ANALYSIS OF THE USE VALUE OF OLD HARDWARE USING OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE

At the beginning of the 21st century, Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) became an essential element of all spheres of life. The great opportunities these technologies provide are insufficiently used in many developing countries and one of the reasons for this is the lack of equipment. The aim of this paper is to present new areas for researches in the field of information systems, as well as showcase the opportunities and impacts of Open Source Software. The paper compares Microsoft Windows and GNU/Linux Ubuntu operating systems, the applicability and superiority of which have long been debated in the world of information technologies. The paper determines the possibilities for the prolonged use of old hardware by using open source software. In order to prove the applicability of these systems on old hardware, we have conducted tests that indicate the possibility of using both systems on the same hardware architectures.