olimex / diy-laptop Goto Github PK

Hi, I am having booting from a sd card, I have burned khumarahns image of gentoo onto an sd card however when rebooting instead of booting the sd card ubuntu mate starts up as normal, could this be because the sd card is 128 gb? is their a way I can manually choose a boot device?

Pretty minor but:
The package is named teres-bluethooth and should be teres-bluetooth.

located in SOFTWARE/A64-TERES/scripts/prebuilt/teres-bluethooth_0.1-1arm64.deb

This project is pain to fabricate through 3rd party thus proposing changes to address it.

Expected behavior

Throw the repository at PCB manufacturers/fabricators to get quote for fabrication to choose the best one as fast and painlessly as possible

Current behavior

When i sent this repository to a PCB Manufacturer then gross majority of them gets confused as it seems that their sales team doesn't know how to use GitHub and KiCAD and ask for additional informations that can be easily fetched from KiCAD.

Proposed solution

GitHub has "Releases" So stage the following files in there per released version:

• Gerber Data - Ideally with recommended configuration for the fabrication
• Stack-up layout - Where should each layer go as F.Cu .. B.Cu is not easily understandable to some
• NC Drill data
• PCB specifics such as recommended and/or warning for incompatible:
  • materials
    • Thickness of material (for layers)
  • Glass Transition Temperature
  • Drawings
  • Minimal/maximal hole sizes
  • Surface Finish
  • Via process
  • Thickness of the copper traces
  • etc..
• Assembly drawings (for polarity and part orientation)[1][2]
  • Stack-up
    

^ These can and should be automated through Continuous Integration and Delivery management, recommending LaminarCI or WoodpeckerCI

Additional info

Some manufacturers such as PCBWay do not need assembly drawings, because they have WebUI for the user to specify those which is usually not an option for local manufacturers.

Proposing to make the specifications into a range instead of fixed recommendations to enable optimization of the cost e.g. some manufacturers might prefer different layer heights to provide more economical offer.

Some manufacturers provide interface alike https://www.pcbway.com/project/shareproject that then allow the community to get very economical fabrications of an open-source projects by allowing multiple people to put on order and then make X amount of boards and redistribute it across those community members.. consider using that?

TODO

• Resolve #48 which blocks further development on this issue
• Update schematics
• DIY-LAPTOP/HARDWARE/A64-TERES/TERES-PCB1-A64-MAIN/Rev.C/TERES_PCB1-A64-MAIN_Rev.C.pro
  • Drawing
  • Recommended Glass transition Temperature
  • Recommended surface finish(es)
  • Add Stack-up
  • Recommended minimal and maximal thickness of copper traces

Relevants

1. interactive KiCAD BOM - https://hackaday.com/2018/09/04/interactive-kicad-boms-make-hand-assembly-a-breeze/
2. How to make fabricating drawings in KiCAD 5.0+ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9p5sAwXWMno

First of all, really nice open source project. I appreciate all the efforts behind this project. So, some of my initial questions if you guys can answer:

1. Why you guys are limiting yourself to Allwinner A64 processor and only 2GB DDR3 memory? Also, why not go for M.2 SSD instead of the eMMC to reduce the overall latency of the system and increase the disk I/O? Ever though about RockChip RK3399? with ARM Cortex A72 + A53 in big.LITTLE configuration? And by the way the 64bit CPU's can support more than 2GB or RAM. So, why not a 4GB and 8GB DDR3 Dual Channel variations?

2. Why no USB 3.0/3.1 and Gigabit ethernet? Or these modules still in development? And how about WiFi AC and BLE 4.2 or 5?

3. As a kit based or modular project why not multiple chasis and lcd sizes? 10.1", 11.6", 12.3", 13.3", 15" etc.

Thanks.

It would be useful to store all official Teres operating system image torrent files within this git repository.

Alternatively, we can continue keeping all torrent files in the black/white Teres product pages and update the links when appropriate.

What are your thoughts?

Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe.
I feel that my teres is quite slow, using firefox... Which kind of optimizations can I do? Can i upgrade the RAM? (i dont think so, just confirming)

Describe the solution you'd like
I'd like to known the command to install another kernel which is not preempt, will it affect anything? is teres using grub?

i expect something like: $ sudo apt install kernel-...-non-preempt

Describe alternatives you've considered
Try to install it, but i might break the bootloader? Or even the cpu may not be compatible...

