In 2018, Linux Is Still Receiving Fixes For The Apple PowerBook 100 Series

[andyprough]

But ... can it run Crysis?

[marty1885]

Just let the devs have their fun. And, isn't the entire point of open source software is to let people with passion to add features they want and upstream them so someone somewhere can benefit from the changes?
Heck, how about the people developing GPU support for SGI workstations from the 90s. The ones writing full STL for a 8bit AVR. And the guys working on emulating x86 on a AVR.

[dungeon]

So RPi have plenty of RAM actually, in comparison to this it is super modern

That reminds me on Commodore 64, where graphic could address even less than 1 KB. Remembering these times when i found this Linux, where even empty text file consumed 4 KB - i was like, what kind of bloat is this

[Redfoxmoon]

The maintainer for M68k CPU isn't exactly so overburdened with his work in maintaining the code for a very obsolete CPU, stop inflating shit out of proportion.

Really, you are right in theory, but in practice that guy is more likely to have seen this as a "sweet memories" kind of moment, about memories and things from when his work was actually still relevant.

Don't worry, due to the hierarchical structure of the Linux kernel maintainers there is pretty much 0 effort wasted by anyone else than this guy.

To fit it in that few RAM they would have to butcher the kernel down like professionals, not that such an old device would ever need most of the linux kernel features anyway.

OpenWrt for example (open firmware for network devices) has already basically dropped any support for devices with 16MB of RAM and even devices with 32MB have only 1-2 MB free, but again we are talking of devices that do need space for buffers and drivers to operate 100Mbit (or better) ethernet and wifi, doing firewall, routing, NAT and such duties at acceptable performance for modern world.

You can't compare even a random weak ralink or atheros chipset in a 30$ pocket router to this ancient laptop. The processor is orders of magnitude faster and more efficient.

This device can probably run something like uCLinux https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%CE%9CClinux which is a project to run Linux on mid and high-end microcontrollers.

Well, it's better than that still, excluding a bunch of features you don't need, and you could definitely still use a router with 32 MiB ram with the latest and greatest OpenWrt, although I would *highly* recommend against it. :-)

[AsuMagic]

No need to be rude kid. I am probably older AND a better software developer than you.

[cb88]

Also none is trying to hack or exploit the rocks I have in my garden, still does not make them a good choice for a computing task.

If your task is typing... such as writing novels etc or just perhaps using it as a boatanchor shaped note taking machine it is worth noting that many 68k Macs make excellent text input devices as they tend to have decent keyboards...

[starshipeleven]

How about complete immunity to exploits? Using one of those means you get to laugh at the faces of Meltdown, Spectre, and friends. There is literally zero malware trying to exploit these machines in 2018.

Also none is trying to hack or exploit the rocks I have in my garden, still does not make them a good choice for a computing task.

[starshipeleven]

As a grandfather, I'd wager I'm far more likely to refer to you as "kid" than the other way 'round. And no, the 68k is far from obsolete, and still has plenty of modern day industry applications. I don't blame you for being ignorant in this regard, I find many software developers don't have a clue about hardware ecosystems. You can return to your javascripts or whatever you spend your time "developing".

This PR is about activating/fixing features related to that laptop, and I also very much doubt that anyone using a 68k CPU somewhere cares about running the latest kernel on it.

It's a relatively mid-end microcontroller by modern standards, they usually run either a OS-less firmware or some RTOS.

[RealNC]

Not sure what anyone would be doing with a PowerBook 100 series device on the latest Linux kernel code from 2018,

How about complete immunity to exploits? Using one of those means you get to laugh at the faces of Meltdown, Spectre, and friends. There is literally zero malware trying to exploit these machines in 2018.

If you want complete safety, get such a retro Mac, or an Amiga or an Atari ST. Problem solved

[starshipeleven]

Well, if every obsolete architecture received support like this, developers would have to do more work for no reason. Yes it might be a 5 minute read, but why even waste that 5 minutes? 5 minutes here 5 minutes there in the end they become hours...

The maintainer for M68k CPU isn't exactly so overburdened with his work in maintaining the code for a very obsolete CPU, stop inflating shit out of proportion.

Really, you are right in theory, but in practice that guy is more likely to have seen this as a "sweet memories" kind of moment, about memories and things from when his work was actually still relevant.

Don't worry, due to the hierarchical structure of the Linux kernel maintainers there is pretty much 0 effort wasted by anyone else than this guy.

I mean, this laptop has 8MB RAM. A modern linux kernel with all acompanying minimal software can it fit in 8MB today? And if it can, how much RAM will be left available for any kind of work?

To fit it in that few RAM they would have to butcher the kernel down like professionals, not that such an old device would ever need most of the linux kernel features anyway.

OpenWrt for example (open firmware for network devices) has already basically dropped any support for devices with 16MB of RAM and even devices with 32MB have only 1-2 MB free, but again we are talking of devices that do need space for buffers and drivers to operate 100Mbit (or better) ethernet and wifi, doing firewall, routing, NAT and such duties at acceptable performance for modern world.

You can't compare even a random weak ralink or atheros chipset in a 30$ pocket router to this ancient laptop. The processor is orders of magnitude faster and more efficient.

This device can probably run something like uCLinux https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%CE%9CClinux which is a project to run Linux on mid and high-end microcontrollers.