Old x86 Platforms To Be Removed With Linux 3.15

[DeepDayze]

i386 was dropped too, just wondering when i486 will be dropped too....
How many i486 systems in use today?

The i486 microarchitecture still underpins many of the newer CPU's so it will be a bit longer before support is dropped entirely. Perhaps certain older 486 cpu's such as the 486SX can be dropped.

[FLHerne]

The i486 microarchitecture still underpins many of the newer CPU's so it will be a bit longer before support is dropped entirely. Perhaps certain older 486 cpu's such as the 486SX can be dropped.

Really?

Any i486 desktops/servers must be almost 20 years old by now, and it's been 15 years since MS dropped support for them in new OSs. I haven't seen anything older than a PIII in practical use for years now (and not so many of those), let alone things older than the first Pentium!

Was there a large market for them as embedded controllers or something?

[curaga]

Sigh, this comes up every few months. Yes, 486s were really popular, are still sold, and widely used. You can get +1GHz embedded 486s, space-rated hw is still around 486, and so on.

[torsionbar28]

because someone has to maintain the crap - and more often than not these old semi-broken archs get into the way of new features or bug fixes.

Nobody prevents you from running an old kernel.

And since the hardware is old and the drivers are there, there is real reason for a new kernel. So... you are basically whining about a problem that does not exist.

Whining? Really? Because it affects hardware that I actively use? How does the problem 'not exist'? Because it doesn't affect you, it 'doesn't exist'? You're probably not familiar with how software and computers work, but something as complex as an operating system needs to be maintained to fix bugs and patch security flaws as they are discovered. Also, even today there are new kernel improvements to SMP and process scheduling (you can google those terms to understand what they mean) and those enhancements apply just the same to an 'old' quad xeon like this.

[energyman]

Whining? Really? Because it affects hardware that I actively use? How does the problem 'not exist'? Because it doesn't affect you, it 'doesn't exist'? You're probably not familiar with how software and computers work, but something as complex as an operating system needs to be maintained to fix bugs and patch security flaws as they are discovered. Also, even today there are new kernel improvements to SMP and process scheduling (you can google those terms to understand what they mean) and those enhancements apply just the same to an 'old' quad xeon like this.

please read what I wrote. All of it, ok?

Since old kernels work for you, it does not matter that new kernels do not work anymore. Pick any one lts kernel series and be happy. Nobody is forcing you to use the latest kernel and since your hardware is supported there is no reason to use the latest kernel.

[Rexilion]

Nobody is forcing you to use the latest kernel and since your hardware is supported there is no reason to use the latest kernel.

U serious?

[energyman]

U serious?

yes.

Name a reason why it is mandatory for you to use the latest kernel instead the latest stable series like 3.12, 3.10 or 3.4. if your hardware is supported anyway.

[energyman]

btw torsionbar28, xeons are not 486 architecture. So your point is pretty much based on nothing.

for the rest of you whiners, 486 is not even talked about but some old, very obsolete PLATFORMS.

So, how many of you whiners are using a Sequent Computer Systems NUMAQ machine and need 3.15 for something 3.14, 3.13 or 3.12 can not do for you?

And if 3.12 is not good enough for you - how do you have used that machine until now?

[Rexilion]

yes.

Name a reason why it is mandatory for you to use the latest kernel instead the latest stable series like 3.12, 3.10 or 3.4. if your hardware is supported anyway.

SystemD

Security fixes

New external devices (USB wireless)

[energyman]

systemd works with stable releases.

security fixes are in the stable releases.

and

are you really thinking that you can/should use a usb wireless device on a Sequent NumaQ system from 1996? Seriously?