The teres-a64 is used in distributions and it makes a clear destinction for the chip used.

Referencing https://www.olimex.com/forum/index.php?topic=7782.0

Proposing to integrate resettable fuse for 5VDC3A on the Vin

Options: https://eu.mouser.com/c/circuit-protection/thermistors/resettable-fuses-pptc/?current%20rating%20-%20max=3%20A&maximum%20voltage=5%20V

So that if the user overvoltages the laptop it won't damage anything

Currently i always have to get up and turn the system on or open the lid when i want to access it remotely -> Proposing to implement some way to power it on/wake up to manage this scenario

The RTL8723BS has a WLAN to wake-up HOST on pin 13 which is connected to A64's WL-WAKE-AP E13 pin, but i have no idea how to use it and neither does the sunxi community

Alternative approach: PiKVM-like implementation that can access the system remotely? https://invidious.esmailelbob.xyz/watch?v=BpKcqLcApTQ

CC @TsvetanUsunov halp

Hi, I tried to follow the linux building instructions in https://github.com/OLIMEX/DIY-LAPTOP/blob/master/SOFTWARE/A64-TERES/scripts/readme.md

I am not an expert at all. I have a few comments/questions:

• I guess that "Getting source code" section needs to be updated with the new location. Why is arm trusted firmware not mirrored in olimex repo?
• There is a requirement for gcc-4.7-arm-linux-gnueabihf toolchain, seems that it is only used in u_boot-new. Can somebody comment? Why armhf when everything else is aarch64? Why gcc-4.7? It does not seem to be needed upstream.
• ./build_uboot.sh fails with
  ./build_uboot.sh: line 29: ../sunxi-pack-tools/bin/update_boot0: No such file or directory
  I updated sunxi-pack-tools with the newer https://github.com/longsleep/sunxi-pack-tools, and it worked.

(EDIT):

• I had to install dos2unix https://waterlan.home.xs4all.nl/dos2unix.html, and also fakeroot, which weren't mentioned in the instructions. Though, I am not on ubuntu where they may come by default.

First let me say, that I am grateful that people are working on this! Thank you!

Are you planning on contributing the changes to the kernel sources into the upstream linux kernel?

In my opinion (and that of many others) a product that only runs on a (soon) ancient linux kernel with a custom patchset is not a product we would buy.

In the past there have been way too many ARM board (that look nice at a good price point) but lack proper mainline support…

While writing some documentation, I noticed that the design files for TERES-019-Camera seem to be missing. Are they available, and if so, can we get them incorporated?

Hello,
I was following the issues logged here and was interested in the kbd/touchpad related ones. I applied the firmware update procedure with the latest firmware.tar.gz from github.
After executing the update command and pressing Fn+Tux+Esc, the update program completed but my keyboard and touchpad don't work anymore since then.
I tried reboot, shutdown and boot, plug the charging cable but no improvement.

#Using the debug console on audio jack i tried to upload an older firmware but the program #fails with the message "Unable to find rebootor". It seems to me that it tries to open some USB device and does not find it. lsusb shows the following:
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 001 Device 003: ID 1908:2311 GEMBIRD
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 05e3:0608 Genesys Logic, Inc. Hub
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 004 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 003 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub

What does lsusb show on a working TERES-I ?
Is there some way to repair the kbd and touchpad on my device?
Thanks!

Users do not normally have to use the keyboard and mouse simultaneously during everyday computer use. However, this feature is extremely useful when performing tasks such as gaming. In a first-person shooter, for example, it is imperative that you are able to move and look around at the same time.

The TERES-PCB5-KEYBOARD keyboard and mouse devices function one at a time, as if the signals are mux'ed onto the same communication channel. I understand that the TERES-I isn't currently a gaming beast, but it would be highly useful in light gaming applications (such as Minetest, FreeDoom, etc) to use them together with OEM hardware.

An easy work-around is to simply use USB-connected peripherals, but again, it would be nice to use the OEM hardware when these peripherals are unavailable.

