Ubuntu Developers Discuss Again About Dropping Support For 32-bit x86

[hiddenmaverick]

I bought a brand-new ASUS Transformer Book in March 2015 with a Bay Trail processor, which uses a 32-bit UEFI for booting the operating system. This computer will only boot a Linux distribution if it includes 32-bit UEFI boot files, which Ubuntu did not traditionally ship with their 64-bit builds. If they plan on dropping 32-bit x86 without including the 32-bit UEFI boot files in their 64-bit builds, I will not be able to install Ubuntu at all on this computer.

[zanny]

I bought a brand-new ASUS Transformer Book in March 2015 with a Bay Trail processor, which uses a 32-bit UEFI for booting the operating system. This computer will only boot a Linux distribution if it includes 32-bit UEFI boot files, which Ubuntu did not traditionally ship with their 64-bit builds. If they plan on dropping 32-bit x86 without including the 32-bit UEFI boot files in their 64-bit builds, I will not be able to install Ubuntu at all on this computer.

And its Canonical's fault that ASUS uses a broken and bad proprietary UEFI implementation? There will certainly be a way to make it work, it is just insane to imagine supporting an entire architecture exclusively on the presumption that hardware vendors are going to ship broken firmware.

[wizard69]

I find it strange beyond belief that a mainstream distro has any 32 bit support at all. Such support should be the domain of specialist distros just like support for odds architectures are done. I mean really AMD64 has been around how long now?

To look at it another way, even Apple transitioned to 64 bit in Mac OS. One doesn't have to decide upon which version of Mac OS (32 or 64 bit).

Linux can be many things to many people, that is what makes it fantastic, you can find a distro for any use. A leading distro like Ubuntu needs to be progressive, taking advantage of the latest hardware.

[Luke]

Looks like 16.04 will be the last Ubuntu OS for my 2.33 GHz Core Duo T2700. Hopefully Arch or Debian aren't planning on dropping support too. It's a perfectly good machine and they still sell laptops with slower CPUs and GPUs. Any laptop with same build quality and screen is going to cost me over $1K today.

I always though all the Core 2 procs supported 64 bit-did you get an exception? Even if you did, you'd be nuts to replace the machine with something no faster and just as expensive over an architecture/support issue. Either keep Ubuntu 16.04 or switch to Debian. It makes me laugh how all those perfectly good Core2 machines are suppressing sales of newer Intel stuff loaded with antifeatures, buggy UEFI setups, and Windows 8 or 10. Hell, if my AMF FX 8120 and Phenom II x4 both died and the same day I found a Core 2 quad proc and board in a dumpster, it would replace the dead procs on grounds of being free. Put my big cooler on it, push the clocks to the limit and it would be the equal of my Athon II x4 stuff.

[computerquip]

I always though all the Core 2 procs supported 64 bit-did you get an exception? Even if you did, you'd be nuts to replace the machine with something no faster and just as expensive over an architecture/support issue. Either keep Ubuntu 16.04 or switch to Debian. It makes me laugh how all those perfectly good Core2 machines are suppressing sales of newer Intel stuff loaded with antifeatures, buggy UEFI setups, and Windows 8 or 10. Hell, if my AMF FX 8120 and Phenom II x4 both died and the same day I found a Core 2 quad proc and board in a dumpster, it would replace the dead procs on grounds of being free. Put my big cooler on it, push the clocks to the limit and it would be the equal of my Athon II x4 stuff.

It seems most of the CPUs from the Yonah series was like that.
He can buy a T9900 (best you can get for that socket)) for about the same (slightly higher) TDP and a much needed upgrade. It goes for about $70 but you can't get it retail anymore. Any CPU for that socket is going to be unsupported by Intel nowadays.

[adler187]

I always though all the Core 2 procs supported 64 bit-did you get an exception?

He said Core Duo, not Core 2 Duo. Core Duo/Core Solo do not support x86_64.

[adler187]

Debian, though, will probably support x32 forever.

Debian barely supports x32 at all: https://wiki.debian.org/X32Port (which is saying something, since they seem to have the best support for x32 out there...). I think you mean x86.

[Herem]

Average ubuntu user has no interest or skill to switch a laptop cpu.

I was unaware there were any studies into the relationship between someone's Linux distribution of choice and the ability to switch a CPU.

[wdb974]

Sucks for people still using fast enough CPUs that are limited to 32 bit. Time to switch to another distro, I guess. There'll always been one that still caters to 32 bit (at least, until ALL 32 bit CPUs are deemed too slow to use).

[unixfan2001]

Debian testing is a rolling release distribution, install it once and never update or every day.

If only repeating the same lie over and over would make it true.
I could be 50lb lighter and married with children.

As it is, neither am I 50lb lighter or married with children, nor is Debian a rolling release distro.