Ken, you are totally missing the point. Yes, Linux with X runs very well on
a 486DX or better. Nobody here is disputing that claim. That is the purpose
for Slackware, RedHat, Suse, Caldera, etc.... The reason for being of the
ELKS project is to try to port Linux (with any and all apps that can be
ported) back down to the 8086 architecture.
The stated reason is for impoverished 3rd world countries. Yes, here we can
pick up discarded 486DX boards mere pennies on the dollar (or even free out
of dumpsters), yet in many neglected parts of the world, even discarded 8086
machines are expensive. When your yearly net worth is less than $100.00, a
$200.00 cast-off 486 is totally out of the question.
THAT is why this project exists. The added bonus to us is the fun of trying
to hack the end result. If you do not want to consider the 8086, then the
normal Linux listserves will serve you most adequately. Just please, do not
hinder our progress (or would it be regress? :> )
----- Original Message -----
From: Ken Yap <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: Eric J. Korpela <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Cc: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Wednesday, April 14, 1999 7:21 PM
Subject: Re: will it eventually run X
> >> About the lowest platform I would consider X on is a 386-DX-25 or so
> >> with at least 16 MB of memory running a tiny mono X server or something
> >> like that.
> >
> >I don't suppose you ever used X on an 8 MHz 68010 (like early Sun
machines).
> >I wonder if it's still possible to get X10 or X11R<3 source code
anywhere.
> >X wasn't always as bloated as it is now.
>
> I have actually. You will find a couple of utilties that I wrote in the
> X10 distribution. It's just that my expectations have gone up since then;
> the "I would consider" signals a personal point of view. It may be "fun"
> to try to shoehorn X into a 286 in PM, but why be masochistic when I can
> pick up a 486DX for next to nothing and turn it into an X-terminal with
> a bootrom.
>
