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Time has run out on 32-bit systems. Some distributions of Linux have or are considering offering only a 64-bit version of their software. This is a point of debate amongst many Linux users, should we do this? Linux has made it possible to make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear when we could take a computer that would no longer run Windows and turn the computer into a very useful device. It has been a great run. I do not doubt that there are many legacy 32-bit computer systems that are still running today, servers, and, especially in third-world countries, many desktops. Recently, I searched Google to try to determine at what point in time the last 32-bit computer was sold. From the information found in a forum, Dell and Lenovo ceased offering 32-bit systems around January 2010. That event is coming up for its eighth birthday this year. Time flies when we are having fun, and we have to start asking ourselves when do we stop fixing these old computers up? When do we decide that our programmers have better things to do than to keep on supporting hardware that’s diminishing in use? Keep in mind that the hardware can be replaced by a faster 64-bit computer for a small amount of cash, if not free.
Le temps des systèmes 32-bit est révolu.
Certaines distributions de Linux propose ou envisage de proposer uniquement une version 64-bit de leurs logiciels. Un sujet de débat parmi beaucoup d'utilisateurs de Linux est, devrions-nous le faire. Linux rendait possible la transformation d'une buse en épervier quand on pouvait prendre un ordinateur qui ne tournait plus sous Windows et le transformer en une très utile machine. C'était une époque formidable.
Speaking of a small amount of cash, we also have the Raspberry Pi computers that require coding to make Linux run on them. They are 64-bit as well, but are just different enough that they require a separate distro of the desktops that we run. So with three platforms to support, do we risk spreading our talent out too thin? I believe so, and it is time for the 32-bit distros to die.
As an end-user of Linux, I want everyone who writes code and puts distros together to be free of this burden and to put their efforts into supporting 64-bit computers. It is time for us who are running these eight-plus-year-old 32-bit battle axes to make the effort to seek out 64-bit replacements. We owe it to the coders who have given us so much.
John Eddie Kerr Guelph, Ontario, Canada
Gord adds:
I agree with the thrust of what Mr. Kerr is saying, with a small request: Not Now, Please!
It doesn’t take much CPU to run a file server; my file server is an old netbook running Mint Mate 32-bit. The next LTS release is just a few months away, and I hope I can still get a 32-bit distro then. If everyone agrees, “that’s it for 32 bit,” I could live with that.