F96-CE_4 Latest Stable Release

[rockedge]

@vtpup no worries! We'll keep F96-CE_4 going strong and thanks for the head's up on the Java.

This we'll need to fix. I use Vassal to play board war games which relies on Java and I have it running but I installed Java manually.

[wiak]

I note that Focal Fossa reaches end of life in April 2025 so will no longer be supported(?).

Really I know nothing about this kind of stuff. Question I have is: are the repos for that distribution still available long term anywhere?

If not, would it not be a good idea if someone mirrored the Fossa repos for future use by this forum? (unless not necessary); perhaps package apt-mirror can do that (per the link I give at bottom of this post).

Seems to me that a problem with old distros is unavailable packages, and this is a problem when a user wants to keep a really old machine running reasonably well.

Yes, I know security updates re web use are problematic, but sometimes we just need a running computer for the likes of Libreoffice or okular (my needs) and can use a different computer for browsing (maybe via vnc or rdp).

I don't have space or time to mirror repos anyway, but did notice this document about doing so: https://kc.jetpatch.com/hc/en-us/articl ... untu-18-04

I just think it would be great to keep old fossa distros running forever with access to suitable old repos despite those who warn of security issues involved.

The likes of KLV distros can be made in either 32bit or 64bit form, but these are rolling release distros so won't end up fast on old machines. I suppose it would be possible to mirror a snapshot of Void's repos, but too late now for old ones anyway... We can however still access current Ubuntu Fossa repos, and maybe there are archives of the old repos of other distro releases too?

We do of course have the apt sfs capability I produced for Fossapup some years ago (via a FirstRib mod) and there is also Fossadog that works with apt natively in case any of the above apt-mirror stuff is relevant. I'll leave it to those who know about such matters to tell us if such measures would be needed to keep forum Fossa distros running longterm (yeah... despite security considerations, which we are most all well aware of...).

[peebee]

Question I have is: are the repos for that distribution still available long term anywhere?

Focal will be moved at EOL to:
https://old-releases.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/

[ozsouth]

Fossa might wind up here, where Xenial & Bionic are: https://mirror.linux.org.au/ubuntu-rele ... buntu.com.

[rockedge]

With UPUP Raring 3.9.9.2 and Lucid the repo's were moved to archive.ubuntu.com.

I will have to double check if that's the correct format but it does start with archive

We can look at the oldforum for the topic. There's the exact instructions on how to do it.

[wiak]

Question I have is: are the repos for that distribution still available long term anywhere?

Focal will be moved at EOL to:
https://old-releases.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/

So I presume that means the repos can still be used. That's good to know.

[rockedge]

Yes peebee has the URL correct!