Ubuntu 16.04 Might Be The Distribution's Last 32-Bit Release

[rudregues]

Pentium III was indestructible! I must have a dozen such machines still usable after 15 years, quite able to run core network services reliably, such as router / firewall / mailserver / DNS cache / web cache / simple webserver / small file server.

Since then, hardware manufacturers must have reailsed it's more profitable to sell SoCs with no serviceable parts, improper cooling, and working life of only 1-2 years.

Debian support however may not last much longer; most 32-bit architectures are at risk of being dropped already, and soon it may be linux-i386's turn.

F***ing planned obsolescence
obs.: linux i386 was already dropped

[grok]

I'm jumping on that discussion, but I wanted to point out new hardware (equiped with x86-64 CPU) is coming with 2GB and even 1GB, and the memory is totally not upgradable. Those are new laptops with a SoC and everything soldered to the motherboard, and x86-64 tablets.

Some (or most) of them have 32bit Windows 8.1, and 32bit UEFI that goes with it. I don't know how many such PCs will sell (including the tablets), could be 10 million or 100 million and it goes to say lifetime of a PC is now a decade or more. Think of 2007 iMacs that don't have security updates.
In fact the distros should be adding more 32bit support, instead of some children's reactions : "Oh noes, the UEFI is 32bit and we can't boot from it! Fuck Intel and Microsoft! it's an evil plot to prevent linux from running"

At least, if Ubuntu wants to drop 32bit x86 they ought to support that last version for 10 years

[grok]

The other big problem with supporting old x86-32 hardware on modern desktop distributions is that the GPU drivers aren't supported any more. Nvidia and ATI have dropped support for old GPUs in their proprietary drivers, so unless you have a GPU that is still supported by an open source driver, you will have no acceleration and a painful desktop experience. Support for SiS graphics got broken in Xorg some time back and doesn't look like it will ever get fixed. Open source ATI or Intel is probably the best bet, but anything else is unlikely to work. Debian already dropped support for many old GPUs a while ago.

Hopefully S3virge is not removed from that list (or even 3dfx) but well, there are uncommon stuff from 1996 or 1997 in there, Sun stuff we don't care about and it's cards on PCI or AGP 3.3 volts. Systems on AGP 1.5 volt and Intel chipset graphics are unconcerned (as are "modern" PCI graphics cards based on geforce 2MX, Radeon and later)

ATI Rage Pro, available both on AGP 3.3 volt and PCI (and as on-board AGP graphics) is not on the list (mach64), it doesn't have 3D anymore but does adequate 2D display and full screen video, a lot better than the rather more recent VIA VX900 chipset.
So : if you still want to watch xvid movies on that networked PC from 1999 and have security updates in 2020, swap that Virge or Voodoo3/Banshee for an ATI Rage or a PCI card from the 2000s.

/edit: yes, the sis driver in there is the most significant one.

IMHO making 32-bit PAE installs the default on Ubuntu for such a long time was a mistake (it was only end of 2013 that Ubuntu started to use 64-bit by default). PAE doesn't even work on many old systems, since it requires motherboard support and most PC manufacturers never cared to implement or test it.

That is a weird misconception. Everything supports it excepts Socket 7 stuff or older and the first Pentium M, which had a hardware bug. In fact perhaps Pentium M is the only chip that is both i686 and PAE.
What won't work though is using 32bit PAE and more than 4GB RAM on arbitrary computers, only server stuff does that, mainly due to drivers.