future support for 32bit architecture
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Since LXLE follows the evolution of Lubuntu (thus Ubuntu) and considering that Canonical is not supporting x86 systems anymore, does that mean that LXLE will abandon that support also, as Lubuntu just did?
Thanks
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My opinion... not all good things come to an end, but all things must change. I imagine there will always be 32 bit emulation available for all old software in the future. As 64 bit CPUs flood the planet, the old 32 bit CPUs will be replaced. To cite as example; Steam tracks their user hardware and software on this sight link: https://store.steampowered.com/hwsurvey at the bottom of this page I find it very interesting about OS choices being made;
- Windows OS while still the lion's share at 95.6% is dropping at -0.15%
- Mac OSX at 3.4% is up by +0.12%
- Linux at 1% is up +0.05%
As you can see, 74% uses Intel over AMD, almost the same amount use Nvidia GPU, and over 64% of us have double CPUs or Quad Cores. Now you might think this data pertains only to Windows OS, but clicking the
More Information link: https://store.steampowered.com/hwsurvey/cpus/ will break down the stats by OS.
I seriously doubt anyone still runs an old 286, 386, or 486 here this day. But if I found one in a junk pile and fixed it up I would have to boot free DOS or Linux from the mid 1990's. Other than a hobby, why would I? This is how 32 bit systems and software will be viewed in the future.
My nephew and I salvage old PCs people throw away in the garbage, recently we cannot find very many 32 bit systems on the curb. In fact, he found an i-core 5, with a perfectly working mobo, and 2 GB of RAM about 6 months ago. This was in the trash by the curbside. Most of the time we get people bringing their old systems in for cash, in response to our advertisements. However with fear of the virus gripping the nation, we are back to dumpster diving.
In the end, you can always revert to using older distributions, if you a very paranoid, you could keep a backup of Ubuntu 12.04 on disk somewhere... just in case.
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I do not run a 286, but the other two still work with LXLE.They are sitting there, halfway to the door, halfway to the workshop.They are headed to Free Geek, where they can be recycled, far from the fingerless dolphins.Your comment about Ubuntu 12.04 (which I have a copy of) - could you please elaborate? Is this more secure than modern versions on modern boxes? Or did you mean something else?My first box was a Tandy Radio Shack TRS 80.LXLE user since 2013.
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Mr. Linux, I appreciate your comments. However, if the purpose of LXLE is to have a lightweight but beautiful distro, it seems targeted at older systems. I use a 32 bit system. I live in a very rural area with poor internet (1.5 mb/sec and usually much less). In my situation, 64 bit, which can handle much faster internet, is a bit of overkill. I am sure that this is also the case in other countries besides the US.
If you live in the city where there is much faster internet, I take your point. Maybe LXLE does need, like Lubuntu, to abandon the lightweight market and move to something different. That opens a much broader question about the focus of the distro... why still use LXDE or LXQt, then? Why try to use "lightweight" apps such as AbiWord as opposed to LibreOffice? These are questions for a different topic.
I think the original question is valid. If Ubuntu is abandoning 32 bit support, does that mean LXLE will automatically be abandoning it as well? Please let me know, since my current distro (WattOS) reaches its End of Life in 2021, and it looks like there will be no sequel. I am looking for a new distro, and I am hoping LXLE is it.
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Beamer, my comment about Ubuntu 12.04 isn't about security and more about keeping an old stable version available in the event you cannot readily find a 32 bit OS in the future. I have worked with all three Mac, Linux, and Windows in the field of large industrial companies. I saw the pros and cons of all these systems from working with them in automotive, chemical, power, and communication companies. I absolutely loved working with Windows XP SP3 but Microsoft showed us a real lack of ethics with their push of Vista. They lied and made fake commercials with actors pretending to love Vista. At this time, I moved away from Microsoft at home, and I started using Ubuntu Linux, Kubuntu, and Debian. I still had to work with Windows regardless of how I felt. I know I stayed with 12.04 for many years even after the LTS expired. There is no real "need" to keep upgrading your OS, unless you are having issues with your operating system.
While my first computer was only 2K of RAM and built by a watch factory, I owned many systems such as the Color Computer 2 and 3, I owned a TI-994A, and my first computer to use a floppy drive - I owned was the Radio Shack Tandy HX that looked like a typewriter and a 3.5 inch floppy.
Herndon, actually the difference of 32 bit and 64 bit is about how the system deals with larger memory blocks. The CPU has little to do with internet speeds. LXLE is a great distribution for all systems. I am currently running it on an HP 64 bit i-core 3 with 8GB of RAM, but I have this OS installed on some older units as well.
As for the reason I am running LXLE on this system, I discovered LXLE while surfing articles about Open Box custom builds. I had a person come to me about their Kubuntu machine (that I set up for them) not being very responsive, crashing, and memory issues. Kubuntu's Plasma 5 pulls too much memory in my opinion. This happened because they upgraded. Today thanks to LXLE his PC now works as it should.
