Samsung Chromebook v1 Kevin Review

So recently I found a way to install Trisquel on this device Click here. I believe this device is special because it’s one of the newest devices (released on 2017) that are supported by Libreboot, and don’t have Intel ME (since it uses arm64 processor) and doesn’t require non free microcode too. At least that’s what I heard in this forum, please correct me if I’m wrong. Also Libreboot can be flash internally, albeit, the process was not as simple I originally hopped was going to be. More about that in my aforementioned cited forum post.

It has a couple of disadvantages to consider. It is a very low spec computer with no expansions slots at all. 4 GB or ram. WiFi and Bluetooth are currently not supported with free drives that I know of. It is constructed like a cellphone, so as I said, no pci or memory slots to change the internal WiFi, so you must use an external USB WiFi card.

Even with this disadvantages, I do consider that it is really usable for me on my workflow. All programs I have used so far (mainly LibreOffice, klavaro and vinagre) work great. And unless I try to visit very heavy JavaScript web site, surfing pages like the Trisquel forum works well. Kde was usable but it struggles with some animations. Mate so far has behave better. Price is also a factor. I got mine brand new never used, for what I think I would had paid for something on the same ball of performance today: 220 dollars plus 80 for shipping to where I leave in Mexico. Again, it doesn’t seem much, but we should consider its capabilities.

The real reason I decided I wanted to get one was it’s touch screen. I, for ages, have wanted to have a good “tablet” like device with free software, and I’ll admit I’ve been obsess with owning a Libreboot portable computer for no other reason than knowing that I had one of the most free software friendly computers to date.

I do respect the work that people have to put to install Libreboot on Intel laptops like the Thinkpad x200t, but even when taking away the shipping cost to where I live in Mexico, they are quite expensive. Again, I kind of understand why that is the case: I got an x200t my self, hopping I could Flash Libreboot on my own, and very early I found out how difficult it would be. I’m fun of challenges, but when I found I had to replace the bios chip on the motherboard, I just stopped right there. Kind of my fault really, since I should had understood the process better from the beginning. I when so far as to get an external programmer (Beagle Bone Black), the correct clip and jumper cables and a replacement chip, but I don’t have experience or a good solder well yet and the nearest hacking place is quite far from my home. My x200t’s battery was dead, and I didn’t want to invest money on it until I got Libreboot on it, for this reason, I never really used the tablet side of it, but I don’t think the experience would had been so good since it is quite bulky and its finger detection capability was quite lacking, probably because of the time it came out.

Then I tried Replicant on a Galaxy Tab 2 10.1. I was a little late to the party by that point, but I never found a way to reliable use an external USB WiFi. I always suspected it was the OTG cables I tried, because I got better results with a different cable every time. I even when so far as to make sure to use a think penguin adapter which was the one the developers seem to be using. I think it could had worked if I had found a way to power the tablet while using the OTG cable or power the USB adapter separately, but I never found if I could get a cable that could do that. Even if it sounded like it would kind of defeated the portable part of it, I still thought I could use power bank to keep it some what portable. And now that I think about it while I’m writing this, I’ve seen some USB hubs that can be power separately by using a USB C port. If I ever found a chance to try it I’ll reported here and the Replicant forum. Anyway, the main issue with Replicant really now days though is that, since it’s so old today, I have read some people here in the forum that keep using it is unsafe from the security stand point, specially if I really wanted to use WiFi with it.

I know the tittle of this forum post is, and I’ve been talking about my personal experience with other stuff, but I feel sharing all this will, in its self, explain why this device means so much to me. I’m sure people are going to hang me for not thinking on x or y solution, and I will love to hear them all from you.

I just want to say I never spend too much on every device I have talked about so far. Never to the point of what a x200t cost anyway, even if I sum them all together, and I have able to pay them one at a time on the course of some years now. Also every device has been a sort of experience and adventure to me. I always worry thinking: if I had donated the whole money to the developers like Leah or the Replicant devs, the money could had been better spent, but I have at least donate a forth of the money to them.