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The pros and (mostly) cons of buying a distro on ebay, one reader panics at the end of Ubuntu, reading Linux Format on Readly, and PAE tech in Pentium processors.
Buyer beware
Would it help people to tell them that they can buy cheap Linux distros on ebay? They cost a couple of quid, which is nothing. Will you be doing more emulator articles in the future? Ian Learmonth
Neil says…
I’m sure there are some ebay vendors who are genuine and are offering up-to-date, legitimate release of Linux distros on DVD or USB sticks, but I can’t help getting the feeling the most are just after making a quick buck with some old tat they threw together. Worse than that, you could be buying something dangerous or that doesn’t work at all. Why are you after a physical version of the distro? I’m intrigued? You’d be much better off working out how to download the latest build from the distro’s servers and donating some money to them.
As for emulators I’m hoping to kick off a series on emulators in the next issue or so time.
32-bit is just resting
I’ve been a user of Ubuntu for probably 10 years and a reader of your fine mag for five.
I’ve just read your editorial of the September 2019 issue with its headline “Escape Ubuntu?”. I’m not a geek, I don’t run a business and I’m not a programmer. Instead, I just prefer using open source
software rather than the offerings from either Microsoft or Apple. I have no real technical computing skills, but enjoy trying to fathom out the range of applications that are covered in detail in Linux Format.
Now I read that Linux might not exist in the future for the home user – or perhaps I have just misread your editorial. For me, it would be like losing a good friend. Okay, so occasionally we don’t get on all that well, but overall the benefits more than outweigh the downsides. Please tell me that I have read the article incorrectly or am jumping to conclusions. I might be bereft if I’m right in my assumptions. George Whiles
Neil says…
I think you’re getting a little panicked saying “Linux might not exist in the future for the home user”. We’re just talking about Ubuntu and its support of older 32-bit processors. It’s a complicated story and in fact we have a feature in LXF263 (when you catch up) all about extending the life of 32-bit systems.
Canonical has taken the decision (as many other developers have, including Arch and Fedora) that future development will only support 64-bit systems. To be fair it has said Ubuntu 18.04 LTS (Bionic Beaver) will have 10 years of support and that includes its 32-bit spin. So you can continue using Ubuntu on 32-bit PCS until 2028, which isn’t too bad.
Fun 32-bit
I like the unsubscribe emails I get sent from your marketing team, but I’m sure that Jonni doesn’t keep track of my subscription status. I still enjoy Linux Format every month, but via Readly (https://gb.readly.com). I trust that you get some payment from Readly?
I play with different Linux in Virtualbox on my desktop PC. I run Linux Mint Mate 19.3 with one of my laptops. I also have a Raspberry Pi 4. I run Linux Mint Xfce 32-bit on an old Netbook with an Intel Atom CPU and 2GB of RAM, so I look forward to Jonni’s article about 32-bit Linux. Thank you for an excellent magazine. Bertil Hagnell, Sweden
Neil says…
Jonni would like you to know that’s he’s watching and judging all readers who unsubscribe. We do get something back from the Readly system, but not as much as if you subscribe direct and receive the print magazine. However, we can hardly complain about something we’ve signed up to! I hope the 32-bit article last issue went down well with everyone.