Moving on

I'm sorry, but why would a different archive format require rebuilding lots of packages? I can see why it might require a few (single digit, or at most low double digit) packages to be rebuilt as they'll have to support the "new" archive format, but why all? Just unpack them and then repack them with the new utility. What's the big deal? Yes, for an archive as impressive as Debian that's still not a 5 minute task, but surely a manageable one.

Of course the wider question, and I think that drowned out a bit in the article and the comments, is for how long to support "legacy" hardware. And "legacy" software, for that matter. That is a big question without an easy answer. Fortunately, with free software, we don't all have to agree on a single answer, that makes it slightly easier ;)