Yes, there are many ways to install Linux on a Chromebook. In my humble opinion, this is the best way. Maybe you'll like it!

In today's thrilling episode of Veronica Explains, I'll introduce you to the Chrultrabook project, and the process of installing a more vanilla Coreboot on Chromebooks, overwriting the stock firmware, and to paraphrase the Coreboot docs, take the training wheels off of your Chromebook.

Then we'll install lots of Linuxes and a few other things!

Veronica Explains wouldn't be possible without your support. Monthly sustainers get extra perks like a weekly newsletter and a positive community. More perks being added regularly, so come check it out!

• https://patreon.com/VeronicaExplains
• https://ko-fi.com/VeronicaExplains

Links referenced in my video:

• Chrultrabook Docs: https://docs.chrultrabook.com
• Chrultrabook Forums: https://forum.chrultrabook.com
• MrChromebox script homepage: https://mrchromebox.tech
• Supported devices for this firmware: https://docs.chrultrabook.com/docs/firmware/supported-devices.html
• SuzyQable eBay listing which I found useful (not an affiliate link): https://www.ebay.com/itm/335130747039
• Debian Testing: https://www.debian.org/devel/debian-installer/

Chapters: 0:00 Why install Linux on a Chromebook? 1:34 Cautions, disclaimers, no warranty, YMMV, etc 2:46 My Linux Chromebook: a Thinkpad C13 Yoga 3:23 Introducing Chrultrabook and the MrChromebox scripts 4:36 Determining your Chromebook architecture with crosh 5:13 Putting your Chromebook in Developer Mode 6:17 ChromeOS' VT-2 terminal vs crosh 7:00 Choosing replacement Chromebook firmware: RW_LEGACY or UEFI Full ROM 8:43 Disabling write protect features on a Chromebook 9:58 Running the MrChromebox firmware utility script 13:20 Installing (almost) every Linux on my modified Chromebook (and a few other OSes) 15:42 The saga of installing Debian on my Chromebook 18:39 The Chrultrabook community: an awesome resource

#Linux #chromeos #chromebook

In today's ROM-er-iffic episode of Veronica Explains, I check out the Open Source Cartridge Reader, an incredible little open source device, which you can build yourself. You can dump your ROMs and save states from a variety of popular vintage video game consoles.

Stores selling kits or preassembled OSCRs (not sponsored, no affiliate links):

• Where I got mine: https://cartreader.net
• Starshade: https://store.starshade.dev
• Bonzo's: https://bonzosretro.shop
• Save The Hero (currently selling an older revision, could be a good deal): https://savethehero.builders

Links you can use to learn more and build one yourself:

• Sanni's GitHub: https://github.com/sanni/cartreader
• Project wiki (yes, it's pronounced "Oscar"): https://github.com/sanni/cartreader/wiki
• A bit about savegame conversion utilities: https://github.com/sanni/cartreader/wiki/Savegame-Conversion
• @ThisDoesNotCompute did an awesome video a while back about replacing batteries in your cartridge games: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7I-oLD6Iyg

And lastly:

• My Patreon: https://patreon.com/VeronicaExplains
• My Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/VeronicaExplains
• My PeerTube instance (watch ad free): https://tinkerbetter.tube

Chapters: 0:00 I say greetings and talk about OSCR 2:07 How do ROM cartridges work anyway? 5:46 What is ROM dumping? 7:01 (Finally) introducing the Sanni Open Source Cartridge Reader 9:26 DISCLAIMER: I am not a lawyer 10:03 Setting up your SD card for OSCR 11:58 Let's dump a Sonic ROM with the OSCR! 13:47 Ripping Metroid 15:01 Backing up and restoring save files with OSCR 17:29 How to get an OSCR 18:32 OSCR's quirks 19:44 Conclusion

OpenSSH's ssh-keygen command just got a great upgrade.

In today's episode, I cover how Ed25519 keys are now the default, and how it probably doesn't impact your workflow. I'll briefly cover how the whole thing works, in an under 10 minute video. As per the custom in these parts, there's a few vintage computing goodies peppered throughout the episode.

