Linux already on HP Prime G2!

[Claudio L.]

(07-18-2019 04:06 PM)Jean-Baptiste Boric Wrote:  As I said, HP's firmware enforces a chain of trust, but the hardware does not enforce a root of trust. We can boot whatever we want, whether it's from the SoC's recovery or the NAND. However, once the calculator runs HP's official firmware it's a one-way trip until reset. The chain of trust extends to HP's official recovery, so you can't upload an unofficial firmware through it.

So yes, the firmware can be replaced, but unlike G1 we can't hitch a ride on HP's official firmware. Once HP's code runs, it's effectively game over until reset.

If you are right then, well... I guess HP slammed the door shut for us. It would've been nice to simply use the connectivity kit to flash alternative firmware like you did on the G1.
I'm thinking the right solution would be to somehow move HP bootloader to a different area of flash and put a more generic u-boot to boot from NAND (easier said than done unless you have done the hardware mod, even the simpler one you suggested of putting 3.3V on a test point would be a big deterrent for 99.9% of the users). Then a u-boot script could have a menu to either load HP's bootloader from the alternative location and launch it, or a custom firmware from the user.
In any case, just the fact it requires the users to open the calculators to do the mod means very few people would ever attempt it. What's the point in publishing anything for this platform if it's so hard to use it?

When the G2 was announced I had already started working on the newRPL port for the G1 (basic boot and drivers). I stopped because I thought there was no sense in working on yet another dead hardware platform, and was waiting and hoping for good news to start working on the G2 hardware. Now I'm afraid the G2 is as dead as the G1 for my use case. Even if we were able to do an open boot as I described above, only a couple of people would dare to do it.

This thread started as very good news, now I'm really disappointed.