As somebody who likes to tinker with things, and prefers more open firmware standards, is there a possibility ChromeOS can be added via use of an ARM processor using u-boot and deptcharge for security over current BIOS systems utilizing Intel-ME. And also have a more power efficient processor for the laptop?
Also a classic thinkpad style keyboard would be nice, but I won’t get my hopes up that high yet.
I was going to suggest this too. Little different angle though. The PC world lacks a real ARM based PC/Notebook. It’s disappointing that Qualcomm has the 8CX available now, but sounds like mainline Linux kernel support is lacking to non-existent. I suppose Framework could build a board that supports Windows, since that boots on the 8CX. Both options would be ideal, this is a catch 22. Until the mass availability of an ARM PC exists, advancements in PC hardware and software for that ecosystem won’t move forward.
I don´t know if you have seen it, but in the blog post “the upgradable mainboard” they talked about an future arm version.
I think we first would have to see how the x86-Version turns out!
"Not only are the memory and storage replaceable, but the entire mainboard can be removed and replaced with any of the compatible ones we’ll be building in the same form factor. Desktop PCs have been designed this way for decades, but until now the notebook industry has been stuck in a locked down mode requiring wasteful full device replacements. We architected the mainboard to maximize adaptability to future generations of x86 and ARM (and we hope eventually RISC-V!) CPUs. "
Yep! I am personally excited about the potential for a future ARM-based mainboard, though we have nothing to announce yet.
Not to jump the gun here but maybe working with either the Pi folks or the Pine64 people might be the best solution to this as well. Since all the dimensions of the laptop’s main board will be available ( if not now soon) it might be possible for those communities to come up with a drop replacement board.
Polish might be a little rough though.
A carrier/io board for the RPI Compute module could be a really cool option
An AMD cpu would also bolster battery life significantly. You don’t have to jump to arm, especially with how mediocre qualcomm is compared to apple