Curiosity: why do so many people only use Linux on old hardware?

[sydbat]

@majpooper - This is basically my experience as well. I really do love the fact that, unless the hardware is actually dead, I can run Linux on just about anything.

Upon reviewing a lot of the answers here, I see we are all of the same basic mindset. As I mentioned before (I hope I mentioned it...DEAR GOD LET ME HAVE MENTIONED IT!!!), my current boxes all run Linux of some sort - the one I am typing on that is just over a year old, another that is nearly 10 years old, and the last one that is about two years old. All built from scratch, and all with Linux as the only ever OS.

I guess it mostly boils down to the fact that I just don't understand the appeal of Windows. Unless there is some internal niche application specific to a company or government organization that was coded for, and requires a specific Windows version to run (usually XP...even in 2021...think hospitals...shudder), there is nothing that Microsoft's OS is needed for. At. All. I think it is more vendor lock-in and inertia than anything. And yes, I was an IT professional, and I always hated having to fix Windows problems. Constantly. Now, the only problems I have to fix are the ones I generally create for myself because I get bored with everything just working.

[old_noob]

Well, old hardware is all we have at the moment. Our youngest is 7 years old and the oldest is 17. Just how it works. I don't game or edit video so if it can do basic office and web browsing tasks, I'm good. All old stuff is running trouble free now, though the oldest will probably croak soon and the newest might get replaced by a new box next year. I did slip and fall on ice last week, damaging the screen on my 9 year old laptop, so will probably replace that with a refurbished corporate laptop off of ebay soon and hook the old one up to a big screen in the man cave I'm building over the garage. So we will get younger...

As long as the machine can do what I want without issues (which it does with Linux) I have other priorities for my spare cash - taking care of our animals, buying high quality food, Wednesday evenings at our favorite pub (at least in the Before Times) and home brewing. Yes, I would enjoy having the latest from System 76 or the Dell XPS 13 Developer Edition but not enough to blow that kind of cash.

At work, though, we get new computers every 3 years whether we need them or not (office chairs too). Incredibly wasteful; the old ones just go to the state surplus store. I would actually prefer to keep my current computers till they die because I have to maintain a small network of PC's and analytical instruments in my lab. It's a real PITA getting everything to talk to its room-mates and make nice with the state network too. The less often that has to be re-done the better.

[freshminted]

Now, the only problems I have to fix are the ones I generally create for myself because I get bored with everything just working.

"If it's not broken, don't fix it."

[AZgl1800]

Now, the only problems I have to fix are the ones I generally create for myself because I get bored with everything just working.

"If it's not broken, don't fix it."

the corollary there is, "fix it until it is broke" ID 10 Ten error

[Morgan Krieg]

I started using Linux Mint back in 2009 because I simply couldn't afford Windows also, I hated how Windows became increasingly user-hostile with activations and stuff like that. I like how generally-user friendly Linux is. No activations, no keycodes, etc. when installing.

Most of my computers were refurbished. In 2009 I had a machine from 2004, now I have a machine from 2010. It actually has Windows 10 licence but I deleted it because it's just so creepy and user-hostile.

Since I'm poor, I basically buy a refurb and run it until it dies, recover any parts that still work and put them into another refurb. Had the least expensive new computer back in 2013, bought without windows because I couldn't afford it, when it died I got another refurb because cheapest off shelf computers are really low end and one can buy much more powerful refurb for like half the price.

At work, though, we get new computers every 3 years whether we need them or not (office chairs too). Incredibly wasteful; the old ones just go to the state surplus store. I would actually prefer to keep my current computers till they die because I have to maintain a small network of PC's and analytical instruments in my lab. It's a real PITA getting everything to talk to its room-mates and make nice with the state network too. The less often that has to be re-done the better.

It's not really wasteful because it allows poor people and small business to get decent hardware.

[old_noob]

It's not really wasteful because it allows poor people and small business to get decent hardware.

That is true, though I have found that the cheapest place by far to buy second hand or refurbished electronics is eBay.

[oxygenfarm]

Here in the Cincinnati area there is a nonprofit computer recycling operation which re-sells machines (from companies which have written them off) to students and old folks, after upgrading the OS (usually Win, ugh!).

[tonytiger]

i think for me its the simple answer of longevity.

i have a dell inspiron thats about 7 years old and it still runs linix mint 18.3 soon to be 19

yees linix does have issues with hardware like scanners so i still keep one windows machine ready at the helm for scanning.
but overall i love linux for the sole reason it keeps old machines in use still and saved me money

[Robiy_64]

I am using mint on an 11 year old Sony Vaio laptop. I ended up on Linux because it will run securely and reliably and has support. Windows 7 support ended and I did not want the laptop to lay around, taking up space when it could be used. I have a windows 10 laptop as my main, but Linux is starting to appeal to me heavily now that I have revived the old laptop...

[LanceM]

But Linux is so powerful, why does it seem that newer hardware is almost a fringe? I am probably completely wrong, but sometimes it feels like this is the case.

Yes you are wrong. It is not a fringe whatsoever.

[majpooper]

But Linux is so powerful, why does it seem that newer hardware is almost a fringe? I am probably completely wrong, but sometimes it feels like this is the case.

Yes you are wrong. It is not a fringe whatsoever.

Absolutely correct - I personally have installed linux on brand spanking new pretty powerful PCs and Laptops for myself. And an individual that I installed LM 18.3 on a "old" laptop finally wanted a new laptop with a bigger screen, better graphic etc. (there was nothing wrong with the old laptop except that is was old, small and beat up looking) and purchased a new Lenovo with Windows 10. That Windows 10 I don't believe ever booted up once - we installed LM 19.1 right out of the box. They had grown used to the look and feel of LM and did not want to go back to Wiundows.