🫶 Support (how this channel makes money) 🫶

This episode of Veronica Explains isn't sponsored by anyone other than you. Your support makes this show possible, and I appreciate your consideration. Supporters at the $2/mo level get a weekly newsletter from me.

https://patreon.com/VeronicaExplains https://ko-fi.com/VeronicaExplains

You can also buy nerdy shirts from my web store (it's not sponsorship, I literally host and maintain the web store myself, and my family designs the merch): https://vkc.sh/merch.

🤩 What I'm Watching! 🤩

Macintosh Librarian put out a great video about a Power Computing Macintosh clone recently that really caught my eye. I find the history of Apple, and Apple-adjacent technology fascinating, and if that's something you're into as well, Macintosh Librarian is worth your attention.

Her recent video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FK-BkdnEF-8 Her channel (which you should subscribe to): https://youtube.com/MacintoshLibrarian

🖥️ Commands used during the making of this video 🖥️ ssh-keygen by itself: creates a default key in the default location (usually the .ssh folder inside the home directory).

With options, it gets more features. The -t option specifies the key type: -- ssh-keygen -t rsa generates an rsa key -- ssh-keygen -t ed25519 generates an ed25519 key

You'll see me combine this with the -f option to specify the output file(s). So ssh-keygen -f .ssh/testkeylmde -t ed25519 would create a key pair in the .ssh folder with the filename "testkeylmde" (and "testkeylmde.pub" for the public file).

You can then use ssh-copy-id to transfer and set up the public keyfile on a server, so that your private key will work with it:

ssh-copy-id -i [path-to-public-key] [user][at][server]

As I mentioned a few times, I have a more thorough OpenSSH video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FKsdbjzBcc

And for further reading about cryptography in general, here's some Wikipedia I referenced in the video:

• RSA: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RSA_(cryptosystem)
• Curve25519 (where ed25519 gets its mathy bits from): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curve25519
• The Twisted Edwards curve: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twisted_Edwards_curve
• EdDSA (the section on Ed25519): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EdDSA#Ed25519

📖 Chapters 📖 0:00 News about OpenSSH! 1:48 The basics of OpenSSH and ssh-keygen 4:27 How does this change impact you? 7:34 Now's a good time to prune your keys 9:04 What I'm Watching: Macintosh Librarian

Support Veronica Explains: https://support.linux.mom Sign my guestbook: http://gb.donttrythis.net

Guestbooks. You know them. Or do you?

In today's 90s-tastic episode of Veronica Explains, I go through the ins and outs of the Guestbook, one of the most influential progenitors of modern social media on the web.

We'll even install one from the 90s - yes, from Matt's Script Archive, on a brand new Debian 11 install. It'll be "fun-tertainment!" Come break some Perl with me!

0:00 I say "greetings" and talk about guestbooks 1:31 How I used guestbooks as a 90s teen 5:50 How were guestbooks implemented? 8:16 Can we set up a guestbook today? 8:57 Testing Perl CGI scripts... in 2023 10:45 Installing a guestbook script 14:17 Filtering for spammers- with math! 15:15 Pining for the 1990s web, looking forward to the future

👕 Buy the shirt: https://vkc.sh/merch ❤️ Support the channel: https://support.linux.mom

No video game is more iconic than Super Mario Bros. No text editor is more iconic than Vim.

In today's platform-packed episode of Veronica Explains, I try my hand¹ at playing Super Mario Bros, but using Vim controls instead of a controller. I'll also talk briefly about the history of Vim and Vi, and show you how to configure FCEUX to use whatever keys you fancy.

Oh, and before I forget! "Mario" and "Super Mario Bros" are registered trademarks of Nintendo of America.

- ¹ pun intended

0:00 Dreaming and scheming about getting better at Vim 0:24 What is Vim, and why are the arrows like that? 2:15 Why would I want to get better at Vim navigation? 3:21 Setting up Mario on Vim mode 5:55 Actually playing Mario with Vim navigation 19:19 What do I think of Mario with Vim controls? 20:36 Ask Veronica- what's the difference between virtualization and emulation?

