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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).

Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.

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Are older, but Linux compatible computers capable of running the newest kernel/version of various distros? (lemmy.ml)

submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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Guys I truly don't mean to spam the community but these are legit questions. Yesterday I posted about linux compatibility and computers and every single person gave me knowledge to use and you're all awesome.

Now my question is, I will undoubtedly be purchasing an older machine, would an older but good running machine still be able to install the latest kernels or versions of distros or are you limited to older versions only, based on the era of your laptop or is it really about the hardware you have? I know ram, disk space, basic stuff like that matters with distros, but I know that will not be a problem. I guess I'm thinking beyond that like processors. are older processors or anything else hold certain machines from being compatible with the newest and greatest kernels? Thanks!

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[–] [email protected] 40 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Linux kernel is really good at backwards compatibility, better than any other OS.

Software can be bad at being backwards compatible with older kernels, but you should be able to run newer ones.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I'm sorry, but what exactly do you mean by backwards compatibility? Like if I installed the latest version of say Ubuntu, it will automatically scale back the kernel to one that fits the specs of my computer?

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 year ago (1 children)

The kernel has drivers for very old hardware. It was news last year when support was dropped for i486. That is a 25 year old CPU.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

i486 is still supported by the recent Linux kernel: https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/tree/arch/x86/Makefile_32.cpu, and it is a 34 years old architecture. Everything else you wrote is correct.