Ultralight Debian-based distro Q4OS 5.8 now available

[Redaktion]

Q4OS, often praised as a faster solution for old computers than Puppy or Bodhi Linux, is back with a new update. Labeled 5.8, this refresh is based on Debian Bookworm 12.10 and the 6.1.0-32 kernel. In addition to the Debian-specific changes, Q4OS 5.8 also comes with several translations for Calamares, improved Flatpak app handling, and more.

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Ultralight-Debian-based-distro-Q4OS-5-8-now-available.989079.0.html

[GeorgeS]

Actually, last year while shopping for a distro that still supports 32bit CPU's (an old Aspire One with Intel Atom CPU) the choices were FEW and very far between.

I was able to land on a SINGLE Debian based distro that supported 32bit systems.

Just about everything else has moved on to supporting 64bit systems with MIN >=2GB of RAM.

FYI.

[Worgarthe]

Actually, last year while shopping for a distro that still supports 32bit CPU's (an old Aspire One with Intel Atom CPU) the choices were FEW and very far between.

Which One, George? I also have one quite old Aspire One with Atom N570, the CPU is slow but runs Windows 7 without any issues and its battery is still in great shape after all these years (34% wear, not bad for a 14Y old device). It fully supports 64-bit OS though (and I plan to slap a Linux on it these days when I find time to bring it back to life as it's a decent little machine for light tasks). Which is why I wonder what's your model to support only 32-bit 🤔

[GeorgeS]

Actually, last year while shopping for a distro that still supports 32bit CPU's (an old Aspire One with Intel Atom CPU) the choices were FEW and very far between.

Which One, George? I also have one quite old , the CPU is slow but runs Windows 7 without any issues and its battery is still in great shape after all these years (34% wear, not bad for a 14Y old device). It fully supports 64-bit OS though (and I plan to slap a Linux on it these days when I find time to bring it back to life as it's a decent little machine for light tasks). Which is why I wonder what's your model to support only 32-bit 🤔

Mine is much much older and came with XP. Atom 1C2T, 2GB RAM (I upgraded) and now a 120GB SSD. WiFi-G, Bluetooth AND a 10/100 magjack. :)

Back in the day (before tablets were even a thing!) these devices WERE awesome for computing on the go! While ~5-6hrs run time on battery is underwhelming for modern devices and surely 'underpowered' according to modern standards, light office, surfing as well as other tasks of the era were possible on these. :)

Granted my now also OBS 9.7" iPad Pro is lighter, more functional & runs longer on battery.

I DO (just for fun) make a point to keep my old Aspire 'updated' with Linux builds in hopes that it COULD BE still useful for _something_. :)

*sigh* I can't seem to get Steam or GoG clients on the thing for now. Frankly the number of 32bit builds and their application support keeps shrinking.