Blog • Hexjelica
Running Linux on a Chromebook with GalliumOS
I got my 3rd gen 11.6" Lenovo 11e Chromebook in 2016 for around $250, as an intermittent computer when my previous Macbook died. I ended up using it as my primary (and only) laptop for almost exactly one year, and learned a lot about Chromebooks and how to hack on them. I admit that I am a student, and also had access to other computers on campus. But this became part of my larger computing strategy, too, as I could use my secure, barely-there laptop for some things, store things offline, compute in the cloud, and use the school computers for programs I would not otherwise have, like Adobe, etc.
There are a bunch of reasons why I think Chromebooks are interesting, including how cheap they can be - although this is changing quickly. For instance, the battery life: mine consistently gets ~10h. The cheapness is a crucial consideration for people on a budget and a reason why they are sometimes seen as ideal computers for students. This computer is also very industrial - Lenovo calls it 'rugged' on their website. It's like a toy version of the older Thinkpad X series laptops, but made with this plastic with a slight bent, that a dog could probably chew on, and it would be OK.
There are different reasons why it can be fun to hack on a chromebook, like gaining more control of a device designed to have very little customizeability. There are many ways one can use Linux distributions on Chromebooks, and people have created ways to dual-boot or fully install, Linux distributions, Windows, and even Mac OS. Right now, I am currently obsessed with projects that are making Linux distros just for chromebooks. The project that I am most excited about is called Gallium OS, a Linux distro built on Xubuntu (here's the wiki). This is the OS that I am currently using on my own hacked chromebook.
The challenges and creativity of limitations
The limitations and advantages of chromebook and the limitations of using primarily FOSS systems like Linux distributions come together in the specific type of computer I'm describing, and create opportunities and contradictions. For instance, one has the limitations of chromebook - very small storage, and the need to rely on the cloud or external storage. This has implications for how you can configure your computer and systems, which softwares you can use, etc. and this can change individual and group workflows.
I'm a fan of figuring out how to do the most with the littlest. When I limit my options, new challenges and hiccups can also necessitate creative solutions to get the job done. There are probably hundreds of recipes one can make with just flour and water - let alone flour, butter, milk, eggs, and salt or sugar, and many cultural factors such as cooking infrastructures and technologies, knowledge systems, and traditions all play a role. One could argue that having these restrictions - because of such factors which might include access to resources, other kinds of necessities, or self-imposition) has historically led to many creative solutions.
This metaphor applies to my affinity for the bare-bonesness of chromebooks. But additionally, it applies to my interest in booting the OS off a large USB as a permanent fixture. This might just a tell-tale sign of my fixation on hacker culture. In fact, I think this is a very practical, privacy measure, as well as a psychic practice, as opening my regular computer as if it was just coming out of the package is a rare feeling, sort of like taking a shower and not worrying about the horrors of later having to devote 1-2 days of backing-up and organizing my files.
Switching the hardware led to a change in use of computing, that also has social effects because use of computing is a social endeavor. For instance, relying on an OS maintained by few changes the availability, options, and modes of communication with service and support. Many working within CSCW have also described how collaborating with others also can require technological infrastructures. For instance, I can't use offline Zotero groups that sync to local files, for sharing docs w others bc Gallium isn't compatible with this program.
Removing the write-protect on the Lenovo 11e G3 Chromebook and booting a live USB with Gallium
Process
To remove Chrome OS is not made as simple as one might want, although it depends on the hardware. If you want to completely replace Chrome OS, and depending on your Chromebook, you may need to open up the computer/firmware and manually remove a write-protect screw, and flash the firmware.
There are already a lot of resources that instruct people on how to install Gallium, so I won't repeat their labor. Here are some extra explanatory ones:
Companies put write-protection on hardware and software to make it harder for people to modify. Supposedly, this is done as a 'protection' to stop consumers from turningn their device into a brick, writing over something, or otherwise messing it up beyond manageable repair. But my tendency is to side with the skeptics and critics, who interpret write-protection as a self-interested move by companies to make difficult for people to modify the device because they don't want tinkerers tinkering. [For more on this: see my Notes from Cory Doctorow lecture at UC San Diegoin which I talk about "the growth of legal provisions to prevent consumers from modifying the technologies like the Digital Millennium Copyright Act," and digital rights management (DRM)].
The official manual has most of the directions about how to locate the screw, but it's pretty funny that in the case of my Lenovo, the manual has a figure with the wrong location of the screw drawn (instead of on bottom right it's on upper left of the board). I would like to know why their manual has the wrong information about the location of the screw.
