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The exact release date of the Debian GNU/Linux 9 "Stretch" distribution has not yet been announced, but we're now fully aware of the supported hardware architectures, which include 64-bit (amd64), 32-bit (i386), AArch64 (ARM64), MIPS, MIPS 64-bit Little Endian (mips64el), Armel, ARMhf, IMB System z (s390x), MIPS Little Endian (MIPSel), and PowerPC 64-bit Little Endian (ppc64el).
[...] The Debian Project [has] decided that it's time to deprecate the support for the PowerPC (PPC) hardware architecture from the Debian GNU/Linux operating system, starting with the upcoming Debian GNU/Linux 9 "Stretch" release. Also in question is if the PPC (PowerPC) port will remain an architecture in the main FTP archive of the GNU/Linux distribution.
That being said, if you're currently using Debian on a PowerPC computer, you should be aware of the fact that you won't be able to upgrade to Debian GNU/Linux 9 "Stretch" when it's officially released. However, that should not be an issue because the Debian GNU/Linux 8 "Jessie" release should receive support for at least a couple of years.
Will this affect any Soylentils?
Are there Soylentils running a PowerPC who have already abandoned Debian because of other issues?
(Score: 5, Informative) by Marand on Friday November 11 2016, @12:01AM
Just a reminder that dropping PowerPC just means they've finally stopped supporting an architecture that has basically been long-abandoned by most everyone else. Apple switched from PowerPC to Intel in 2006, and those systems are probably the ones most people were installing Debian on. For current POWER systems (POWER8 or newer), Debian uses the ppc64el arch, which is still official.
Also, dropping official support doesn't mean it's necessarily gone. They dropped support for Debian GNU/kfreebsd kernel the last cycle but it's still active as an unofficial port, as far as I'm aware.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Friday November 11 2016, @02:00AM
PPC is not going to be an official release, but it will likely still be available as an official port in unstable, and may eventually move to unofficial ports. But, for this early step, "dropped the arch" is completely wrong phrasing.
Also, this does not affect power 8 which is an official arch for the next release .
Bad headline, bad summary, and kinda stupid anti-debian comments.
(Score: 2) by meustrus on Friday November 11 2016, @07:56PM
PowerPC [wikipedia.org] was used more recently than 2006 in all prev-gen game consoles, including XBox 360, PS3, and Wii, as well as the later Wii U. So, not quite long-abandoned, but abandoned nonetheless.
If there isn't at least one reference or primary source, it's not +1 Informative. Maybe the underused +1 Interesting?
(Score: 2) by Marand on Saturday November 12 2016, @01:25AM
You're right, but of those the only one that isn't from 2006 is the Wii U and they're also not the usual sort of targets for installing Debian, so the gist of my comment is still accurate enough.
Especially since I don't believe any of them use bog-standard PPC processors, though the Wii/Wii U are probably closer than the other two. As far as I can tell, even the Wii needs a custom kernel and other work, and a quick search seems to indicate the Linux releases for the Wii are all based on 2009-era distros (Debian 5.0, Gentoo). Not sure about XB360 and PS3 support, though a quick search didn't seem to indicate the situation was much better.
This most likely only affects Apple PPC users, and like I said, that's a hardware path that's been long-abandoned so it's not surprising to see support dying off. Plus, in its defense, Debian supported it longer than Apple did. ;)