After two weeks. for several days, the sound no longer works.
output jack or speaker = no sound

any idea ? try a new install with you're torrent linux mate ?

thank you

I can't make the battery indication work with lxde or lxqt. It seems that it is because some standard files like charge_now and charge_full or energy_now and energy_full are missing in the device folder:

# ls -al /sys/class/power_supply/battery
total 0
drwxr-xr-x 3 root root    0 Nov  5 14:37 .
drwxr-xr-x 5 root root    0 Nov  5 14:37 ..
-r--r--r-- 1 root root 4096 Nov  5 14:38 capacity
-r--r--r-- 1 root root 4096 Nov  5 14:48 current_now
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root    0 Nov  5 14:48 device -> ../../../axp81x-supplyer.47
-r--r--r-- 1 root root 4096 Nov  5 14:48 energy_full_design
-r--r--r-- 1 root root 4096 Nov  5 14:48 health
-r--r--r-- 1 root root 4096 Nov  5 14:38 model_name
-r--r--r-- 1 root root 4096 Nov  5 14:48 online
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root    0 Nov  5 14:48 power
-r--r--r-- 1 root root 4096 Nov  5 14:48 present
-r--r--r-- 1 root root 4096 Nov  5 14:38 status
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root    0 Nov  5 14:38 subsystem -> ../../../../../../class/power_supply
-r--r--r-- 1 root root 4096 Nov  5 14:48 technology
-r--r--r-- 1 root root 4096 Nov  5 14:48 temp
-r--r--r-- 1 root root 4096 Nov  5 14:38 type
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 4096 Nov  5 14:37 uevent
-r--r--r-- 1 root root 4096 Nov  5 14:48 voltage_max_design
-r--r--r-- 1 root root 4096 Nov  5 14:48 voltage_min_design
-r--r--r-- 1 root root 4096 Nov  5 14:48 voltage_now

There is instead voltage_now, voltage_min_design and voltage_max_design, and probably the battery indication can be patched to use them. Or maybe one can make the energy or charge files appear?

P.S.:
The same applies to the popular cbatticon, this is how it determines remaining capacity:

    if (use_charge == FALSE) {
        return get_sysattr_double (battery_path, "energy_now", capacity);
    } else {
        return get_sysattr_double (battery_path, "charge_now", capacity);
    }

https://github.com/valr/cbatticon/blob/46bdd031c28d8d41807e4803880874cff2fa9cd5/cbatticon.c#L582

Can we please discuss the use of release branches versus release tags (i.e. rel3 branch vs tagging a version number onto the master branch)? One thing I like about release tags rather than release branches is that it is much more difficult to mess them up (i.e. you can accidentally append a commit onto the branch after it's been released). Release tags point to a specific commit and make it easier to disseminate.

It makes perfect sense to begin developing toward a rev3 release but, stable and merged rev1/rev2/rev3/etc commits are often marked as tags in master; official releases are then released off of master to ease the task of external users downloading the package appropriately. Deprecating master to progress further on a rev3 branch would (I believe) be confusing as the goal of a branch is to break off until development has matured, to eventually be merged back into the master branch. Contributors could also be left committing to a stale branch, not knowing that another had been made active. From my understanding, moving the primary branch from master to rev3 would deviate from common git practices.

• https://stackoverflow.com/questions/9810050/why-should-i-use-tags-vs-release-beta-branches-for-versioning
• https://nvie.com/posts/a-successful-git-branching-model/

Referencing: https://git.dotya.ml/KREYLIMEX/Teres/issues/12

The OLIMEX OlinuXino-A64's schematics have a note:

Requesting to open-source this list to make mainboard adjustments easier and more economical.

Hi, I am trying to make the HDMI work. Can't understand some things.

• What is the difference between the two .dtb files for hdmi and without hdmi?

• What does

		[[ -e /boot/a64/a64-olinuxino-hdmi.dtb ]] && \
		cp -f /opt/teres/hdmi/a64-olinuxino.dtb /boot/a64/a64-olinuxino.dtb

in change-display do? Are these lines correct? Which exactly files should be in /boot/a64?

Context: I am working on a custom magnesium case for the teres's next chip and i want to ideally just adjust the daughter boards instead of having to maintain fork of the mainboard + making it less painful to add features such as RFID, hot-swappable batteries etc..

The idea of these proposals is to make the current design easily expandable and changable while reducing the need to rework PCBs for e.g. use of different case and devices.

Standalone right-side I/O

Currently the mainboard and right side I/O are the same board:

Instead proposing to split the right side I/O as it's case-specific feature that limits modularity.

