Starting November 22, Intel very old BIOS and drivers from their website. This applies to solutions that are already about 20 years old.
The leading chipmaker did not specify which products will be given away, but, obviously, this applies to old Pentium and Celeron processors. On reddit some additional information about driver mirrors, as well as a list of solutions. However, deletion of files is inevitable.
At the same time, it is noted that the real impact of such a decision is minimal for the Linux ecosystem. It is also unlikely to affect collectors and the few objects that still use such an old technique.
The fact is that Intel has not updated the BIOS and drivers for Pentium-era solutions for many years, so they are hardly used in real work. So, removing the drivers simply will not affect them.
Note that the Linux kernel still supports the original Apple PowerBooks, which are about the same age. So if proprietary operating systems no longer work with old hardware, then a free OS will provide that opportunity.
Separately, we note that without exception, the processors of the "Pentium era" are 32-bit. Despite the continued support in modern distributions, their removal is a matter of time. So it is possible that in the coming years the old "iron" will remain completely out of work.
Source: 3dnews.ru