Anyone still using 16-32bit systems ?

[Nathan Galt]

On Tue, Jul 13, 2021, at 11:59 AM, Andrew Singleton wrote:
> That was perhaps the most perfect explaination one could hope for.
> 
> After all what is Gemini itself if not a refutation of Big Web's bloat 
> and hoovering of resources for it's own sake? It isn't a regressive 'i 
> will just use gopher!' it goes 'we don't need all this for every 
> situation.'
> 
> I'm not saying everyone should go for the minimal computer possible, 
> but a lot of people either as hobby or outright inability to get better 
> are on older platforms. 
> 
> And if someone wants to fire up a c64, or ibm, or whatever and there is 
> a dongle that lets them get through the security aspects? Let them in. 
> If someone has a 486 in the corner they don't want to get rid off 
> because it was their dad's computer, or even their own first computer, 
> or more likely got it so they can play DOS games on native hardware, 
> and want to try some networking on it? Let them.
> 
> To preach that old hardware should just be summarily thrown in the 
> dumpster and be forgotten is honestly kinda silly. Especially given 
> Gemini itself. The whole point is to be able to write a client in a 
> couple hundred lines of code, so the objective is to be lean. Digging 
> out the museum pieces is a great way of testing that if nothing else.

I’d like to push back against this a bit. While I have an “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” mentality, one cannot justify running all old computers on environmental grounds because newer computers are so much more energy-efficient. Sure, the 486 in the closet might be capable of sending data over a serial port, but the Raspberry Pi it connects to that runs an operating system with modern TLS handling can handle everything the 486 can at a fraction of the power budget.

If you’re in favor of running (and keeping running) old hardware on environmental grounds, then it’s worth thinking about what a cutoff point might be for energy use. Last I checked, old computers have all sorts of useful recycleable parts in them, and there’s nothing wrong with recycling a 486-based space heater after a fond farewell and replacing it with a 64- or even 32-bit Raspberry Pi that will be orders of magnitude faster at a fraction of the energy use, and be able to run modern TLS libraries itself.