Adjust SBC designs

Adjust the SBC designs so that they can be a drop-in replacement in teres without affecting the functionality of the SBC itself.

in real world example: deprecate the TERES-PCB1-A64 and rework OlinuXino-A64 (not suggesting to do that now, but for future chips)

Add edge connector for UEXT

Currently to add devices, one has to scrape solder mask and solder wires to the mainboard's bus so instead proposing to add UEXT connector so that devices can be easily added in.

The idea is that device's PCBs can then be connected to UEXT and ancored inside the case with e.g. hot glue, double-sided tape or adjusting the case design.

So overall the design should imho be just a chipless case that people can choose which chip they want to have in it.

CC @TsvetanUsunov

Steps to reproduce

0. Turn on the laptop
1. Call someone and put the phone next to the laptop
2. Expect annoying noise coming out of it

Hi, I would like to contribute (as well as learn along).
Can you please elaborate the "TO DO" list at
DIY-LAPTOP/SOFTWARE/A64-TERES/README.md

Thanks.

Just a note regarding this repository.

Wifi crashes occasionally, and the system log has hundreds of megabytes of

Nov  4 14:43:05 teres kernel: RTL871X: ERROR sd_recv_rxfifo: alloc recvbuf FAIL!
Nov  4 14:43:05 teres kernel: RTL871X: ERROR sd_recv_rxfifo: alloc recvbuf FAIL!
Nov  4 14:43:05 teres kernel: RTL871X: ERROR sd_recv_rxfifo: alloc recvbuf FAIL!
Nov  4 14:43:05 teres kernel: RTL871X: ERROR sd_recv_rxfifo: alloc recvbuf FAIL!
Nov  4 14:43:05 teres kernel: RTL871X: ERROR sd_recv_rxfifo: alloc recvbuf FAIL!
Nov  4 14:43:05 teres kernel: RTL871X: ERROR sd_recv_rxfifo: alloc recvbuf FAIL!
Nov  4 14:43:05 teres kernel: RTL871X: ERROR sd_recv_rxfifo: alloc recvbuf FAIL!
Nov  4 14:43:05 teres kernel: RTL871X: ERROR sd_recv_rxfifo: alloc recvbuf FAIL!
Nov  4 14:43:05 teres kernel: RTL871X: ERROR sd_recv_rxfifo: alloc recvbuf FAIL!
Nov  4 14:43:05 teres kernel: RTL871X: ERROR sd_recv_rxfifo: alloc recvbuf FAIL!
Nov  4 14:43:05 teres kernel: RTL871X: ERROR sd_recv_rxfifo: alloc recvbuf FAIL!
Nov  4 14:43:05 teres kernel: RTL871X: ERROR sd_recv_rxfifo: alloc recvbuf FAIL!
Nov  4 14:43:05 teres kernel: RTL871X: ERROR sd_recv_rxfifo: alloc recvbuf FAIL!
Nov  4 14:43:05 teres kernel: RTL871X: ERROR sd_recv_rxfifo: alloc recvbuf FAIL!
Nov  4 14:43:05 teres kernel: RTL871X: ERROR sd_recv_rxfifo: alloc recvbuf FAIL!
Nov  4 14:43:05 teres kernel: RTL871X: ERROR sd_recv_rxfifo: alloc recvbuf FAIL!
Nov  4 14:43:05 teres kernel: RTL871X: ERROR sd_recv_rxfifo: alloc recvbuf FAIL!

I found a reference here: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/1720580
and here: https://lkml.org/lkml/2017/6/12/504

Does this affect anybody else? It happened to me with the stock ubuntu, and also with my build of gentoo.

I've noticed these warning lines in the journal, default ubuntu mate image. Default Network manager config.
NetworkManager: <warn> device (wlan0): The kernel does not support extended IFA_FLAGS needed by NM for IPv6 private addresses
followed by:
NetworkManager: <error> platform-linux: do-add-ipv6-address[4: <ipv6 addr>]: failure 22 (Invalid argument)

Reading through the docs it seems that the A64 should be capable of Fastboot mode, but there doesn't seem to be any way to enter this mode on teres?

The fastboot is expected to be used to flash things directly in the eMMC.

CC @DanKoloff

Please consider replacing the wifi chipset by something that does not require proprietary firmware.

