Which Linux version

[tetrastes]

So Linux Mint restored 32bit support but Debian dropped it?
Amazing!

LMDE 6 was released in 2023 and is based on Debian 12.

[munair]

HP/Compaq systems are generally well supported by Debian derived distro's. I have Bookworm running without issues on two Compag Evo machines from around 2003. According to Debian, the full architecture list for the LTS version is still to be determined.

[Thaddy]

Debian dropped 32 bit i386 systems but not  support for 32 bit code: it supports x86_64-32 multiarch even in trixie, afaik.
Main reason is driver support being often unmaintained/abandonware.
Debian does support other 32 bit architectures, e.g. ARM.

[munair]

I was referring to Bookworm, whereby the set of supported architectures is reduced during the LTS term.

[Thaddy]

I was referring to Bookworm, whereby the set of supported architectures is reduced during the LTS term.

Yes. More or less forced: the lack of maintained drivers. That was done with great reluctance. The core team usually does not do drivers...

[JuhaManninen]

@Juha: The PCLinuxOS uses "MyLive-Install" since 2023

The HP Compaq 6730s had more problems and is scrap now. 
I got a Wifi USB stick working but right after that its keyboard stopped working. At least the 2 lower lines of keys didn't work. I opened it and cleaned the keyboard's flat connector but it didn't help. Maybe some driver IC fried or whatever. That machine is toast now.

I have now another laptop, HP 255 with an advanced dual core AMD E2-1800 CPU (published in 2012) and 4GB memory.
I gave PCLinuxOS another chance and tried to run the live image from USB. This time it froze before the desktop even showed up. There was some (maybe KDE) image but the computer did not respond to anything. Even Capslock didn't work AFAIR.
Finally I installed Manjaro + KDE without problems and it works well. Even the Gitlab site opens OK.
I know cheap HP laptops are very low quality. I believe there is some piece of HW that PCLinuxOS does not recognize or support.
Still, both Manjaro and MxLinux support such HW without problems.

PCLinuxOS developers should test their OS with more hardware! Oldish computers are the main target for Linux distros after all.

From old to new computers: My son (now 27 years) praised Apple's new Airbooks. The base model is passively cooled. No buzzing propellers. They are super-fast and the usability is superior according to him. Touchpad, hibernation feature etc.
He said even the high end Windows laptops are no match.
Sure Apple knows how to suck money from people using their ecosystem but the ecosystem is so good people don't want to leave.
OK, I believe. It would be nice to try such Airbook but what will I do with so much computing power? If I start to edit videos, it would be handy.

[dbannon]

The HP Compaq 6730s had more problems and is scrap now. 

I recently purchased a new keyboard, quite cheaply,  for my Dell I13 laptop, its seven or eight years old. But a HP/Compaq must be a very old machine. Its not an HP, its a Compaq.  HP "merged" with Compaq in 2002. It was really just a takeover, HP wanted Compaq's consumer environment. So, a laptop branded HP-Compaq must have been one sold only a few years after that. From memory,they sold DEC/Compaq stuff branded just HP quite quickly.

Incidentally, HP also got Compaq's HPC division, itself "merged" from DEC. And the first thing they did was kill of the DEC Alpha chip because of HP's heavy commitment to Intel's Itanium. Personally, I believe they continued steadily down hill from there on.

Davo

[JuhaManninen]

HP "merged" with Compaq in 2002. It was really just a takeover, HP wanted Compaq's consumer environment. So, a laptop branded HP-Compaq must have been one sold only a few years after that.

Intel 575 CPU was released in 2008, I guess the laptop is from the same year.
https://www.cpu-upgrade.com/CPUs/Intel/Celeron_M/575.html