On 6/8/17 6:56 pm, Richard Gaskin via use-livecode wrote:
Roger Eller wrote:
> On Thu, Jun 8, 2017 at 10:56 AM, Richard Gaskin wrote:
>> Using a supported version of an OS that's receiving critical security
>> patches along with other updates is the safest choice, and one that
>> could not be more economical given a purchase price for most Linux
>> distros of zero.
...
>
> But even with PPC Linux to revive old hardware, if LiveCode usage is
> your end game, there isn't a PPC Linux version (or is there?).
Good point, touching on two aspects:
Security: Not only do OSes need to be updated to remain secure, but
from time to time apps do too.
Viability: When a user base for a given configuration is sufficiently
low, it may be difficult to find resources to maintain it.
IIRC no computer running an OS LC supports has shipped with a PPC
processor in about 12 years (Apple switched in 2005). While I'm a big
fan of minimizing landfills by extending the life of older hardware as
much as practical, that's the key word, "practical".
If LC plays a critical role on a PPC machine revived with a supported
OS, it will require that someone compile a version of LC for that CPU
and OS.
At the moment, AFAIK the size of the audience for such a build is
currently 1.
The size of the audience for a Linux PPC build is probably ZERO as I am
not interested in one
(see my recent posting on Lubuntu on a PPC), and, while I am sure there
are thousands of closet
PPC Linux users out there dying because they are deprived of LiveCode .
. . .
This is a redundant discussion.
Richmond.
So clearly if this were to happen at all it would have to be a
community project.
Given the time required, it may be more cost-effective to either
replace the machines with any Intel-based system that can support
modern OSes (here in the States many EDU orgs get donated Core Duo and
Core 2 Duo machines from local businesses who've upgraded), or replace
the LiveCode role on those machines with something that supports PPC.
With the latter option, though, it may buy only a little time but not
much: since no new mainstream computers have been made with PPC CPUs
in more than a decade, it's only a matter of time before more and more
projects stop supporting that architecture. Over time the range of
supported software for PPC can only get ever smaller.
--
Richard Gaskin
Fourth World Systems
Software Design and Development for the Desktop, Mobile, and the Web
____________________________________________________________________
ambassa...@fourthworld.com http://www.FourthWorld.com
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