• HugeNerd@lemmy.ca
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    1 month ago

    Why not just hand them over to agentic AI in a flatpack running on a VM in Docker container in the cloud?

    • lambalicious@lemmy.sdf.org
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      1 month ago

      I mean they could have just picked Debian 12… I doubt Debian will make retroactive slop updates to older versions of the distro. At least that’s what I’m doing on the systems I administer: set up a custom package that conflicts with base-files >= 13 and with some already-known slopified version numbers (thanks to Open Slopware) to keep things a bit more under control.

        • lambalicious@lemmy.sdf.org
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          1 month ago

          Thanks to how Debian versions packages, numero 2 is solved with a package solution like mine (liberal use of >> for package version comparison), so that you can’t install the updates that come with slopification.

      • raspberriesareyummy@lemmy.world
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        1 month ago

        They are. Their decision put the responsibility squarely in the hands of the submitter, with no need to even declare use of slop assistants.

        • Possibly linux@lemmy.zip
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          1 month ago

          The rest of the Debian policies didn’t magically disappear. Debian only accepts code that meets a certain standard.

    • rozodru@piefed.world
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      1 month ago

      I mean if you want something that’s stable and you really don’t have to think about upgrading similar to Debian there’s always NixOS. wee bit of a learning curve but once you have it configured you can pretty much forget about it. can even run stuff without installing it if you wanted.

  • oce 🐆@jlai.lu
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    1 month ago

    The reason is old hardware support:

    The reason for all that was a compiler flag. When Red Hat builds RHEL, it picks a minimum CPU generation the software will run on. RHEL 9’s cutoff already excludes CERN’s oldest boards, the kind running chips like Intel’s old Core 2 Duo, which comprises about 47 percent of their fleet.

    RHEL 10 raises that cutoff again, and this time even newer Ivy Bridge-generation boards, another 17 percent, fall on the wrong side of it.

      • palordrolap@fedia.io
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        1 month ago

        Yes, but not yet, which is all CERN needs for now.

        They’ll undoubtedly switch to something else in a few years if they continue to favour hardware retention over software compliance.

        Spiralling off into rampant speculation, I can imagine they might end up finding some way to create their own in-house Linux distro that supports old hardware if all the stock distros raise the bar out of the reach of what they have, but I’m sure they hope that’s a way off yet.

        But it could be a good thing for folks outside CERN with old hardware if that ever comes to pass.

        • oce 🐆@jlai.lu
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          1 month ago

          Also they are sponsoring the maintenance to match their needs.

          Either path depends on Debian’s LTS and ELTS programs staying healthy, which is part of why CERN has started sponsoring Freexian, the Debian-focused services company behind those support programs.

    • 0x4f1@lemmy.world
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      1 month ago

      Core 2 Duo, wow! Present day raspberry pi is likely faster and much more power efficient. Not to mention security considerations.

  • antianarchist@sopuli.xyz
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    1 month ago

    chips like Intel’s old Core 2 Duo, which comprises about 47 percent of their fleet

    That’s just a crazy number and I was not aware how dated their systems were. On the other hand, never touch a running system.

    • WhatAmLemmy@lemmy.world
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      1 month ago

      The LHC was completed in 08. That chip was sold from 06 to 12. This means basically half the pc’s they bought ~15 years ago are still meeting their needs.

      Honestly, this is the way it should be. The only reason most enterprises upgrade their computers is because Microslop, and all the other proprietary software they’ve allowed themselves to grow dependent on, require it; not because a 20 year old computer isn’t snappy on Debian, or isn’t powerful enough for email, docs, and browsing. The LHC requires supercomputers and server farms for primary operations. These pc’s are basically just thin clients to access those resources.

      There are still a shocking amount of Windows XP and 7 systems in production, because the software stack doesn’t need to be updated. If those systems had been deployed on linux 20 years ago, they would still be fully capable of receiving security updates.

      • antianarchist@sopuli.xyz
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        1 month ago

        You are saying that to someone who recently bought a Lenovo T420 with a new battery pack, installed Debian with Xfce. An amazing work horse.

      • Possibly linux@lemmy.zip
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        1 month ago

        The older CPUs are incredibly inefficient

        They would probably cover a good amount of the upgrade cost in just power savings

      • UndergroundParking@lemmy.cafe
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        1 month ago

        The only reason most enterprises upgrade their computers is because Microslop

        Honestly - not true. It’s compliance. Compliance says you need to be insured, insurance says you need to have vendor support, vendor says sorry, your old shit is out of support.

      • BurgerBaron@quokk.au
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        1 month ago

        I work manufacturing, any computer that isn’t connected to the internet doesn’t get upgraded. Windows XP on PLC touchscreens.