Mashable has a report
When Raspberry Pi Isn’t Enough: Behold the Open Source Laptop
The laptop, brainchild of Chumby designer Andrew “Bunnie” Huang, is easy to open, every part can be inspected and if need be substituted. The computer is made to run on Linux.
“I’ve been a hacker of consumer electronics,” Huang told Mashable. “I find myself typically designing products I don’t use. I decided I wanted to design something I wanted to use.”
So what exactly is an open source laptop? Named Novena, it’s a Linux-powered machine where every component can be modified by the user. Anyone who owns one will be able to rewire and reprogram individual components — the source code of each one will be available. And the actual casing, unlike most laptops, is made to be opened up and tinkered with.
“It’s meant to have an easy and accessible approach to electronics on the inside,” Huang says. “You can actually download the design source. You can understand the intent of every component.”
So who would want a fully programmable laptop? Huang says researchers, engineers and product developers all would have interest, but also anyone concerned about security. Since the owner can drill down as far as they want into components, there’s an “enhanced level of inspectability,” he points out.
There is a crowdfunding campaign to get this off the ground…