I don't really get the complain of TFA: IIUC it's not that Linux, the kernel, doesn't support 15 years+ old hardware but that some software that used to be shipped aren't shipped anymore by default, and so the only way to get these running is to compile them from source, which is not always possible due to missing repositories?
I still have my 386 and 486 somewhere: can't I install, say, a modern Debian on these?
> Most of these versions can no longer be found anywhere on the Internet. If you did not have the foresight to save them, you no longer have access to them. As far as you are concerned, they are gone forever.
Darn... I threw a lot of these away recently (old CDs with early Linux ISOs). Even much older stuff. Are these really gone forever? There has to be some data hoarders keeping them no? I'll be careful if I find older CDs: I may rip them and store them on a BluRay for another 50 years (not kidding).