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512MB Dram in 2017?


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Hello nice people!

I've just modernized my mum's PC for Christmas, and now I have a perfectly running old computer here and wonder what to do with it, especially whether that hardware can still surf on the Internet.
The 1400MHz PIII would still suffice, the excellent P-Ata mechanical disk is as fast as a usual current S-Ata one...
BUT the Dram is limited to 512MB buy the North bridge (i815ep).

Is there an OS that fits in 512MB Dram with its browser and is reasonably up-to-date (or rather, safe) in 2017?

I'm essentially from the Windows world and the answer with the Microsoft option is a clear NO.

Any possibility with Linux or other?

Thank you!

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I will throw this on the table (and quickly hide my hand behind my back ;)):

https://www.haiku-os.org/

Also the Linux world has (since many years) gone wild with processor and memory requirements, and - actually - most of RAM is needed for actually browsing stupidly massive web sites, among the various Linux distro's, besides Puppy Linux andd Slitaz, you may want to try Vector Linux:
http://vectorlinux.com/

jaclaz

P.S.: A nice coincidence:
https://www.raspberrypi.org/blog/pixel-pc-mac/

 

Edited by jaclaz
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Grazie Jaclaz!

I should have made clearer that said PC would not be for me but for normal users without knowledge of hardware, OS and the like. This disqualifies Haiku for that job, despite the attempt is naturally sympathetic.

I'll have a deeper look at Vector Linux. My short attempts with Kaella, Ubuntu (v9) and Mint (v14) were encouraging before these got bloated too, and for the users I consider, which have never had a computer, there is no compatibility worry.

I just wonder if there is some small browser that displays the sites properly in 2017. Meanwhile, Firefox 50 on Xp takes 590MB just for Msfn, porca miseria!

If not, that computer will still be fantastic offline, then with Win Me (8s boot) and Office 97 (no perceivable delay on first launch), but I know nobody needing an offline computer right now.

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11 hours ago, pointertovoid said:

If not, that computer will still be fantastic offline, then with Win Me (8s boot) and Office 97 (no perceivable delay on first launch), but I know nobody needing an offline computer right now.

You mean you know noone actually working:dubbio:

;)

jaclaz
 

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Fun.

Offline computers can be useful for games too, but a PIII doesn't run recent ones.

And, yes, I'd know someone who uses a computer to type letters, but she has already all she needs. I modernized her computer to 200MHz P1mmx, 128MB FPM, 7200rpm 80GB single-platter disk on RocketRaid-100 for UDMA, and installed W95b and o97 on it. Rock-solid for >10 years, <10s boot time, zero-delay Office. No need to propose her an upgrade.

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  • 1 year later...

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