One good candidate for that could be the chipset used on the tpe-n150usb dongle: https://www.thinkpenguin.com/gnu-linux/penguin-wireless-n-usb-adapter-gnu-linux-tpe-n150usb

This chipset also requires firmware, but the corresponding source code was released as free software and is available at:
https://github.com/qca/open-ath9k-htc-firmware

More info on the Atheros AR7010/AR9280/AR9287 chipset can be found here:
https://wikidevi.com/wiki/Atheros_AR7010

Currently, if the laptop is off, then connected to mains power using the barrel jack, it will power itself on. This is not ideal when, for example, the battery is very low at the end of the day and I wish to charge it overnight. I feel that the laptop should only power on (from off, not standby or hibernation) when the power button is pressed manually or if a restart command was issued.

The current design is dependent on that file to get the WiFi and BLE to work

This is an awesome laptop!!!

I can't find the CAD models for the case. Did I just miss them or are they closed source? 😱 Or maybe you just used an off-the-shelf model.

Thanks

I use latest macOS and can't open PDF with default reader

open -a Preview DIY-LAPTOP/doc/manuals/TERES-I-rev1.4.pdf

The file “TERES-I-rev1.5.pdf” could not be opened.
It may be damaged or use a file format that Preview doesn’t recognise.

just a question. Why is this repo 1.2G in size? A clone/checkout takes ages.

Hi!

I noticed quite long time ago that the key combination Alt+PrtScr does not register. I had a keyboard replaced at some point, but that did not help, so probably this was not a hardware fault. Now I also see that Tux+Right does not work (though Tux+Left works fine).

You can see what I am talking about with showkey in a terminal.

Can something be done here? I can work around Alt+PrtScr, but would really like Tux+Right to work.

The mainboard revision C of teres a64 is using a proprietary rtlwifi/rt18723bs, this issue is created to work on a solution for it to be replaced with a libre alternative.

The official image for teres-1 is unable to successfully upgrade distribution release, because the BOOT partition has 50MB where invoking $ do-release-upgrade requires additional ~14MB and doing GUI $ update-manager will demand additional ~48.14MB and upgrading from bionic/focal seems to need around 150MB.

Steps to Reproduce

1. Boot the image
2. Do:

• # apt update && apt upgrade -y && apt dist-upgrade -y && reboot
• # do-release-upgrade

Proposal

Expand the boot partition from 50MB -> 300MB (50MB safety factor)

EDIT: 200 MB is not enough to upgrade from focal to jammy (2019 k lacking)

Additional info

I wasn't able to find the relevant source code that is generating the image so making an issue instead

CC @TsvetanUsunov

I would like to replace my desktop with teres once it has a more resourceful chip to handle a game streaming -> Make an OLIMEX docking station?

This is an issue to track a couple of problems with the keyboard and touchpad. I'll attempt to do something about them, but it may take long time before I start, and then I am new to all this.

• Touchpad is very sensitive. Too sensitive to my taste, there are many accidental clicks. Need to understand how to decrease the sensitivity or disable tap clicks. I could not find a configurable option with xinput. Is there an AVR chip to program?
• When the lid is closed, it presses on the keyboard, for instance on the Delete key. I had a file deleted this way, lots of screenshots taken, many escapes pressed, etc. It was really confusing. How to temporarily disable the keyboard (and the touchpad, just in case) when the lid is closed?

Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe.**

Got Pinebook Pro recently and i hate that:

1. I don't have KiCAD files for it to easily add functionality that i need e.g. fingerprint, hotswappable batteries, etc..
2. The RK3399 has spectre and meltdown vulnerabilities and is allegedly using proprietary blobs

Describe the solution you'd like

My end goal is better, equal or tolerably worse alternative to Pinebook Pro that doesn't have security issues and proprietary blobs.

Can we do better with TERES-1? It's currently using the A64 which is too slow for me

Describe alternatives you've considered

The IMX8QM-TUKHLA seems to be a good alternative to RK3399 with allegedly no blobs, but it's still not released and it seems that it's development stalled likely due to blobs..

The next best option seems to be the iMX8QuadPlus which compared to RK3399 has one less Cortex-A72, but according to https://olimex.wordpress.com/2022/01/25/imx8mplus-som-is-alive-and-boots there is an issue with supply

Additional context

I have experience with hardware and software development and am willing to help if you can do the brainstorm on what CPU should be used.

