Suggestions for a Puppy for my ancient PC

[mikeslr]

The main reason I need a newer Puppy is that I can't upgrade my browsers to access sites like USPS.com or PayPal.com. Otherwise, my old Puppy works just fine for my needs.

It doesn't make sense to 'upgrade' his operating system if it can not provide such access.

Unless I'm mistaken --and do correct me if I'm wrong-- in order to access such websites it is now necessary that the operating system support SSE2 encryption -- which is only possible if the computer, itself, will support that.

I suggested installation of PupSysInfo as a 'newbie-friendly' means to determine if silverojo's computer provided that support. Apparently, PupSysInfo can't be installed into either of the two Puppies the computer can run.

Does anyone know of a command-line argument to determine whether a computer can support SSE2?

[perdido]

The main reason I need a newer Puppy is that I can't upgrade my browsers to access sites like USPS.com or PayPal.com. Otherwise, my old Puppy works just fine for my needs.

It doesn't make sense to 'upgrade' his operating system if it can not provide such access.

Unless I'm mistaken --and do correct me if I'm wrong-- in order to access such websites it is now necessary that the operating system support SSE2 encryption -- which is only possible if the computer, itself, will support that.

I suggested installation of PupSysInfo as a 'newbie-friendly' means to determine if silverojo's computer provided that support. Apparently, PupSysInfo can't be installed into either of the two Puppies the computer can run.

Does anyone know of a command-line argument to determine whether a computer can support SSE2?

According to here
https://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral ... upports-it

In terminal run

Code: Select all

cat /proc/cpuinfo

It will be listed under flags if supported
(quite a long list that may extend past the edge of the window requiring a full screen terminal window to view)

.

.

[mikeslr]

Hi perdido,

Thanks for the command-line code. Although on my system, using lxterminal, the long display was line-wrapped and the info concerning SSE2 could easily be found, if it is needed this modification to the command will produce a text file at root rather than an onscreen report.

In terminal run
Code:
cat /proc/cpuinfo >info.txt

One can then open geany/text-editor to /root, open info.txt, and geany's search tool can quickly find any reference to sse2 or its absence. Alternatively, while still in terminal, this will open the file in geany:

Code:
geany /root/info.txt

[sheldonisaac]

-- in order to access such websites it is now necessary that the operating system support SSE2 encryption -- which is only possible if the computer, itself, will support that.

I suggested installation of PupSysInfo

According to here
https://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral ... upports-it

In terminal run

Code: Select all

cat /proc/cpuinfo

It will be listed under flags if supported.

Oh, thank you, mikeslr and perdido. This adds to my meager knowledge.

[rufwoof]

The main reason I need a newer Puppy is that I can't upgrade my browsers to access sites like USPS.com or PayPal.com. Otherwise, my old Puppy works just fine for my needs.

It doesn't make sense to 'upgrade' his operating system if it can not provide such access.

That's why my thoughts were to continue to use a low spec cli + basic X type (older OS version) system such as silverojo's ... and from that ssh into another more capable/recent box/device and X forward the display back to the low spec system.

If I could get anywhere near half decent ssh + X forwarding from my android phone I'd be tempted to just use that for www purposes from my desktop (as things stand, sshfs mounting and connections are OK, but input/control etc. are lacking).

[mikeslr]

Hi rufwoof,

Your last post clarified the objective of your first, especially you specific mention of an android phone as the "box" in the context "then perhaps run a browser via ssh and X (browser) forwarding from another box" of your first post.

As my mind tends to wander looking for connections to something I'm more familiar with, even if only a little, the term "tethering" popped up along with the alternative of USB-cable rather than [or as a means to] 'via ssh and X (browser)' being a phrase above my pay-grade.

