Acer C7: Anyone else have one?

[Warpnow]

I picked an Acer C7 Chromebook knowing I could install ubuntu on it. Other than the firmware giving me a nasty message that I've disabled OS verification it works seemingly perfect so far. Haven't tested bluetooth or video out yet though.

Essentially, for $199 you get:

-No Windows
-Dual Core Intel CPU that while not a speed demon, isn't a slouch.
-Webcam
-1366x768 resolution LCD, way better than the 1024x600 ones in netbooks before it.

To me it might be the perfect ubuntu laptop for the price. Anyone else picked one up?

Wondering if anyone's tried to put grub on it. Right now custom scripts boot into chrome or ubuntu per the developer of Chrubuntu's guide. Wondering if anyone knew why grub wasn't used.

Also wondering if anyone's found a better driver for the trackpad. A little frustrating when right clicking.

[gomab2k4]

I have one. I use a Samsung ARM Chromebook while I am away from my Ubuntu laptop. I picked up the Acer to compare and to MAYBE upgrade it and add Ubuntu. For $200, it is a nice little device.

[grahammechanical]

Wondering if anyone knew why grub wasn't used

I have done very little research on this but might I offer a couple of guesses?

Because Chromebooks use a special BIOS and bootloader that is distinct from the ones used in standard Windows laptops, you can't use them to boot just any operating system.

After entering developer mode, your Chromebook will boot to a scary screen telling you that OS verification has been disabled.

Taken from here:

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2012/...c7-chromebook/

"OS verification?" What is that? Anything like Secure Boot? At the moment Ubuntu 12.10 is the only Ubuntu version that can install on a machine with Secure Boot enabled. Perhaps, when the developer of ChrUbuntu moves on the 12.10 or when 12.04 is upgraded with a signed kernel that will load onto a Secure boot enabled machine then we might get Grub on the chrome book as well as Ubuntu.

Or does something else have to be done?

Verified Boot

http://www.chromium.org/chromium-os/.../verified-boot

This document describes the cryptographic primitives and building blocks used for implementing verified boot in the firmware. The document is primarily targeted at Google Chrome OS-based devices running Google-signed firmware and software. Chromium OS devices may use similar verified boot schemes with their own (non-Google-signed) chain of trust. We want to emphasize this does not prevent devices based on the open source Chromium OS project from having their own firmware. The goal here is to assure customers of Google Chrome OS devices that they are actually running Google Chrome OS.

Sounds familiar? But more open.

Regards.

[Shi Maebure]

I also have one... and I forgot my password. So if someone knows how to activate Recovery Mode without the grub menu I'd greatly appreciate it.

[KosakiHook]

I've been very interested in the Chromebooks and loading Ubuntu on them. I haven't tried either the Samsung or Acer. If I were to get the Acer, I'd like to upgrade the HD to a SSD.

I'm sure there will be better and more exciting versions coming out in the next year.

[spandexman]

I am also an Acer C7 owner - bought this after doing a lot of research on Ubuntu (I am also a new Ubuntu user) and decided shortly after finding information on installing Chrubuntu onto it. Within a few hours of purchasing the C7 I installed Chrubuntu, following the directions from the second post in this thread, and voila' I'm now never using any other OS than linux.

Also, this:

Also wondering if anyone's found a better driver for the trackpad. A little frustrating when right clicking.

I am using a wireless USB mouse when I'm at my desk, but I'd prefer to not have to bring it with me whenever I leave. Unfortunately the track pad did work much better in Chrome OS - but that's hardly a reason to make me turn away from Chrubuntu.

[AlphaLupi]

I got a netbook when they first started coming out because I was very hard on my laptops; having to replace them every year or two. I thought that a small machine with an SSD would stand up to more punishment, and I was right!

So when my HP mini-110 died, I got an Acer C7 planning to upgrade it to an SSD and add some RAM (you can read how here: http://normcf.net/~john/chromebook/A...okUpgrade.html ).

In fact I installed a 64GB SSD and 8GB DDR3 DIMM just yesterday and am still test driving things.

I'm using the Chrubuntu setup written by Jay Lee and it's pretty good for what I want: basic net access, some office/typing work/simple stuff like that.

It seems like a pretty good little machine as long as you remember you're not buying a desktop replacement.

The dual-boot environment is annoying though, I'm hoping in the future someone figures out a way to trick the OS verification system into thinking stock/near stock Ubuntu is legitimate.

Also, you get used to the trackpad faster than you might think.

[jfaust97]

I've also installed CHrUbuntu and then promptly upgraded to 12.10
Last night I installed Cinnamon as well and it's much better than Unity IMHO.
The trackpad seems better since the Cinnamon install but that may be my imagination because that shouldn't have impacted it I don't think??

I plan to get an SSD and memory upgarde.

AlphaLupi... you've installed an SSD and then installed CHrUbuntu?
That install went okay without Chrome being installed on the SSD?
I wasn't sure if you needed the ChromeOS there for any reason?
Thanks!

[AlphaLupi]

I used the USB image restore program Chrome OS comes with, imageburner. You can access at chrome://imageburner . It's a lot like a Windows System Restore disk. You can enter recovery mode by hitting ESC+F3+power and then insert the USB stick you created with imageburner and it it puts stock Chrome OS onto the SSD almost like it was there in the first place. From there you can install Chrubuntu.

Be sure to get an SSD that fits thought! The HDD in the C7 is a little shorter than the standard 2.5" HDD. It stands about 7.5 mm I think. The SSD I got stands 9.51 mm. I had to remove all the rubber and silicon padding and it still pokes the case out a little.

[Pierce Randall]

Last night I installed Cinnamon as well and it's much better than Unity IMHO.

I did this on my girlfriend's C7 as well. I wanted something that runs less ram than Unity. If there's one thing I learned from the C7, in fact, it's that I might like Ubuntu + Cinnamon more than Linux Mint (which I use on my laptop).

Personally, I gotta say, while I like the results of ChruBuntu (the gf really needed a way to run a fully featured word processor for school), I don't think the C7 is quite there as a mainly-Ubuntu machine. She seems to find herself using Chrome OS for normal use more than I think either of us thought that she would.