Context

a while ago i proposed this to tsvetan to use the eMMC modules commonly used by hobby-oriented companies to make their emmc's swappable without the need of soldering such as:

afaiu he didn't like the idea bcs OLIMEX's consumers are mostly from the industrial sector where such use is likely to cause issues with data transfer due to e.g. vibration

Proposal

Consider adjusting the pinning on the teres to make it possible for the user to unsolder the eMMC and add a pre-designed daughter board on it's place that would enable the swappable emmc without soldering on demand that way.

Rationale

It would make the laptop significantly more hackable and the daughter boards could be easily adjusted to other connector solutions e.g.

And in practice the hypothesis is that it would basically mean just adding power pins hidden under solder mask around the chip while allowing an easier hacking for the eMMC as that way i don't have to handle jumper wiring from appropriate power source to address energy demands of alternative chip in https://www.olimex.com/forum/index.php?topic=9095.0

KICAD has a very nice 3d rendering feature.

I opened the PCB1 on the 3d viewer and only the bare PCB and half-a-dozen components (such as an 0805 part with L1 reference) got rendered in the scene.

I don't think this is very important. But certainly it would be neat to have the 3D models sorted out. Maybe it is just a matter of setting it up correctly as most 3d models are already provided in libraries just like parts symbols and footprints.

https://manjaro.org/download/#ARM

Hi all, can some one point me to the link where to download the 3D files of the enclosure ?

I have another issue to submit.

Occasionally, teres1-ledctrl starts to consume 100% of the cpu (one core), and the leds do not work. I observed it on both the original ubuntu, and on my gentoo, where I compiled it myself.

This happens rarely, I have no idea what triggers it.

A screenshot:

I've been using my teres every day since i got it and now i have to angle the charging port in weird ways for it to have contact and charge..

The issue is only on the male side so i just cut the cable and spliced a new connector with WAGO, but it's still pretty annoying..

Proposing for the next version to use more robust one

Way to go, guys!

Thank you so much. I've helped a 10 years old put the machine together in a couple of afternoons, it was a fun learning experience for both of us. And it works as is !

The one glitch: No response from the touchpad. The connections are now under the glued battery, so not easily accessible. What do you suggest?

In retrospect, is it really necessary to glue the battery in? What to do if/when it needs replaing?

Keep up the good work.

Touch-Input Device

It would be very beneficial if the project could deliver a touch-input panel.
Enrich the portefolio to optionaly substitute the default 11.6'' LCD display, maybe combined with a digital pen or smart pen.

Handwriting an pen driven notes

Combining the touch-input panel with an application like "Xournal" would make the TERES a low cost alternative for all students searching for a mobile notebook.

It would allow them, to take handwritten notes in any lectures and postprocess their notes as needed.
Because of the the small dimensions, its minimal weight and the low power consumption, the device would last the day, be handy and applicable for mobile usage.

Possible Hardware

Please take the appended list as a possibel starting point. I'm not in any way coupled with the hardware manufactures.

• touch panel

https://yunlea.en.alibaba.com/product/60246567445-801466862/10_1_10_4_12_1_15_15_6_17_17_3_18_5_19_21_5_23_23_6_27_32_inch_Waterproof_usb_capacitive_touch_screen.html?spm=a2700.icbuShop.41413.7.1e053d76Bd4lUx

• active pen
  https://www.storexppen.com/list/6.html

Hi! is the laptop supporting other distros? maybe debian or archlinux? If I want to try something like that, what do I need to keep in mind to don't brick the hardware?

More specificall, how can I install archlinux on this laptop?
On https://archlinuxarm.org/ says olimex is supporting them!

I love the idea behind the laptop, and am really contemplating to get one. But I would very much like to have a keyboard with a mouse pin, not a touchpad, similar to the keyboards on Thinkpads. A good keyboard with slight curves on each key (for the finger to feel if it is at the center or the edges of the keys), and a physical effect on the finger when a key press is registered is vital to be able to type very quickly. The current keyboard is very flat, as far as I could tell from testing a friends version. What is needed to use a different keyboard with a mouse pin, and replace the mousepad with mouse buttons? Are there alternative keyboard suppliers available?

The current 9K mAh battery ain't enough for me is there any compatible battery that i can just put in the system assuming a 3D printed case to handle mounting?