Linked by Thom Holwerda on Wed 12th Dec 2012 21:47 UTC
"This tree removes ancient-386-CPUs support and thus zaps quite a bit of complexity [...] which complexity has plagued us with extra work whenever we wanted to change SMP primitives, for years. Unfortunately there's a nostalgic cost: your old original 386 DX33 system from early 1991 won't be able to boot modern Linux kernels anymore. Sniff. I'm not sentimental. Good riddance." Almost 21 years of support for a professor. Not bad.
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Member since:2010-07-07
Well they actually could, anyone looking to make their own unlicensed x86 based CPU can already start at the i586 iirc, theres a little known x86 manufacturer called Xcore86 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xcore86 that produces 1Ghz i586 based SoCs with DDR2 and PCIe support.
The board looks pretty interesting http://www.vortex86dx.com/?page_id=286
RE[2]: It's the right move
by Morgan on Thu 13th Dec 2012 11:09
in reply to "RE: It's the right move"
Member since:2005-06-29
Reminds me of the AMD Geode based thin client I have in the closet. 16MB of onboard storage with no upgrade path there (proprietary flash based "disk") so it's limited to a 2.4 series Linux based OS, or its original WinCE software.
For a time I had Tiny Core Linux running on it, and it was very fast for what it was. But it had no practical use once I got my first Raspberry Pi so now it collects dust.
RE: It's the right move
by Luke McCarthy on Sat 15th Dec 2012 00:13
in reply to "It's the right move"
Member since:2005-07-06
Member since:2005-07-06
Yeah, that would be too soon - only 2 or 3 years ago Intel was still selling 32bit CPUs (netbook Atoms); not sure if all mobile Atoms (in phones running Android) are 64 bit...
Then there's also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X32_ABI & https://sites.google.com/site/x32abi/ project, apparently from Intel (for mobile phone Atoms?), which I guess depends somewhat on the continuing existence of 32bit x86 support in Linux.
Features
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/21/13 21:38 UTC
At an event earlier today, Microsoft unveiled the next Xbox - the third model, but confusingly named Xbox One. The big focus was TV, integrated Kinect, and all the other stuff we all expected to be forced down our throats. I think it took them 25 minutes to actually come to what should be the core of the story: gaming. Nothing groundbreaking in the gaming department, except for how Microsoft intends to handle the used games market and borrowing games from friends: pay up, buddy!
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/20/13 11:29 UTC
The day has finally come! Jolla has finally announced the launch device for its Sailfish operating system - and by god this is a looker. It's decidedly different from other phones out there, but it has good specifications and carries a relatively reasonably price tag - EUR 399, and it's up for pre-order today, shipping in the fourth quarter of this year.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/18/13 21:33 UTC
Why does Google get so much credit in the technology industry? Why, despite the company's many obvious failings, do many geeks and enthusiasts still hold a somewhat positive view on the all-knowing technology giant? A specific talk at Google I/O this week provides the answer.
Linked by David Adams on 05/16/13 4:23 UTC
OSNews is a sponsor of this year's O'Reilly OSCON in Portland, Oregon, USA. A lucky OSNews reader will win a free three-day pass, including two tutorials days. To win the pass, post a comment on this story saying something about Open Source Software or OSCON. We'll pick a winner at random next week. If you don't have an OSNews account, you may email us your entry. Part of the conference is the 9th annual Open Source Awards, and today the 16th is the deadline for nominations. If you'd like to nominate an outstanding open source contributor, do it here. Read on for more information about OSCON. Update: The 20% discount code for OSNews readers is "OSN."
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/11/13 21:41 UTC
"Windows is indeed slower than other operating systems in many scenarios, and the gap is worsening." That's one way to start an insider explanation of why Windows' performance isn't up to snuff. Written by someone who actually contributes code to the Windows NT kernel, the comment on Hacker News, later deleted but reposted with permission on Marc Bevand's blog, paints a very dreary picture of the state of Windows development. The root issue? Think of how Linux is developed, and you'll know the answer.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/08/13 14:22 UTC
This is one of those news items that's fun to write, fun to read, fun to comment on, and where no one will be able to say anything unkind. It's all just one big ball of awesome fluffiness. TuneTracker, the BeOS radio automation software, has just released something very special: TuneTracker System 5, the first version designed entirely and specifically for Haiku. In fact, it actually includes Haiku in the software package. Better yet, TuneTracker also unveiled several system-in-a-box products - which have Haiku and TuneTracker pre-installed.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/02/13 15:28 UTC
Exactly twenty years ago, a document was published that played a huge role in establishing the web as we know it today. Twenty years later, and this simple and straightforward document is proof of an irrefutable fact: while closed technologies can change markets, open technologies can change the world.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/29/13 21:06 UTC
Oh multitasking. That staple of computing that got thrown out the window with many modern smartphones. We got some rudimentary thing in its place - but even as multitasking on phone and tablets improves, its user-visible side remains cumbersome. Windows 8 has a neat implementation, and now it's time Android follows in it footsteps.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/24/13 22:24 UTC
They're here! Whether that excites you or not remains to be seen, but the Galaxy S4, which will most likely become the best selling Android smartphone of the year by a huge margin, has been reviewed by all the major sites, and there's lots of interesting conclusions in there - although I think most of you will get the gist.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/18/13 11:21 UTC
Nokia has posted its quarterly results for the first quarter of 2013, and just like the quarters that came before, there's not a whole lot of good news in there. The rise in Lumia sales still can't even dream of making up for the sales drop in Symbian phones, and when broken down in versions, the sales figures for Windows Phone 8 Lumias in particular are very disappointing. In North America, Nokia is getting slaughtered.More Features »
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2006-05-20
I absolutely think this is the right move. While support for old machines is definitely an advantage for Linux, is anybody actually trying to boot a modern distro like Ubuntu or Fedora on a 386? No! Anybody who needs a machine that old for some reason does not also need the most modern software. I wouldn't mind if they dropped 486 support. We're coming up on 20 years since the introduction of the Pentium. Naturally, there will be a very vocal minority that feels removing 486 support signifies the start of the apocalypse, but I think the actual re-world impact of such a move would be negligible.