From ac5ac32ce713162b310dac9e128b587373705ce8 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: DarkSun Date: Mon, 25 May 2020 19:31:14 +0800 Subject: [PATCH] =?UTF-8?q?=E9=80=89=E9=A2=98:=2020200525=20Debian?= =?UTF-8?q?=E2=80=99s=20Decision=20to=20Drop=20Old=20Drivers=20has=20Upset?= =?UTF-8?q?=20Vintage=20Hardware=20Users?= MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit sources/tech/20200525 Debian-s Decision to Drop Old Drivers has Upset Vintage Hardware Users.md --- ...rivers has Upset Vintage Hardware Users.md | 85 +++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 85 insertions(+) create mode 100644 sources/tech/20200525 Debian-s Decision to Drop Old Drivers has Upset Vintage Hardware Users.md diff --git a/sources/tech/20200525 Debian-s Decision to Drop Old Drivers has Upset Vintage Hardware Users.md b/sources/tech/20200525 Debian-s Decision to Drop Old Drivers has Upset Vintage Hardware Users.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000000..fb2b9005ea --- /dev/null +++ b/sources/tech/20200525 Debian-s Decision to Drop Old Drivers has Upset Vintage Hardware Users.md @@ -0,0 +1,85 @@ +[#]: collector: (lujun9972) +[#]: translator: ( ) +[#]: reviewer: ( ) +[#]: publisher: ( ) +[#]: url: ( ) +[#]: subject: (Debian’s Decision to Drop Old Drivers has Upset Vintage Hardware Users) +[#]: via: (https://itsfoss.com/debian-dropping-old-drivers/) +[#]: author: (Ankush Das https://itsfoss.com/author/ankush/) + +Debian’s Decision to Drop Old Drivers has Upset Vintage Hardware Users +====== + +It is always a tough decision to drop support for older hardware for the latest Linux distribution releases. Just like [Ubuntu decided to drop support for 32-bit systems][1], Debian’s X Strike Force (XFS) team decided to drop a list of input and video drivers. + +### Debian is considering to drop support for really old hardware + +![][2] + +In case you didn’t know, the XFS team is responsible for maintaining packages the [X Window System][3] in [Debian][4]. And, the list of drivers that [they want to remove][5] are: + + * xserver-xorg-input-aiptek + * xserver-xorg-input-elographics + * xserver-xorg-input-mtrack + * xserver-xorg-input-mutouch + * xserver-xorg-input-void + * server-xorg-video-ast + * xserver-xorg-video-mach64 + + + * xserver-xorg-video-neomagic + * xserver-xorg-video-r128 + * xserver-xorg-video-savage + * xserver-xorg-video-siliconmotion + * xserver-xorg-video-sisusb + * xserver-xorg-video-tdfx + * xserver-xorg-video-trident + + + +So, Mach 64, [ATI Rage R128][6], Savage, Silicon Motion, SiS, Trident, and NeoMagic are some of the graphics chipsets that would be affected. The reason (as stated by them) to drop these drivers is: + +> They are either unmaintained upstream or provide no value to the distribution. + +Now, that could make sense, if the packages are no longer maintained. But, upstream some of these X.org drivers are still **maintained** even if there are no frequent updates to them. For instance, in 2018, a [new display driver update was released for the ATI RAGE 128][7], as reported by Phoronix. + +### Vintage hardware owners are going to be upset + +Obviously, the vintage hardware users aren’t quite happy with the decision because a handful of people still own (or actively use) old hardware i.e. around 20 years older. + +From the original list of drivers mentioned in the [bug report][5], **Geode display driver** was initially decided to be removed but wasn’t dropped. + +It was also reported that the “**xserver-xorg-video-r128**” driver is required for older Apple hardware (iMac). And, a user reported about the missing video driver on his iMac. + +For most of the users, this decision may not actually affect any “production” systems because I don’t think anyone is probably going to utilize 20-year old hardware for commercial purposes. + +The hobbyists and collectors who like to preserve older tech are surely going to be impacted by this decision. + +### Wrapping Up + +In my opinion, dropping the support for incredibly dated hardware is not entirely a bad move. + +But, if there is a demand for the support of vintage hardware, the fair share of users who want the drivers to be added in Debian should help maintain those packages. If not, I don’t think it won’t be a wise choice to have an unmaintained piece of code in Debian. + +What do you think about this? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below! + +-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- + +via: https://itsfoss.com/debian-dropping-old-drivers/ + +作者：[Ankush Das][a] +选题：[lujun9972][b] +译者：[译者ID](https://github.com/译者ID) +校对：[校对者ID](https://github.com/校对者ID) + +本文由 [LCTT](https://github.com/LCTT/TranslateProject) 原创编译，[Linux中国](https://linux.cn/) 荣誉推出 + +[a]: https://itsfoss.com/author/ankush/ +[b]: https://github.com/lujun9972 +[1]: https://itsfoss.com/ubuntu-drops-32-bit-desktop/ +[2]: https://i0.wp.com/itsfoss.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/debian-bug-report-driver-drop.jpg?ssl=1 +[3]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X_Window_System +[4]: https://www.debian.org/ +[5]: https://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=955603 +[6]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ATI_Rage_series +[7]: https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=ATI-RAGE-128-DDX-6.11.0