All I was offering was my experience and opinions. It is my opinion, based upon my experience that old systems don't disappear overnight. As for the valid question, we need to wait for an official response from LXLE.
Thanked by 1Beamer -
Thanks for responding, Mr. Linux! Yes, I know that 32 vs 64 bit has little to do with internet speeds, except to the extent that a 64 bit system can handle the highly graphical interface and rendering of images more quickly because it handle more data at one time. The 32 bit/64 bit difference IS MUCH MORE PRONOUNCED with higher internet speeds. At least that seems to be my experience when comparing my (daughter's laptop 64 bit, multi core) on our meager rural speeds vs in a hotel or hospital, for example. At home (with slow internet speeds), my 32 bit laptop will match my daughter's laptop; in a hotel, her laptop blows mine away in rendering internet videos/images. I could be wrong, of course; I know there are many factors to consider.
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Off topic, my apologies to the original poster;
I agree Herndon, I don't live in a very large city, population here is 35,000 and my county is 100,000. But the local cable company is Spectrum and they soak us for $90 per month internet only. It goes up from there because they are the only game in town. Back in the 1990s I paid $10 per month and minimum wage was $4.25 an hour. Today it is $9.65, the ratio to wage went up from working 2.35 hours for 1 hour of internet to 9.33:1. I find it horrible that the US has the 10th best internet speed in the world. This is of course caused by greed from the top internet companies keeping us throttled, by Washington lobbyists. We should be leading in this technology and not following. No matter where you live you should get the very best internet for what they charge today. Again I do apologize for talking internet politics, but it is a sore spot with me.
As for the 32 bit versus 64 bit issue, many people who know me, call me a stick in the mud. If I were King of the CPUs I would continue offering the old 32 bit chips. However, I think, Intel stopped around 2010, and the 32 bit chips will be rare to find or cost more to buy them in working condition as time goes by. -
Gotcha beat there, Mr. Linux..... 15,000 in my county, mostly Amish, who don't use electricity or motor cars.... practically Gilligan's Island here.... lol. I know I just dated myself. Count yourself lucky to be able to get Spectrum! Where I am, the best provider is a cell company. We live less than 2 miles from the tower, and it isn't pointed in our direction (oh, how I have begged!). Feel a bit like a caveman.... speeds range realistically between 250 kb and 1.5 mb/sec
I totally agree with you... 32 bit is dying a slow death. Eventually I will have to move off of it, so maybe LXLE should move off of the "lightweight" focus (like Lubuntu)... not as relevant in a world of cheap technology.... but where does it go from there? What should its focus be?
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I wish I could help with the cell tower, but the best I offer is to look at cell phone booster antennas.
LXLE is great for a minimalist such as myself. I don't like a lot of bloat, the admin LXLE and I both agreed, things like snap and flatpak offer up bloatware to Linux users for simplistic installs. People are out there buying up 2 TB HDDs like they are candy. In fact, last month I had a Windows 10 user asking me why the 10 TB HDD he purchased could only format to 2 TB. o.O I fixed it for him (changed the format from MBR to GPT) but this is how crazy this is getting? I remember booting up off cassette tape and old 8 inch floppies.
I think the best approach is to keep offering up both 32 bit and 64 bit distros. To do so, LXLE may have to offer old kernals or custom compiled but eventually you still end up with all the newer software on the 64 bit systems. The other avenue Linux users (the ones I know) want is; privacy and speed.
I keep telling people my Linux boxes don't see near the slow down over time that Windows 10 does. The slow down is caused by some malwares but mostly due to users adding more startup application than needed. My wife has a HP laptop Windows 10 and she hates the random updates. After I set it for manual update, the system tends to chug. She frequents Facebook and there is tons of videos, click bait, and games all made to spy on you.
Even when I am using Linux to surf questionable sites or places I am not 100% trusting, I use the incognito or privacy modes to avoid as much leeching as possible. If I were looking at how to brand LXLE, other than working on older PCs, it has a small footprint, offers privacy, and speed. -
This might interest you.
What we toss away as junk is still used as mainstream overseas. I had a discussion with an engineer whose forte was setting up and/or repairing medical IT. A lot of his work was overseas. He told me that the vast majority of his clients (Central and South America) were still running Windows 98. My guess is, that also meant, on 32-bit architecture.
I have no way of double-checking his statements for accuracy, but then again, I had no reason to doubt him. From other areas of life I learned that the tools and dies from discontinued American automobiles (and even aircraft) head South and are made, factory new, South o' the Border.
Recently, I donated 5 PC's (all 32bit) to a classroom in Panama. The go-between told me that until that moment, the kids had nothing. FWIW.
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