Arch Linux is just the first to stop offering a 32-bit (or i686) version; expect other mainstream Linux desktop distributions to follow suit.

Most Linux distributions have left 32-bit x86 behind, but there are still a few great options for your old PC.

There are 32-bit and 64-bit versions as well as PiCore, which is a build for the Raspberry Pi. There are builds for other ARM devices like the GK802 Mini PC too.

That's not good. We can expect 32-bit computers running these operating systems to have fits. Fortunately, Linux's developers already had a fix ready to go.

But there is no denying 32-bit hardware is starting to disappear. Twenty years ago when people were repurposing old Windows PCs as small departmental Linux servers, the PC was maybe 3 or 4 years old.

The latest release of this excellent security, forensic, and penetration testing Linux distribution is everything I have come to expect from the software and more, with both PC (32 and 64 bit) and ...

“To provide the best experience for the most-used Linux versions, we will end support for Google Chrome on 32-bit Linux, Ubuntu Precise (12.04), and Debian 7 (wheezy) in early March, 2016.

With the announcement of LibreOffice 6.3 Beta 1, the open source office suite has also stopped providing 32-bit binaries for the Linux platform, although 32-bit compatibility has not yet been removed.

The ARMv5 is a 32-bit processor with an MMU, and so as far as Ubuntu is concerned everything's fine. Software emulation of an ARM CPU on an 8-bit microcontroller obviously takes its toll, though.