>RM> Is this a version that
>RM> has to be compiled or does it just install in a working condition.

It works out of the box, can be booted from a USB stick or a DVD. Once it

>boots, it puts you into a live environment running off of the removable media
>and lets you try it out or install it.

I wondered a bit about that. I had a quick look online and seemed to be seeing install files small enough to fit on a CD, let alone a DVD..
..but they mentioned that to install it would require 5 gig of disk
space so it was sounding a little expansive once it gets going..

I know this thread is a few months old, however ... have you gotten a Linux install up and running yet? I have installed Raspbian PC on some very old X86 architectures. Though Slackware 14.2 runs well, for a GUI Desktop I would suggest Raspbian PC.

https://www.techrepublic.com/article/how-to-run-raspberry-pis-raspbian-os-on-a- pc/

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I know this thread is a few months old, however ... have you gotten a Linux

>install up and running yet? I have installed Raspbian PC on some very old X8
>architectures. Though Slackware 14.2 runs well, for a GUI Desktop I would
>suggest Raspbian PC.

I looked into the suggestions but I think the biggest problem might be that
I would require Dial-Up support, and I'm not sure 'modern' Linux distros support that. I primarily wanted to find browser and eMail support for
a computer currently running a sort of hybrid Win 98/ME system which
precludes using new eMail programs or Browsers that support HTTPS access.

I'm not sure how upgradable Linux distros tend to be without a full reinstall. I did try a Puppy Linux version several years back which looked promising
(It's still on this machine but I think requires a Boot CD to run it) but
even then there was minimal Dial-up support.

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þ PDQWK 2.52 #17
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I know this thread is a few months old, however ... have you gotten a Linux

>install up and running yet? I have installed Raspbian PC on some very old X8
>architectures. Though Slackware 14.2 runs well, for a GUI Desktop I would
>suggest Raspbian PC.

I looked into the suggestions but I think the biggest problem might be that I would require Dial-Up support, and I'm not sure 'modern' Linux distros support that. I primarily wanted to find browser and eMail support for
a computer currently running a sort of hybrid Win 98/ME system which precludes using new eMail programs or Browsers that support HTTPS access.

Most Linux Distros have dial-up support. I do know that Raspbian PC (https://www.raspberrypi.org/blog/pixel-pc-mac/) has dial-up support, though it does depend on what type of modem you are using (winmodems do not work (very well if at all) under linux) and will always require some hands on configuration, there are many articles concerning this subject. Typically pppd is used for modem use. https://www.aboutdebian.com/modems.htm

I'm not sure how upgradable Linux distros tend to be without a full reinstall. I did try a Puppy Linux version several years back which looked promising
(It's still on this machine but I think requires a Boot CD to run it) but even then there was minimal Dial-up support.

Most Linux Distros are Live Up-gradable ... Debian compatible (Debian 9, Ubuntu, Raspbian PC, etc) using apt-get update && apt-get upgrade commands and install packages is as simple as apt-get install <package-name>. I use Slackware 14.2 which is not as easy to update.

Hope this helps

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þ Synchronet þ The Empty Keg BBS emptykeg.synchro.net:82 Lake Echo NS Canada

I know this thread is a few months old, however ... have you gotten a Linux

>install up and running yet? I have installed Raspbian PC on some very old X8
>architectures. Though Slackware 14.2 runs well, for a GUI Desktop I would
>suggest Raspbian PC.

I looked into the suggestions but I think the biggest problem might be that I would require Dial-Up support, and I'm not sure 'modern' Linux distros support that. I primarily wanted to find browser and eMail support for
a computer currently running a sort of hybrid Win 98/ME system which precludes using new eMail programs or Browsers that support HTTPS access.

PS: I have an ancient PCI modem in my PC (I don't use it because I haven't had a landline for almost 10 years LOL :-) Again, I use Slackware 14.2 with KDE 4.14.21 Plasma Desktop, which comes preconfigured with KPPP Internet Dial-up Tool (the modem drivers are detected by the kernel on boot-up and the appropriate modules are loaded as /dev/modem ) I am not sure what you mean by 'make phone calls' but I assume you mean to use internet dial-up?

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þ Synchronet þ The Empty Keg BBS emptykeg.synchro.net:82 Lake Echo NS Canada

I looked into the suggestions but I think the biggest problem might be tha

> > I would require Dial-Up support, and I'm not sure 'modern' Linux distros
> > support that.

Most Linux Distros have dial-up support.

Thanks for your information. I'm keeping notes from this if I decide to
try to get things going with Linux again.

I'm not sure how upgradable Linux distros tend to be without a full

> > reinstall. I did try a Puppy Linux version several years back which looked
> > promising

Most Linux Distros are Live Up-gradable ... Debian compatible (Debian 9,

>Ubuntu, Raspbian PC, etc) using apt-get update && apt-get upgrade commands a
>install packages is as simple as apt-get install <package-name>.

What I meant by upgradable, and maybe you are answering what I asked, was
if You have a version of Linux running that is several years old, and you
may prefer the older distro for a very old computer, is it possible to just replace the Browser and maybe eMail programs with newer ones or would it involve downloading a full OS version ?

I believe when I looked into the version of Puppy Linux I was trying out several years ago they supported Dial-up but only at 14.4k.. If you
wanted 56k support you had to pay for it (better drivers I assume)..

The problem with dial-up and virtually all new computer programming is that
no one ever thinks someone is still out there on dial-up and so distos of everything are huge. Web pages that I could duplicate using 100k of data
often take 3 or 4 meg to load.. No one worries that a simple browser is
50 meg because that's takes just seconds on high speed, but where I live
most of the year a 50 meg file would take me 7 hours to download assuming nothing interrupted that download and you had to start over. One 35 meg anti-virus program I had to download 5 times to finally get a working copy.

I guess I'll have to decide if it's worth getting into the finer points
of a whole new Operating System since Linux in general doesn't self
install a lot of stuff and in newer distros, things from older distros
tend to be dropped so legacy support gets less and less over the years.
Having had computers since about 1983, Apple and PC, I've had to work my
way through a lot of changes so I'm sure I can manage it if I have to..

Thanks for your input..

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