[arch-ports] Phasing out i686 support

[Erich Eckner]

Hi Dave,

> Since this news item was not posted on the 1st of april I guess this is
> not a joke - just to make sure: Is this really true, there won't be a
> 32-bit Arch Linux from November 2017? I ask this because we recently
> (okay, about 2-3 years ago) switched to Arch Linux for our devices,
> those devices run on 32-bit only and they will exist for at least the
> next seven years. We are in the railway industry, things don't change
> monthly.

It's true, but: There are community efforts to keep archlinux running on
32 bit.

> This fact puts us in trouble. I see that manufacturers don't produce
> much 32-bit hardware any more (there still is though!) but there is
> still a lot of 32-bit hardware around that still runs and is meant to
> run for quite some time.
> 
> I think it's bad to discontinue 32-bit systems when still corresponding
> hardware is in use, this would support the same waste that other
> manufacturers push (e.g. XYZ that doesn't support its mobile phone one
> year after releasing it).
> 
> Am I the only one who thinks that way?

nope, you're not the only one.

Check out archlinux32.org and/or visit the irc channel (#archlinux-ports
on freenode.net) for further infos. However, this is still a work in
progress - but I'm confident, we get things running until november.

If all goes smooth, the transition for you should be as easy as changing
your mirrorlist and updating your pacman-keyring.

> Thanks for your clarification, arguments, thoughts, ideas!

Just some other thoughts:
Arch is not the most stable linux I've seen (frankly, it's quite
unstable, because it's so bleeding-edge) - why do you prefer it on "old"
hardware in production - you certainly don't need all the new fancy (and
partly buggy) software, do you?

> Best Regards
> Dave

Cheers,
Erich