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Comment by BracketMaster | Hacker News Reader

This is an ARM laptop. Since it isn't intel, that means you can have access to the MOBO schematics as well as the processor data sheet.

This means that the average person can design a computer around the processor without paying a couple million to intel in NDA agreements.

This is a being deal for the FOSS hardware community - I myself am actually working on a project to make an open processor with a GPU. https://systemeslibres.org

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> the average person can design a computer around the processor

I'm not quite sure that's the case...

I get what you mean, but to be clear -- this is not a computer for the average person (nor is it meant to be).

Not the op, but I guess they meant the person with far more than average system design skills, but with an average 1 person budget for a hobby project.

That's great for Pinebook company but why is it good for their customers?

The main thing I see is that it enabled a $200 laptop which is amazing (except for the dodgy keyboard and trackpad undermining it)

Well, my friend has a Pinebook Pro. He's capable of writing drivers himself and designing MOBOs for CPUs. He's actually designed a CPU and written a compiler for it.

Being able to get to the core of the system matters very much to him - being able to trust his hardware. Releasing MOBO files strengthens that trust. In addition, he can repair the MOBO himself if need be.

I suppose me and my friend represent a minority of users though.

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