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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] 23 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (6 children)

So long as the computer supports an instruction set from like the last 30 years you can run the latest kernel.

Here's a 133 Mhz Pentium running Gentoo with a very recent kernel.

I'd probably recommend something like Debian though unless you are really pushing the limits of the hardware.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (3 children)

"Linux Kernel 4.14.8 (Dec 2017)" - Would this be the "very recent"?

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

That video came out in January 2018, so at the time it was "very recent." I don't think anything would have changed significantly since then.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

4.14 is close to EOL, but it is still very well supported.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

As far as I know. nothing done in that video would be impossible on the latest kernel. Everything would compile and run comparably.

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