On Sat, 12 Jul 2008, Munir Nassar wrote:

> note though that i386 is an architecture label not a processor, i do not 
> believe Ubuntu supports anything under a 486.


Ubuntu system requirements:

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Installation/SystemRequirements

Bare Minimum requirements

It should be possible to get Ubuntu running on a system with the following 
minimum hardware specification, although it is unlikely that the system 
would run well. You should use the Alternate install CD to attempt such an 
installation.

     * 300 MHz x86 processor
     * 64 MB of system memory (RAM)
     * At least 4 GB of disk space (for full installation and swap space)
     * VGA graphics card capable of 640x480 resolution
     * CD-ROM drive or network card

That does not specifically preclude the 386 (80386 processor)...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X86

...but I don't think any ran at 300 MHz, and I think the fastest may have 
been 33 MHz, so then, yes, you would need a 486 to get to 300 MHz to meet 
"bare minimum requirements," and that would not allow you to do graphics.

I know there are distros that will run on 386, but I don't know if you can 
get X to work on such systems.

Mike