Open-source News

SteamOS and Steam Deck on top for Linux in the Steam Hardware Survey  GamingOnLinux

Linux 6.0 arrives as Linus Torvalds promises 'core new things' ahead  ZDNet

Here’s How Steam Works on Chromebooks  How-To Geek

There's been a lot happening in Debian recently from improving their handling of non-free firmware to switching to PipeWire and WirePlumber with Debian 12. Another change on the way is picking up Ubuntu's work on dynamic triple buffering for the GNOME desktop...

Among the early pull requests sent in for the now-open Linux 6.1 merge window was the hardware monitoring "HWMON" subsystem updates...

Proton Experimental updates fix up Indiana Jones, Final Fantasy IV (3D Remake)  GamingOnLinux

Mainlined back in 2017 was the statx() call for reporting enhanced file information and stats like finally reporting a file's creation time, data version numbers, and other attributes. Statx has continued evolving since its introduction in Linux 4.11 and now for Linux 6.1 is being expected to support reporting direct I/O alignment information...

Following yesterday's release of the upstream Linux 6.0 kernel, the GNU FSFLA folks have released GNU Linux-libre 6.0 as their downstream that removes driver support for loading binary firmware/microcode and the ability to load non-free-software kernel modules...

9to5Linux Weekly Roundup: October 2nd, 2022  9to5Linux

NVIDIA Vulkan Beta driver 515.49.19 is out now, driver 515.76 causing problems  GamingOnLinux

Linux kernel 6.0 is out now  GamingOnLinux

How to install Visual Studio Code on your Chromebook  Dignited

Linux 6.0 arrives as Linus Torvalds promises 'core new things' ahead  ZDNet

Linux 6.0 arrives with support for newer chips, core fixes, and oddities  Ars Technica

How to enable systemd in Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL)  XDA Developers

Linux kernel 6.0 is out now  GamingOnLinux

Is your old computer 'obsolete', or is it a Linux opportunity? Phil Shapiro Mon, 10/03/2022 - 03:00

You may often hear someone claim a computer, tablet, or smartphone is "obsolete." When you hear such a statement, take a minute to ask yourself, "Is this person speaking an opinion or a fact?"

Many times, their statement is an opinion. Let me explain why.

When someone declares a computer "obsolete," they often speak from their own point of view. So, if you're a technology professional, a five-year-old computer might indeed be obsolete. But is that same five-year-old computer obsolete to a refugee family fleeing war or famine? Probably not. A computer that is obsolete for you might be a dream computer for someone else.

How I refurbish old computers with Linux

I have some experience in this field. For the past 25 years, I've been taking older computers to people who don't have them. One of my second grade students, raised by her grandmother, graduated from Stanford University five years ago. Another one of my students, to whom I delivered a dusty Windows XP desktop in 2007, graduated from Yale University last year. Both of these students used donated computers for their own self-advancement. The latter student typed more than 50 words per minute before reaching middle school. Her family could not afford Internet service when I delivered her donated computer to her–in third grade. So, she used her time productively to learn touch typing skills. I document her story in this YouTube video.

I'll share another anecdote that is difficult to believe, even for me. A few years ago, I bought a Dell laptop on eBay for $20. This laptop was a top-of-the-line laptop in 2002. I installed Linux Mint on it, added a USB WiFi adapter, and this laptop was reborn. I documented this story in a YouTube video titled, "My $20 eBay laptop."

In the video, you can see this laptop surfing the web. It's not speedy but is much faster than the dial-up computers we used in the late 1990s. I would describe it as functional. Someone could write their doctoral thesis using this 2002 laptop. The thesis would read as well as if it were written using a computer released yesterday. This laptop should be set up somewhere public where people can see up close that a 2002 computer can still be usable. Seeing is believing. Ain't that the truth?

More Linux resources Linux commands cheat sheet Advanced Linux commands cheat sheet Free online course: RHEL technical overview Linux networking cheat sheet SELinux cheat sheet Linux common commands cheat sheet What are Linux containers? Our latest Linux articles

How about those famed "netbooks" from 2008, 2009, and 2010? Surely those are obsolete, right? Not so fast! If you install a 32-bit Linux on them, they can surf the web just fine using the latest version of Chromium web browser–which still supports 32-bit operating systems. (Google Chrome no longer supports 32-bit operating systems, though.) A student with one of these netbooks could watch Khan Academy videos and develop their writing skills using Google Docs. Hook up one of these netbooks to a larger LCD screen, and the student could develop skills with LibreOffice Draw or Inkscape, two of my favorite open source graphics programs. If you're interested, I have a video for reviving netbooks using Linux. Netbooks are also ideal for mailing overseas to a school in Liberia, a hospital in Haiti, a food distribution site in Somalia, or anywhere else where donated technology could make a huge difference.

Do you know where refurbished netbooks would really be welcome? In the communities that have opened their hearts and homes to Ukrainian refugees. They're doing their part, and we ought to be doing ours.

Open source revives old computers

Many technology professionals live in a bubble of privilege. When they declare a technology "obsolete," they might not realize the harm they are causing by representing this opinion as a fact. People unfamiliar with how open source can revive older computers are sentencing those computers to death. I won't stand idly by when that happens. And you should not, either.

A simple response to a person who declares a computer obsolete is to say, "Sometimes older computers can be revived and put back to use. I've heard that open source is one way of doing that."

If you know the person well, you might want to share links to some of the YouTube videos listed in this article. And when you get a chance, take a moment to meet an individual or family who lacks access to the technology they need. That meeting will enrich your life in ways you would have never imagined.

Too often older computers are labeled 'obsolete'. Linux changes that. Refurbish an old computer and make it useful again for someone who needs it.

Image by:

Opensource.com

Hardware Linux What to read next How to make an old computer useful again Give an old MacBook new life with Linux Student Linux club refurbishes computers to support distance learning This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International License. Register or Login to post a comment.

CPU-X an Alternative to CPU-Z for Linux  It's FOSS

1. Linux kernel 6.0 debuts, Linus Torvalds teases ‘core new things’ coming in version 6.1  The Register
2. Linux Kernel 6.0 Released, This is What’s New  OMG! Ubuntu!
3. Linux Kernel 6.0 Officially Released, This Is What’s New  9to5Linux
4. The Most Interesting New Features Of Linux 6.0  Phoronix
5. Wow! Linux Kernel 6.0 Lands With Intel 13th Gen Raptor Lake CPU Support  It's FOSS News
6. View Full Coverage on Google News

Embedded Linux Insights: Watch the EEI Livestream on October 5  Elektor