Old Linux distro's

Anyone collect old Linux distro’s?
Doing an office clean up and found these:

2 Likes

Would they be helpful in converting old laptops (circa Windows 3.1) to useable Linux machines? I only require parallel and RS-232 ports as I/O…

My friend (not a member of the hackspace) would love these; he collects computer history artifacts, and makes illustrations inspired on historical computing artifacts.

Old OS’s that are no longer receiving updates are a bad choice for any computer. Unfortunately, for really old computers, sometimes there just isn’t a secure option. e.g. the Linux kernel stopped supporting i386 in version 3.8. This thread has some potentially useful info.

@mike I will leave them in the dropbox locker for you next time I am down at the space

Cool, I arrive back in Vancouver on September 2nd, so make no rush to get them there. I’ll let Tony (my friend) know; he’ll be overjoyed :).

Also, let me know what kind of booze (or other legal vice) you like and it might appear :wink:

@SDY I have used lubuntu on older laptops with success

Arrrgh, interesting point of view. Based on my personal, and actual experience, cutting edge release of OS are bad for modern hardware (can somebody please stop my laptop harddrive from being accessed 100% of the time for about 20-25 minutes every time it wakes up? Windows 10 mounted on a @#$%^&* lenovo B50 certainly can’t. How long can a modern day HD run like that? A year?) :wink:
I use old machines in out-of-internet set-up. Single function devices, when something more than just collecting data is required. You can still get battery packs for most of them, and their backlighting systems appear to have been better designed than the modern stuff. Or the extra space gives extra ventilation and that lets electronics grow old instead of cooking and ‘thermal avalanching’…? Modern devices are REALLY packed tight, too tight?
As far as OS are concerned, Windows 3.1 would still be my first choice for this kind of application if my floppies would not have succombed to magnetitit… I blame the present day propagation of Nyodimium magnets around labs and kitchens, lol!
Note that I don’t mind Windows 7, 'just that I can’t get my hands on a machine loaded with it.

What can I say, I like old shit. Vacuum tubes, Nixies, TTL family, Pittsburg area made glassware, California made Fiestaware type dishes, old furniture, old books, old magazines. Old Westerns, old wars machines… Before you call me a Ludite, I also believe the world is a better place with RGB leds, this new generation of microcontrollers, Tesla cars, MeGaMillionaires with Space Conquest aspirations, 3D printers (including the sugar-as-building-material-medium units), cheap lasers, home-made CNCs, Roombas, the new material science (so many new stuff coming out, one cannot keep track!), and Big Bang Theory re-runs.

Sorry for the lengthy moaning, I really ought to get myself a blog, just to vent.
Now I am off to check out your link, thanks!

“My friend (not a member of the hackspace) would love these; he collects computer history artifacts, and makes illustrations inspired on historical computing artifacts.”

Mike, tell him to come down and do a show-and-tell, please!

1 Like

SteveRoy, I found that the somewhat modern version I tried to use would sneer at the lack of internal virtual and physical space in the older machines.

Is there any “light” version of Ubuntu?

Wait, you actually wrote “lubuntu”, I’ll assume that is different. I’ll look it up.

Thanks, all!

VERY up to date info, mucho gracias!

Alas!.. " A rule of thumb is that the computer should not be more than 10 years old. ". I have socks older than that, lol! One of my old yet running laptop is a Satellite Pro 410CDT, circa 1995…

But I am still going to load that one up and check it out, merçi beaucoup!

If you don’t need a GUI, I imagine your options expand as well.

This topic was automatically closed 365 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.