PSA

[rick_d_card@mastodon.social]

@mastosalo What I do with old computers is install Linux on them and give them away. Folks are hesitant because they only know windows so I start it up and show them. They're generally amazed.

[mastosalo@nerdculture.de]

@Rick_d_card

Yes. I booted an old Compaq with Porteus Linux flashdrive the other day. My friend could not believe his eyes.

He said that he couldn't believe that was happening. Then I proceeded to show similar task with Tiny Core Linux. Only faster.

[mastosalo@nerdculture.de]

@nazokiyoubinbou

Yes it is obsolete for gaming and for example youtube, but I was today online with a Compaq Presario 2100 laptop running Puppy Linux. It still works for basic browsing and can be used to ,idk, teach a thing or two for someone.

But not splitting hairs here, just making a point.

[nazokiyoubinbou@urusai.social]

@mastosalo I mean, I speak partially tongue-in-cheek in that. Still, you can get a lot running but it just isn't really worth it at that point. Saving old hardware is a plus, but I just don't think using a 2003 system for 2026 software is worth doing.

(Now, running retro stuff on it is a different story, but then that would be obsolete by definition — just still useful.)

But I don't really truly disagree with your point. As I said, it was partially tongue in cheek.

[ultraverified@mastodon.sdf.org]

@mastosalo

Perhaps wipe the 'operating system' and install Linux

[rantingcanuck@mstdn.ca]

@nazokiyoubinbou @mastosalo

I agree that a 2003 system is probably obsolete for daily driving use BUT if it has 512MB of ram it could be repurposed into something like a pihole.

[jonschwenn@hachyderm.io]

@mastosalo the “if Tim Cook says so.” Made me think of “Unpretty” by TLC which is fitting.

[nazokiyoubinbou@urusai.social]

@RantingCanuck @mastosalo Oh I didn't say it would be useless. Just that it would be obsolete.

A use could absolutely be found for it.

[terrorbite@meow.social]

@mastosalo I really gotta fix my old Dell box, it's got the capacitor plague.

[mastosalo@nerdculture.de]

@TerrorBite

As Johnny commented my photo:
capacitor solidarity

@jonn_blanchard

[janet_52square@sunny.garden]

@mastosalo Still watching all our TV on our 2003 Dell tower btw… and it has a DVD drive! (They are strange plastic discs carrying data 🤯).

[realsiegfried@troet.cafe]

@nazokiyoubinbou @mastosalo I really apreciate the call!
I got several PC in our household. None will fit the requirements to run Win11 as MS expects. I even got a dell latitude D820 (maybe from 2003) that does perfectly the job for my slide scanner. (And another Dell desktop I am using since 2009 as media server.)

[mastosalo@nerdculture.de]

@Janet_52square

Good for you!

I have a floppy disk that says LiLo on it. 🥷

[cosmiccactus@mastodon.social]

@nazokiyoubinbou @mastosalo 2003 might be a bit too old, but my HP ProBook from around 2010 works just fine. Of course I have another newer laptop to carry with me for representational purposes.

[trebach@functional.cafe]

@jonschwenn @mastosalo
You can upgrade if it won't go
Forced to update when Tim says so
You can install all the apps that Apple approves
But if you can look inside it
Know how to unbrick it
Be in a position to make it
Be so damn unshitty

[nazokiyoubinbou@urusai.social]

@realSiegfried @mastosalo The only requirement Windows 11 has over its predecessor is TPM 2.0, which is so arbitrary and meaningless and unrelated to the actual hardware in any meaningful way that Windows 11 is utterly useless as a metric for... anything.

I call a 2003 system obsolete in that the lack of RAM, the single core CPU, etc etc, all come together to make a system that will make running anything resembling complex modern software (like browsers) pain itself.

There is still potential use for them of course! Besides period software (some of which is still useful,) simpler things (such as scanning stuff as you mentioned) can still be done. Someone else mentioned using one as a PiHole and yeah, there's a lot of other such things. But run the latest Firefox and you'll cry.