The Puppy having the lowest demands on RAM in which successful tethering was mentioned is X-Precise 2.4, albeit while connection via tether was successful the network tray icon didn't indicate that. http://murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic. ... 540#776540.

silverojo mentioned he had used Slacko 5.5, and still uses Puppy 5.10. I don't know whether that refers to Lucid 5.10 or Wary 5.10. X-Precise 2.4 was published about the same time as Slacko 5.5 and Lucid 5.10. So if by "Puppy 5.10" silverojo means Lucid 5.10, there's a good chance that it won't be much harder on his computer than what he currently has. It's also possible that tethering might work with his current Puppy, although there are no reports about that.

Of course, tethering would only be required to access the "problem" sites he mentioned; and, perhaps the need to acquire an android phone and, in particular, one capable of accessing his "problem" sites. That might translate to costing more than the acquisition of a different computer.

For a start on the subject of tethering, see: http://murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic. ... 888#998888.

But truthfully, I know almost nothing about tethering.

[rufwoof]

Tethering as I understand it Mike is using the phones internet connection for your laptop/desktop to access the internet, different to running a app on the phone from your desktop/laptop.

I connect mine either wirelessly or via usb. More often just sshfs mounting it so that it shows as a normal folder on the desktop system. With additional/alternative software however, which I know very little about myself as I've personally not found a 'appropriate' app/method, my hope would be that you could drive the phone from the desktop and have the display forwarded back to the desktop ... i.e. run the phones internet browser controlling it from the (low spec) desktop PC, seeing what's going on also on the desktop PC's display. Which is basically X forwarding. That would use the phones internet data allowance for accessing those sites that couldn't otherwise be accessed/viewed on the low spec PC, but where for other web sites they might be directly accessed from the desktop, using its internet connection (avoiding using the phones data allowances).

Something like vnc where the desktop (vnc client) is used to control the phone (vnc server), using the phones apps/internet to visit the web sites that otherwise cannot be accessed/used on the the desktop system. https://youtu.be/HSDEwasD_Vc

[nic007]

I would go with Wary/Racy Puppy and an updated newer Palemoon browser like those provided by forum member watchdog.

[s243a]

Just wondered which 'old Puppy' you were using. Mike Walsh's concern that if your Duran doesn't have SSE2 instructions you'd have to use Walter Dnes' version of Palemoon also means you may be working to obtain results no better (and perhaps worse) than you already have. That version of Palemoon can be used, IIRC, even with Puppy 4.2x.

In fact, it might be best if you tell us how you are currently trying to access sites like USPS.com or PayPal.com.

Sorry for my late reply. I just started a new job, so I'm trying not to use their computer for personal issues.

As I mentioned in a reply to someone else, I mostly use v. 2.0, though I've used 5.10 in the past. I was using 5.5 Slacko, but it slowed my PC to a crawl.

In order to figure out what your computer is a capable of, you might want to run PupSysInfo. If you don't already have it, you can obtain it here: http://murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic. ... 411#579411. AFAIK, it should run under any Puppy. Start it from Menu>System. Once its opened, click Mainboard on the Top Menu, then CPU. Scroll down to flags and see which, if any sse are listed.

I'll give that a shot. Thanks for the link. I'll post the results here as soon as I have time to install and run it.

Have you tried a Puppy 4 Variant like Anitaos. It supports palemoon 27.9.1

The latest Anitaos iso has be updated as recently as last year.

[mikeslr]

Hi All,

I haven't exhaustively explored this, but there are both Paypal and USPS apps for Android. According to Paypal its app will run under the galaxy Tab2 which was manufactured in 2012. The USPS App requires at least Android 4.1, which was published the same year. I would, therefore, expect that both will run under any Android version published since then.

Unlocked, Wifi-enabled, Manufacturer-Refurbished Smartphones can be found on ebay for about $35. [Unlocked = accept sim card for making phone calls from any carrier*; Wifi-enabled = will access you're home Wifi, or any other; Manufacture-Refurbished = good chance it was done right the 2nd time ].

* Most of the world uses a GSM system. In the US, Verizon and Sprint use CDMA. The two systems are not compatible and require different hardware. Unlocked means its not tied to a specific carrier. But a phone having the hardware only for CDMA can't access GSM networks, and vice-versa.