12-07-2017, 01:52 PM
Interesting discussion in this thread, especially on the likely demise of 32-bit versions. The march of tech progress is remorseless, but I'm sure I am not the only person who regrets the fact that so many old(er) computers are discarded so quickly in the quest for faster and more glitzy systems.
I still have a couple of old laptops and a couple of old desktops with modest CPUs (one a non-pae processor) and not a lot of RAM, which originally had WinXP installed. The shift to Linux has enabled me to keep them in use, and useful. But the decision by Ubuntu to abandon 32-bit affects Linux Lite, Mint and other derivatives; and PCLinuxOS has stopped 32-bit too as it requires too much work from their small dev team.
So like newtusmaximus and others, I've been having a look around. I found MX-16 (the result of AntiX and Mepis convergence). It's based on Debian, uses the XFCE desktop, is fairly lightweight, and still offers 32-bit in two versions (pae and non-pae) as well as 64-bit. Installation smooth and straightforward, updating a breeze. Runs on several of my older machines with no hiccups - wifi works, multimedia is fine, browsing speedy enough.
I'm not about to abandon Lite, or Mint. But I have to say I am impressed by MX-16.
I still have a couple of old laptops and a couple of old desktops with modest CPUs (one a non-pae processor) and not a lot of RAM, which originally had WinXP installed. The shift to Linux has enabled me to keep them in use, and useful. But the decision by Ubuntu to abandon 32-bit affects Linux Lite, Mint and other derivatives; and PCLinuxOS has stopped 32-bit too as it requires too much work from their small dev team.
So like newtusmaximus and others, I've been having a look around. I found MX-16 (the result of AntiX and Mepis convergence). It's based on Debian, uses the XFCE desktop, is fairly lightweight, and still offers 32-bit in two versions (pae and non-pae) as well as 64-bit. Installation smooth and straightforward, updating a breeze. Runs on several of my older machines with no hiccups - wifi works, multimedia is fine, browsing speedy enough.
I'm not about to abandon Lite, or Mint. But I have to say I am impressed by MX-16.