{"id":288361,"date":"2026-07-11T10:30:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-11T14:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/11\/5-weird-devices-that-can-run-linux-even-though-they-shouldnt\/"},"modified":"2026-07-11T14:15:07","modified_gmt":"2026-07-11T18:15:07","slug":"5-weird-devices-that-can-run-linux-even-though-they-shouldnt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/11\/5-weird-devices-that-can-run-linux-even-though-they-shouldnt\/","title":{"rendered":"5 weird devices that can run Linux (even though they shouldn’t)"},"content":{"rendered":"

5 weird devices that can run Linux (even though they shouldn’t)<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/weird-devices-that-can-run-linux-but-shouldnt\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Publish Date: 2026-07-11 10:30:00<\/a><\/p>\n

Source Domain: www.howtogeek.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Linux runs everything from the world’s most powerful supercomputers to most cellphones to low-power smart devices. However, the Linux community\u2014never a group to not tinker\u2014has been making Linux run on dozens of devices, from calculators to iPods to game consoles.<\/p>\n

Most of the ports are only partially functional and can’t really be used reliably as a general-purpose computer or a game console, but some of them are decent. Even so, if you’re looking for a weekend project, these are primarily curiosity, not something you should actually do if you want a useful device.<\/p>\n

\n Some Apple iPods can run Linux
\n <\/h2>\n

\n And it can run Doom
\n <\/h3>\n

iPodLinux is a special distro based on uCLinux designed specifically to run on Apple’s 1st through 3rd generation iPods.<\/p>\n

It adds console emulators, a video player(that predated Apple’s own video-capable iPods), and higher-quality audio recording. However, it comes with some serious tradeoffs. The battery life is much worse, and music playback is reportedly a bit flaky. There is also a serious risk of bricking the device, which may be difficult to replace.<\/p>\n

However, if you want to play Doom on an antique iPod, it is pretty much your only option.<\/p>\n

\n The Nintendo DS can turn into a computer
\n <\/h2>\n

\n You can run a “full” Linux desktop
\n <\/h3>\n

…
\n
Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

5 weird devices that can run Linux (even though they shouldn’t) https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/weird-devices-that-can-run-linux-but-shouldnt\/ Publish Date: 2026-07-11…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":288362,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/static0.howtogeekimages.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/an-apple-ipod-and-a-sony-netmd-minidisc-player.jpg?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[48],"tags":[71],"class_list":["post-288361","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-linux","tag-linux"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/288361"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=288361"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/288361\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":288363,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/288361\/revisions\/288363"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/288362"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=288361"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=288361"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=288361"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}