Raspberry Pi Releases an OS to Breathe new Life into Old PCs

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The Raspberry Pi Foundation released an preliminary version of its Linux-based Pixel OS for Windows PCs and Mac PCs. The OS was originally developed to run only on the Raspberry Pi hobby board, comes with the Chromium web browser and an array of coding and productivity tools. "We asked ourselves a question that was simple: Why would we ask users to purchase Raspberry Pi hardware to run Pixel? founder Eben Upton wrote in a blog post.



The OS is built on the base of Debian and can be used on most older machines provided that you have at least 512MB of RAM. "Because we're using the old i386 architecture, it will run even on vintage machines like my ThinkPad X40 (above)," Upton said.



It's easy to test It's easy to test, but Upton suggests backing up any devices that could contain valuable information. After downloading the image then burn it to an DVD or USB stick and then enable the boot process to begin. You can normally do that by tweaking your PC's BIOS or by pressing the "C" key down while you boot on a Mac.



Then, it'll start the OS without having to install anything. You can boot using a USB stick to get the option of running "with persistence." This means that any changes or files made will be saved for the next session. You can run the program without persistence or to reset it. As stated, you receive a full set of apps and a browser, but unlike the Pi version it doesn't include Minecraft or Wolfram Mathematica because of licensing issues.



There are plenty of lightweight Linux distros for older PCs (including Debian itself), or you could try Neverware, which turns your old laptop into the form of a Chromebook. The Pi Foundation provides a number of useful Linux applications with Pixel, and is aiming to make it as simple as it is. Upton believes that by porting it to desktop computers, "we can see where the weaknesses of operating systems are and work on these weaknesses (on the Pito improve them.. Minecraft



The group thinks it's a great idea for schools (where the Raspberry Pi already has a significant presence) to aid students in learning programming and different apps. Students could learn in school, and then use the persistent boot option to continue learning at home using exactly the same configuration.



The Pixel OS is still in its early stages of testing and will not work on all machines. On his modern Mac, Upton said, "the machine is unable to recognize the image as bootable." The company will release more updates in the future, but should you be interested in giving it a try you can click the announce post to find it.

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