[LanceM]

Just best to avoid cutting edge hardware. I usually wait for phoronix or other reliable reviewers to say it's supported. Sometimes takes a few months for cutting edge hardware support.

[sja1pear]

Well I've started running different linux distros on 2 of my old laptops

I do it because the min specs for a distro can be very light
And these laptops are just underpowered for Windows

It's also cheaper to run linux on these laptops than get a new one

they both work a treat after installing Mint 20.2 MATE
and Zorin OS lite

[sja1pear]

I am using mint on an 11 year old Sony Vaio laptop. I ended up on Linux because it will run securely and reliably and has support. Windows 7 support ended and I did not want the laptop to lay around, taking up space when it could be used. I have a windows 10 laptop as my main, but Linux is starting to appeal to me heavily now that I have revived the old laptop...

Did the exact same thing with my vaio

[cretsiah]

in my case it became a nessicity

my AMD FX 4130 with a GT740 nvidea card (now relegated to a testing machine) stopped working with win 10 from about update 2H???
graphics was either
- stepped
- broken
- pixelated
as of win10 2H complete OS upgrade, was in a failed upgrade reboot loop lasting anywhere from 30 mins -3hours
although requires XFCE or lighter to be considered usable (cinnamon is sluggish) even with 16gig 1600mhz ram

my AMD FX 8320 with radeon RX550 couldnt get past win10 update 2H???
- as of win10 2H complete OS upgrade was in a failed upgrade reboot loop lasting anywhere from 30 mins -3hours
although requires XFCE or lighter to be considered usable (cinnamon is sluggish) even with 16gig 1600mhz ram

but its not just old hardware for me

my Ryzen 5 3400G with ASus Prime B450m-k board after BIOS/UEFI update to latest
- win10 refuses to install altogether
- gets the " Oops something went wrong, we'll collect info " constant loop
2600mhz ddr 3 ram 16gig
running cinnamon due to the need for per-loading the amdgpu driver
noticed this in the inxi info

[timmn1]

I hate that "Oops something went wrong" message in Windows 10, In Linux, you can find enough information to figure out what happened when "something went wrong" and fix it. With Windows, all you can do is stare at the message and wonder what happened.

[Kev]

The latest technology comes at a premium that I cannot afford and don't particularly need, so I only posses slightly older machines. Linux is my OS of choice, and therefore the two just happen to go together. It is an excellent combination, and suffers fewer compatibility problems than cutting-edge hardware might lead to.

I find it offensive (in this day and age of improving environmental awareness) that some extremely popular OSs and software manufacturers stop properly supporting perfectly capable hardware after a few years; that tends not to happen with Linux, which is one of many reasons that I favour it.

[AZgl1800]

I find it offensive (in this day and age of improving environmental awareness) that some extremely popular OSs and software manufacturers stop properly supporting perfectly capable hardware after a few years; that tends not to happen with Linux, which is one of many reasons that I favour it.

ala the new Win11 that is coming up, if the hardware is older than ~about 24 months, it is NOT compatible with the upgrade, and Win10 is going to be locked down, so you have to buy a new PC.

I had a big hearty laugh earlier this morning, I was running Win10 in VBox and was notified that the Upgrades could not be performed .... well, ain't that just too bad

[Kev]

ala the new Win11 that is coming up, if the hardware is older than ~about 24 months, it is NOT compatible with the upgrade, and Win10 is going to be locked down, so you have to buy a new PC.

Yes, though even as it stands Win10 can decide hardware doesn't support their incremental updates any more. For Win11 it'll be interesting to see if they back down on the 8th-gen+ CPU requirements at all.. if not could be a good time to pick up a still-decent Linux machine

Though Windows pales in comparison to many Android devices. My last new phone got no major updates in its lifetime, and the manufacturers stopped updating even the original version 'long' before it theoretically reached end of life. After about 18months from purchase, all it got were google play's app updates.

[motoryzen]

No, I have a strong stomach from raising seven rug rats into adulthood. To get a taste of how I feel about Windows, imagine yourself bathing in a lukewarm trough of someone else's dirty bathwater.

Been there done that. Packed water from the spring for the whole family from age 7 to 12. We got plumbing after that. Had to bathe in brothers or Pops used water. But did get an added kettle of wood stove heated water. Actually Windows disgusts me and makes me mad. Today I was going to update my copy that I rarely refer to. Hadn't been updated in months. Showed an upgrade, so I checked the size using Google - 3GB. I get 250 KB/sec. I shut it down. Maybe someday, not today. It probably would fail anyway. I call them the monkeys at Microsoft.

Indeed, I couldn't agree more overall. The Microsoft Windows experience today is exactly what happens when the ceo , Satya Nadella, gets rid of his OS software dev q c team back in 2015. Many people still don't know this fact ( Jerry Barnacules definitely does as he was one of the many who was let go), and backs up the point of why Windows Updates system overall has become a worse and worse smelling turd; instead of actually fixing problems...more and more updates have been creating them.

The ONLY...time I touch windows now is for troubleshooting for my stubborn elderly mother who refuses to let go of WordPerfect Office x5 and she doesn't even use it for the hardcore business stuff it's designed for ( she used to be a medical transcriptionist) and LibreOffice or FreeOffice would be perfect for her. That is literally ALL that is holding her back. (sigh)