a key usability feature (hence the many chromebooks being sold) and in those cases, it is a very high priority, if not the highest priority.
And, yes, you and I are both broken records where vendors are concerned. But vendors don't set priorities by anything but how many million units get sold. They don't care what we think :-)
ron
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Alex -
ron minnich