Support the channel: support.linux.mom Buy the shirt: vkc.sh/merch

System76 has announced they're going to skip the 22.10 release of Pop!_OS. This is not the end of the world, and I'm planning on sticking with them on my main work machine.

In to...

The Linux Mint 21 (Vanessa) beta has just been announced! In today's (unscripted) episode of Veronica Explains, let's try out the beta on a 2012 MacBook Pro!

We'll customize Cinnamon a bit, install OBS from a Flatpak, and walk through what makes Linux Mint an excellent distro for Linux users of all skill levels. And with only a minimal amount of overheating issues!

All music recorded by me, on Linux, of course!

And if you want to help me make more Linux content: 🪙 https://patreon.com/VeronicaExplains 👕 https://vkc.sh/merch

Chapters: 00:00 Intro 00:26 Why use Linux Mint? 03:29 Booting from, and playing with, the live USB 06:51 Release notes and installing Linux Mint 09:50 First impressions of the new Linux Mint install 10:56 Walking through the "First Steps" guide 14:45 Updating for the first time and playing with the Panel 15:53 System settings in Linux Mint 16:32 Software Manager and installing OBS from Flatpak 18:21 Customizing the Panel (taskbar) 19:52 Trying OBS from the Flatpak, testing the camera 20:24 Other applications shipped with Linux Mint 22:56 Parting thoughts

YES. You should still learn the terminal!

Whether you're just a casual Linux user or planning a career in tech, learning the terminal is a great way to improve efficiency, gain insight into your software and hardware, and focus less on the tools themselves.

In this video, I casually explain why I think the terminal is still worth learning. Unlike most of my videos, this one was very free-wheeling- enjoy!

If you want to help support the channel, you can join the Patreon at https://patreon.com/VeronicaExplains. For $10/mo, I'll print your name on my dot matrix printer and put it in the video. Super neat! There's also a $1 and $5 tier- any little bit helps me spend more time making videos!

Lastly, I have merch at https://vkc.sh/merch. Proceeds benefit the channel!

00:00 Intro 01:36 Terminal tools are more efficient 02:12 Terminal tools are standardized across systems 03:57 Config files are better than playing with menus 05:04 Terminal apps are faster! 06:25 The terminal feels great as a Linux user 07:20 Bash scripting will save your life 07:59 Focus on the tool, not the work 08:49 Outro

#Linux #Terminal #100DaysOfHomelab

The modern web can be distracting, invasive, and slow. Luckily, there's another way!

Using an RSS/Atom feed reader can really help cut out distractions. Doing so from the terminal can enhance the effect, keeping you informed without all of the adtech and algorithms.

Enter Newsboat! Newsboat is an open source fork of Newsbeuter, and is a wonderful terminal-based feed reader. I even fire it up on my old Wyse terminal in the video!

In this video, I explain how to install and configure Newsboat on Manjaro, Fedora, and Pop!_OS. It's packaged up for other distros too, and non-Linuxes like macOS (via Brew) and FreeBSD.

Shout-out to Christian from @The Digital Life for helping out my pronunciation! This video also has some footage of @Techno Tim and @Learn Linux TV , both of whom are great.

If you want to help support the channel, you can join the Patreon at https://patreon.com/VeronicaExplains. For $10/mo, I'll print your name on my dot matrix printer and put it in the video. Super neat! There's also a $1 and $5 tier- any little bit helps me spend more time making videos!

Lastly, the shirt is at https://vkc.sh/merch. I know you're wondering! :) Proceeds benefit the channel!

00:00 Intro 02:39 What is Newsboat, anyway? 04:38 Installing Newsboat 06:08 Configuring/adding feeds 10:27 Finding feeds with plugins 13:16 Outro

#Linux #RSS #Terminal

A low-key offering from me. I recorded some chill-out music and decided to make a video featuring the music and some repair. Originally released November 8, 2021.

A customer asked me to recycle two old Dell computers. I decided to clean them up and install a Pop!_OS 21.10 beta on them.

Tower one:

Dell Optiplex 7010 i5-3570 8GB RAM Intel HD Graphics 2500

Tower two:

Dell Optiplex 9020 i5-4590 8GB RAM Intel HD Graphics 4600