Dropping i386 non-PAE as a supported kernel flavour in Precise Pangolin

[Martin Pool]

On 11 November 2011 04:01, Mackenzie Morgan <macoafi at gmail.com> wrote:
> Among gamer nerds or among people whose needs ubuntu can actually fill: the
> ones who just need a web browser and a word processor?
>
> My experience with the latter group is that until the hardware craps out,
> they have no intention of spending money on a new one. Dad got rid of the
> pentium 2 when the motherboard died less than a year ago. Mom still has a c
> 2002 system running Ubuntu, and I'm pretty sure the last time any of their
> friends asked me to fix a windows blue screen it was well over 5 years old
> too.
>
> Computers are replaced as frequently as refrigerators by people who don't
> care how quickly it loads a page or makes ice: when it stops turning on.

Those people are probably not upgrading their refrigerator firmware
all that often either.  They may not want a major new OS release.
They might install an update/backport of a particular app.

There is a group of people who want the latest-and-greatest software
on old or small hardware, but they're necessarily the crowd you're
describing here.

m