Anybody use Linux? For old hardware, which distro?
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From: RayLopez99 on 3 Jun 2010 15:59 On Jun 3, 7:37 pm, unruh <un...(a)wormhole.physics.ubc.ca> wrote: > I think most would say that any linux will only work for 5 years at > most, as will most other OS. Not that it will not run after 5 years( > assuming the hardware still works) but that so many security issues will > have cropped up that it is dangerous to use it. Of course many still run > Windows 95. And many also are infected by viruses, trojans and other > nasties, and are a danger on the web. But they run. Thanks. So you claim (and it may be true, though it seems to contradict the Linux propaganda) even Linux runs security risks after five years, unless you upgrade the kernel? Interesting.... RL
From: RayLopez99 on 3 Jun 2010 16:02 On Jun 3, 8:30 pm, Mike Easter <Mi...(a)ster.invalid> wrote: > unruh wrote: > > I think most would say that any linux will only work for 5 years at > > most, as will most other OS. Not that it will not run after 5 years( > > assuming the hardware still works) but that so many security issues will > > have cropped up that it is dangerous to use it. > > Give some examples of serious or problematic linux security issues that > would cause it to be 'dangerous' to run some 5 year old linux distro today. > > That would be - name some mid-2005 linux distro security risks. > No I think he's saying a kernel not updated from mid-2005 would run risks TODAY. That must be true, since the Linux.org whatever comes out with 'critical' security patches every so often--one last December and one recently as I recall. Whether or not such security risks in Linux are "serious" for the "average" user is another question (I suspect they are not serious risks for most Linux users, since frankly no hacker worth their salt wastes time writing viruses for Linux, with its 1% market share). RL PS--Took your advice and am downloading Puppy Linux to install on an old Pentium I/II...see my other thread.
From: The Natural Philosopher on 3 Jun 2010 16:03 RayLopez99 wrote: > On Jun 3, 7:37 pm, unruh <un...(a)wormhole.physics.ubc.ca> wrote: >> I think most would say that any linux will only work for 5 years at >> most, as will most other OS. Not that it will not run after 5 years( >> assuming the hardware still works) but that so many security issues will >> have cropped up that it is dangerous to use it. Of course many still run >> Windows 95. And many also are infected by viruses, trojans and other >> nasties, and are a danger on the web. But they run. > > Thanks. So you claim (and it may be true, though it seems to > contradict the Linux propaganda) even Linux runs security risks after > five years, unless you upgrade the kernel? Interesting.... > > RL No, boring really. since no one is going to leave a 7 year old system live on an unprotected and firewalled internet.
From: Mike Easter on 3 Jun 2010 18:12 RayLopez99 wrote: > Mike Easter > PS--Took your advice and am downloading Puppy Linux to install on an > old Pentium I/II...see my other thread. I have a system here with a modem card. XP calls it PCTel HSP56 MR Data/Fax/Voice/SpeakerPhone. I don't think I have used it for XP faxing, but maybe I have. I booted the Puppy 4.2.1 which I've had for some time to see what it would think about that modem (even tho' that box has an integrated ethernet as well as a wireless card). Puppy's 'top' dial tool is PupDial. It immediately recognized the modem and queried it and determined an initialization string. Then it provided me with some fields to populate for an internet connxn. It so happens that I have access to a dialup account, so I provided that and pupdialer dialed up, fed the user/pass while giving me a printout of the log of the transactions. I connected and browsed at dialup speeds. That was all fine -- dialup isn't fast. -- Mike Easter
From: RayLopez99 on 3 Jun 2010 18:22
On Jun 4, 1:12 am, Mike Easter <Mi...(a)ster.invalid> wrote: > RayLopez99 wrote: > > Mike Easter > > PS--Took your advice and am downloading Puppy Linux to install on an > > old Pentium I/II...see my other thread. > > I have a system here with a modem card. XP calls it PCTel HSP56 MR > Data/Fax/Voice/SpeakerPhone. I don't think I have used it for XP > faxing, but maybe I have. > > I booted the Puppy 4.2.1 which I've had for some time to see what it > would think about that modem (even tho' that box has an integrated > ethernet as well as a wireless card). > > Puppy's 'top' dial tool is PupDial. It immediately recognized the modem > and queried it and determined an initialization string. > > Then it provided me with some fields to populate for an internet connxn. > It so happens that I have access to a dialup account, so I provided > that and pupdialer dialed up, fed the user/pass while giving me a > printout of the log of the transactions. > > I connected and browsed at dialup speeds. That was all fine -- dialup > isn't fast. > > -- > Mike Easter Thanks I bookmarked this for future reference....right now, as I point out in another thread:http://groups.google.com/group/ comp.os.linux.setup/browse_thread/thread/a120b43acb958956?hl=en# I'm having problems getting my mouse recognized by Puppy Linux...I'll get a USB mouse tomm. and try some more RL |