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By Matthieu, 2018-09-03 15:08

Note: this post is more intended for personal reference; as such the quality of writing is not up to my standard, but I’ve decided to publish it as-is anyway since I don’t have time to review and figure it could be useful to someone.

I was looking for a good portable Linux laptop to that I could carry around without being too worried about battery life or the device getting scratched up in my bag. I tried a few different devices, including the HP Folio 13, ThinkPad X131e, GPD Pocket, Dell Latitude E7240. Finally I settled on the Acer C720 Chromebook. The main points in favour of this device are, for me:

• Compact, thin and light (11.6″)
• Relatively low cost (4GB RAM model can be had for under $150 CAD)
• Proper modern low-voltage Intel Core processor (Celeron 2957U – Haswell) and not an Atom core or high-end i7
• Dual-band Wi-Fi and Bluetooth

and the main downsides:

• Basic TN LCD panel
• 16GB storage
• Runs Chrome OS
• Chrome OS keyboard layout

The good news is the downsides are fairly easily remedied.

TN LCD Panel

The Acer C720 uses a standard 11.6″ LED backlit eDP panel. I was able to find an IPS panel to replace it on laptopscreen.com (model N116BCA-EA1). The panel replacement is fairly straightforward; care needs to be taken not to break the LCD bezel or any of the clips.

16GB SSD

The SSD on the C720 is a standard M.2 2242 SATA SSD. The M.2 slot is easily accessible after removing the Chromebook’s bottom cover.

Runs Chrome OS

The Chrome OS/Linux dual-boot process is done by using the chrx script (https://github.com/reynhout/chrx). Remember to remove the write-protect screw while the bottom cover is off.

Chrome OS keyboard layout

This was arguably the hardest part. I chose to run Xubuntu, so the steps I went through apply to that environment. Chrx by default provides good defaults, mapping the back, forward, refresh, brightness and volume keys. The big issue for me was the placement of the power button (above the backspace key)

1. Prevent systemd-logind from handling the power button
   edit /etc/systemd/logind.conf and add the following line:
   HandlePowerKey=ignore
2. Prevent xfce power manager from handling the power button
   xfconf-query -c xfce4-power-manager -p /xfce4-power-manager/logind-handle-power-key -s true
3. Allow xfce power manager to handle lid switch
   xfconf-query -c xfce4-power-manager -p /xfce4-power-manager/logind-handle-lid-switch -s false
4. Remap power key to Delete
   xmodmap -e “keycode 124 = Delete”
   To find the keycode, stop lightdm, startx to start a basic X session, then use xev to get the keycode for the power key.

Other tweaks

Consistent custom wallpaper/background for boot splash, login, and lock screen

• gnome-screensaver uses the Gnome DE’s wallaper setting. Configure this via CLI:
  gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.background picture-uri file:///usr/local/share/wallpaper/animevillage.jpg
• lightdm-gtk-greeter can be configured using GUI tool lightdm-gtk-greeter-settings or by editing /etc/lightdm/lightdm-gtk-greeter.conf
• plymouth/boot splash:
  • go to /usr/share/plymouth/themes and create a copy of the xubuntu-logo directory. I called mine xubuntu-logo-mod
    sudo cp -R xubuntu-logo xubuntu-logo-mod
  • within the new xubuntu-logo-mod directory, rename and edit config files accordingly
    325 cd xubuntu-logo-mod/
    326 ls
    327 sudo mv xubuntu-logo.plymouth xubuntu-logo-mod.plymouth
    328 sudo mv xubuntu-logo.script xubuntu-logo-mod.script
    329 sudo nano xubuntu-logo-mod.script
  • replace wallpaper.png in xubuntu-logo-mod directory with desired image. I used ImageMagick’s convert tool to convert my jpg format image to png.
  • add new theme we have created as an “alternative” with higher priority
    • Find out priority and config for current theme
      sudo update-alternatives –query default.plymouth
      Name: default.plymouth
      Link: /usr/share/plymouth/themes/default.plymouth
      Status: auto
      Best: /usr/share/plymouth/themes/xubuntu-logo-mod/xubuntu-logo-mod.plymouth
      Value: /usr/share/plymouth/themes/xubuntu-logo-mod/xubuntu-logo-mod.plymouth

      Alternative: /usr/share/plymouth/themes/xubuntu-logo-mod/xubuntu-logo-mod.plymouth
      Priority: 200

      Alternative: /usr/share/plymouth/themes/xubuntu-logo/xubuntu-logo.plymouth
      Priority: 150

    • Create new alternative with higher priority
      sudo update-alternatives –install /usr/share/plymouth/themes/default.plymouth default.plymouth /usr/share/plymouth/themes/xubuntu-logo-mod/xubuntu-logo-mod.plymouth 200