Does Mint have any stance on ARM support ?

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zslg01
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Does Mint have any stance on ARM support ?

Post by zslg01 »

Given the rumors surrounding Apple and a possible move to ARM has Mint considered or planned for an ARM version? I use Mint as a system both on my MacBook and under VMware. Just wondering if a switch to a PC is in my future to stay with Mint.
:?: :?:
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xenopeek
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Re: Does Mint have any stance on ARM support ?

Post by xenopeek »

There currently isn't an ARM edition. You can follow the blog https://blog.linuxmint.com to stay up to date with development news.
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Petermint
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Re: Does Mint have any stance on ARM support ?

Post by Petermint »

Which one of the 26 official ARM architectures do you want supported? :shock:

Or is it one of the many "ARM" architectures from other suppliers? The hundreds of touchpads, hundreds of non standard screens, cameras, etc. ARM support is like the old days of Unix when 30 brands of Unix computers used 60 ~ 90 incompatible versions of Unix.

You could look at the Raspberry Pi OS as one of the few reliable non proprietary operating systems based on Linux for non AMD/Intel architectures. Ubuntu and others have supplied versions of an OS for the Raspberry Pi but they are a mess. Only The Raspbian OS has a full range of working software from a tested Debian source.

Raspbian starts with several full time paid employees working endlessly on every slight change to their hardware range. They support only a tiny range of screens and input devices. The LM team would require a whole new platoon for each variation.

Debian compiles packages for some versions of ARM but they are not tested with all the input and output devices you can buy. They are not tested with touchpad interface chips that might change five times across a year. That is a big reason Linux is not working on your smartphone without Google and Samsung inserting their proprietary junkware.
theoldwizard1

Re: Does Mint have any stance on ARM support ?

Post by theoldwizard1 »

Petermint wrote: Mon Jun 22, 2020 1:58 am Which one of the 26 official ARM architectures do you want supported? :shock:
The simple answer is the version of ARM that is on the most popular SBCs ! RPi4 4G and 8G (Broadcom BCM2711), Tinker Board (if you can squeeze it down to run in 2G - Rockchip RK3288) or other RK3399 SBC with 4GB of memory. I wouldn't even bother with a 32 bit version !

The fact that Mint is missing has been noted ! Raspberry Pi 4 64-Bit Operating Systems
Petermint
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Re: Does Mint have any stance on ARM support ?

Post by Petermint »

chromebox
Intel NUC clones
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