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submitted 11 hours ago by TheIPW@lemmy.ml to c/linux@lemmy.ml

Linux 7.2 has landed, dragging x86 timing clean out of the nineties by making the Time Stamp Counter mandatory.

I wrote up a quick article on why ditching those ancient legacy fallbacks is good housekeeping, plus a few other bits like cache-aware scheduling and memory tweaks worth noting.

Is anyone still using legacy hardware? If so, what do you use it for?

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[-] SocialistVibes01@lemmy.ml 7 points 9 hours ago* (last edited 6 hours ago)

Yup. Linux isn't what it used to be anymore.

[-] NotSteve_@piefed.ca 2 points 2 hours ago

What are you using the old x86 timing functionality for, or rather what would it be needed for?

[-] SMillerNL@piefed.social 4 points 3 hours ago

Time to ask for a refund of the 0 money you paid to use it.

[-] SocialistVibes01@lemmy.ml 2 points 3 hours ago* (last edited 3 hours ago)

That's not an individual problem, but you liberals only work in an individual and monetary logic. The Evil Empire's propaganda is efficient.

[-] brucethemoose@lemmy.world 5 points 1 hour ago* (last edited 1 hour ago)

This is so lemmy.ml it hurts. I’m bookmarking this comment, thank you.

[-] SocialistVibes01@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 hour ago* (last edited 1 hour ago)

You're welcome, liberal. Hm, do you realize who were the liberals among the 4 nations?

[-] boonhet@sopuli.xyz 2 points 41 minutes ago

Water tribe is the closest since they actually elect their leaders, but I wouldn't even go that far. Fire nation are fascists who most definitely don't hold elections, even sham ones like a liberal democracy being overtaken by fascists. Earth kingdom is pretty much a stand-in for China. Air nomads are probably closest to Tibet if anything.

Weird that you have to go into a user's profile to make an argument though.

[-] SocialistVibes01@lemmy.ml 1 points 31 minutes ago* (last edited 29 seconds ago)

Do you realize they elect their leaders, or representants, in China? Do you know a lick about the Chinese system? Liberalism is proto facism, every liberal government was licking Hitler's boots in the 1930s, so the Fire Nation is what happens after the ultimate Liberalism, in which unchecked competition and social darwinism win. Do air nomads have slavery like they do in Tibet? And the Earth Kingdom is way more akin to the late Feudal/Early National Mercantilist European regions.

It was worth, because we had this conversation.

[-] Lettuceeatlettuce@lemmy.ml 11 points 5 hours ago

You're right, it's way better.

[-] non_burglar@lemmy.world 3 points 5 hours ago

You make it sound like no one can just go keep the older hardware alive by forking.

[-] SocialistVibes01@lemmy.ml 4 points 5 hours ago* (last edited 52 minutes ago)

The fairy tale of fork freedom, just like the fairy tale of market freedom.

Y'all are really pathetic.

[-] Grass@sh.itjust.works 2 points 6 hours ago

I'm not what I used to be

[-] SocialistVibes01@lemmy.ml 5 points 8 hours ago* (last edited 7 hours ago)

"downvotes won't change the reality, corpo boot lickers

[-] mabeledo@lemmy.world 1 points 47 minutes ago

You are wrong and incapable of admitting it. Downvoting your comment is an efficient way of signaling that.

[-] db2@lemmy.world 5 points 6 hours ago* (last edited 6 hours ago)

This happens every time I point put that losing these "old" kernel capabilities is in fact a loss.

Let them be stupid about it, all the code still exists to undo these bad decisions one day. It'll just be more work than it would otherwise be to fix what they broke.

I put them in the same category as AI sycophants, they can't see three feet beyond their own nose.

[-] CrypticCoffee@lemmy.ml 1 points 4 minutes ago* (last edited 4 minutes ago)

Why don't you support a Linux distro that runs on prehistoric hardware?

It's very easy to spend other peoples time than offer your own for something you clearly don't care enough about.

If you missed the comment. Previous kernel version is supported until 2035. That's 9 more years. You need any longer than that?

[-] brucethemoose@lemmy.world 2 points 1 hour ago* (last edited 1 hour ago)

What exactly is the utility of the code, though? Is it so these really ancient machines stay up-to-date/secure in societal collapse or something?

I’d be sympathetic to that, but the chips this depreciates are so rare that you won’t find many to use, in that scenario… and in the rare exceptions, using an older kernel version would be fine.

[-] db2@lemmy.world 2 points 43 minutes ago

How many hundreds of megabytes were saved by removing it?

Also an AMD K5 or IBM/Cyrix 6x86 might not be in your Steam Deck but that doesn't make it a one off exception. There's no reason we should have to use outdated software when the reason the new software doesn't work is artificial. Apple does that kind of nonsense, Linux shouldn't.

[-] brucethemoose@lemmy.world 1 points 34 minutes ago* (last edited 32 minutes ago)

…You’re talking about saved megabytes being trivial, in reference to machines that have megabytes of memory in total?

It’s not about saved space anyway, it’s about support. Some features are compromised by the requirement to keep this old code, though I’m not qualified to say to what extent.


And again, who is “we?”

Who’s still using a Cyril 6x86 that isn’t doing it for personal/recreational reasons? If society collapses, how many would there be to use?

I’d be sympathetic if we were talking about, say, a Pentium 4, but just don’t buy the narrative that this is inconveniencing anyone. These things do not exist as utilitarian devices anymore. It’s not making anyone use outdated, insecure software that isn’t choosing to do so anyway.

[-] db2@lemmy.world 1 points 19 minutes ago

Some features are compromised by the requirement to keep this old code, though I’m not qualified to say to what extent.

"Trust me bro"

Who’s still using a Cyril 6x86 that isn’t doing it for personal/recreational reasons?

In your estimation clearly nobody. You're evading the question of why they should be artificially forced to use outdated software by denying enthusiasts who want to use a kernel built by an enthusiast and then by a bunch of enthusiasts for enthusiasts exist. 🤦‍♂️

this post was submitted on 19 Aug 2026
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