PsychOS486 for i486DX/i586/i686 computers with CD-ROM drives
Posted 12-01-2020 at 02:02 PM by TheOuterLinux
Tags foss, i486, linux, puppy linux, slackware
PsychOS486 for i486DX/i586/i686 and newer computers
https://psychoslinux.gitlab.io/486/index.html
PsychOS486 is a GNU/Linux distribution with i486DX computers in mind, hence the name. In other words, a numeric co-processor is required and the newer the computer, the better; i586 and i686 users are fine as well. PsychOS486 was made possible by "editing the snot" out of Slacko Puppy 5.3.1, a Slackware 13.37-compatible Puppy Linux distro. After booting, you are presented with a simple text-based menu in the console with choices on what to do next, such as desktop environment options, in order to save as much RAM as possible. And for as little as 32MB of total available RAM, as long as you are comfortable with the command-line, you are good to go. If you are not a "CLI person," I made sure to include a script called CLIMax to make things easier. You can click here to see the main PsychOS distribution's version in action, but know that it had to be rewritten for PsychOS486 due to software limitations and alternatives. I also have PeerTube and Bitchute video options just in case there are any issues.
If you have more RAM, such as 64MB, though 128MB would be much better, you can choose either the included JWM or XFCE graphical desktop environment; and yes, they are retro themed like I always do. i586 and newer users should not have many issues beyond what is listed at the end of the release notes. And yes, like the main PsychOS distribution, I packed PsychOS486 full of software, to which is about 95% i486-compatible. It would have been 100% i486-compatible, but the Java Runtime Environment (build 1.6.0_31-b04) I installed "tricked me," so to speak. But oh well, 95% still much higher than what most i486 GNU/Linux distros claim and I've researched quite a few of them just for this project.
I also made sure to include lots of emulators (DOSEMU, WINE, etc.) with software to hopefully make up for any shortcomings. For example, I wanted to include GrafX2; however, I could not find a Slackware package that would install correctly without demanding impossible to deal with dependencies; so, I included the Windows version instead, and just let WINE deal with it; DOSEMU is also used in this way.
However, most of the software and kernel are kind of old, but necessarily so. This means that Internet browsing, thanks to SSL over-kill, is somewhat limited, to put it politely. It does not include heavy browsers such as Firefox or Chromium as I do not see the point. It does have Midori, Netsurf, Dillo, Lynx, and Links, which will work just fine as long as the site is either plain http or https with TLS 1.2 or older. Google will work but DuckDuckGo will not. You can also use gophper:// and telnet:// with Lynx. Speaking of which, I also made sure to include a YAD-based script that lists BBS and Gopher sites you can visit and play games or chat with people. There is also a few IRC clients included as well and most Internet radio stations, or at least the ones worth listening to, in my opinion, still use plain http. I guess as long as you want to pretend it is the late 90s or early 2000s, things are not that bad.
A lot of people seem to enjoy the main version of PsychOS and I think at least a few of you Luddites and misanthropes out there will appreciate PsychOS486 as well. If you have any questions, just E-Mail me (go to the site; I'm not posting that here) but please make sure to read the release notes at the very least before doing so or reporting issues. Fingers crossed that your "push-button cup holder" (CD-ROM tray) still works. Worse case scenario, it will run just fine on an i586/i686 or you can use something like QEMU to emulate an i486DX. I'm coming after DOS next.
https://psychoslinux.gitlab.io/486/index.html
PsychOS486 is a GNU/Linux distribution with i486DX computers in mind, hence the name. In other words, a numeric co-processor is required and the newer the computer, the better; i586 and i686 users are fine as well. PsychOS486 was made possible by "editing the snot" out of Slacko Puppy 5.3.1, a Slackware 13.37-compatible Puppy Linux distro. After booting, you are presented with a simple text-based menu in the console with choices on what to do next, such as desktop environment options, in order to save as much RAM as possible. And for as little as 32MB of total available RAM, as long as you are comfortable with the command-line, you are good to go. If you are not a "CLI person," I made sure to include a script called CLIMax to make things easier. You can click here to see the main PsychOS distribution's version in action, but know that it had to be rewritten for PsychOS486 due to software limitations and alternatives. I also have PeerTube and Bitchute video options just in case there are any issues.
If you have more RAM, such as 64MB, though 128MB would be much better, you can choose either the included JWM or XFCE graphical desktop environment; and yes, they are retro themed like I always do. i586 and newer users should not have many issues beyond what is listed at the end of the release notes. And yes, like the main PsychOS distribution, I packed PsychOS486 full of software, to which is about 95% i486-compatible. It would have been 100% i486-compatible, but the Java Runtime Environment (build 1.6.0_31-b04) I installed "tricked me," so to speak. But oh well, 95% still much higher than what most i486 GNU/Linux distros claim and I've researched quite a few of them just for this project.
I also made sure to include lots of emulators (DOSEMU, WINE, etc.) with software to hopefully make up for any shortcomings. For example, I wanted to include GrafX2; however, I could not find a Slackware package that would install correctly without demanding impossible to deal with dependencies; so, I included the Windows version instead, and just let WINE deal with it; DOSEMU is also used in this way.
However, most of the software and kernel are kind of old, but necessarily so. This means that Internet browsing, thanks to SSL over-kill, is somewhat limited, to put it politely. It does not include heavy browsers such as Firefox or Chromium as I do not see the point. It does have Midori, Netsurf, Dillo, Lynx, and Links, which will work just fine as long as the site is either plain http or https with TLS 1.2 or older. Google will work but DuckDuckGo will not. You can also use gophper:// and telnet:// with Lynx. Speaking of which, I also made sure to include a YAD-based script that lists BBS and Gopher sites you can visit and play games or chat with people. There is also a few IRC clients included as well and most Internet radio stations, or at least the ones worth listening to, in my opinion, still use plain http. I guess as long as you want to pretend it is the late 90s or early 2000s, things are not that bad.
A lot of people seem to enjoy the main version of PsychOS and I think at least a few of you Luddites and misanthropes out there will appreciate PsychOS486 as well. If you have any questions, just E-Mail me (go to the site; I'm not posting that here) but please make sure to read the release notes at the very least before doing so or reporting issues. Fingers crossed that your "push-button cup holder" (CD-ROM tray) still works. Worse case scenario, it will run just fine on an i586/i686 or you can use something like QEMU to emulate an i486DX. I'm coming after DOS next.
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