On 2022-04-28 00:04, users-request@lists.fedoraproject.org wrote:
I think the answer's going to depend on the age.
I have a 2007 era laptop that still works, though its battery doesn't, and is painfully burdened by modern Gnome. But managed Gnome from way back then quite acceptably. It has a no-longer supported NVidia graphics chipset (NVidia removed drivers for that model some time ago).
Very old nvidia drivers may not be available through rmpfusion but drivers back to the 304 series for Geforce 6 chips are still available on nvidia.com. You just download and install the rpm.
I have an IBM T60 which was first introduced in 2006. Like your laptop, the battery is very short-lived, but the computer works fine. Presently running Fedora 35 with, iirc without looking, the 340 series nvidia driver (Geforce 9600 gpu, I think).
Removing the legacy BIOS boot is a step backwards and will hurt a large number of Fedora users who are, in the end count, a large testing group for a cutting edge distro.
G.
On Thu, 28 Apr 2022 at 12:11, R. G. Newbury newbury@mandamus.org wrote:
On 2022-04-28 00:04, users-request@lists.fedoraproject.org wrote:
I think the answer's going to depend on the age.
I have a 2007 era laptop that still works, though its battery doesn't, and is painfully burdened by modern Gnome. But managed Gnome from way back then quite acceptably. It has a no-longer supported NVidia graphics chipset (NVidia removed drivers for that model some time ago).
Very old nvidia drivers may not be available through rmpfusion but drivers back to the 304 series for Geforce 6 chips are still available on nvidia.com. You just download and install the rpm.
I have an IBM T60 which was first introduced in 2006. Like your laptop, the battery is very short-lived, but the computer works fine. Presently running Fedora 35 with, iirc without looking, the 340 series nvidia driver (Geforce 9600 gpu, I think).
Removing the legacy BIOS boot is a step backwards and will hurt a large number of Fedora users who are, in the end count, a large testing group for a cutting edge distro.
The hardware changes over a period of 10 years are significant. Linux owes a lot to the efforts of people who got it working on "outdated, unloved, and unwanted hardware". Today, linux is used by large organizations for which the latest hardware allows a few users to accomplish things that weren't possible 10 years ago. For such organizations, the cost of modern hardware is far less than the savings in staff time (which includes time spent securing systems and dealing with hardware failures) they realize. Many of those organizations are dumping systems only a few years old in favor of new systems with Apple silicon or capable of running Windows 11. There are also bankruptcies where relatively new computers are sold well below original cost.
Due to COVID-19, many of the systems being dumped by large organizations are going into schools where they are used with Chrome OS. Few schools have resources to fix even the simplest hardware problems, so will often just purchase replacements for failed systems. People who volunteer to help schools with repair and configuration may be allowed to use systems that can't be returned to students (e.g., a laptop with a damaged screen or keyboard still function with external monitor or keyboard). Long-term care facilities for the elderly face similar issues.
It is worth reaching out to local computer user groups, schools, etc. to see what is available in your locality.
-- George N. White III
On Thu, 2022-04-28 at 11:10 -0400, R. G. Newbury wrote:
Very old nvidia drivers may not be available through rmpfusion but drivers back to the 304 series for Geforce 6 chips are still available on nvidia.com. You just download and install the rpm.
It was always bad news to install drivers directly from them, they didn't give a rats about stomping over system files and directories.
users@lists.stg.fedoraproject.org