In a post today
[link], Anke outlined the reasons for why i686 would not be supported in the upcoming "Claire" release. I watched some of the debate a few months ago and it got some users pretty involved. The outcome was a pretty solid support for keeping i686 and so this change surprised me but I think it's a good one.
Anke names two key reasons for only continuing with the more modern x86_64 architecture; increasing demands on a small number of developers and their difficulty in keeping packages stable and up to date on something they don't use themselves.
"All those new users came with demands for all kinds of packages and features, and Chakra kept filling those demands as much as possible, disregarding the fact that the user demands was fast outpacing the number of volunteers actively supporting this distro. Maintaining about 7000 packages (bundles included) in a half rolling distro, at a quality level Chakra has set for itself, with 2-3 packagers doing the work on about 5000-6000 packages is not sustainable.
...
And from now on, growth will only come from an expanding, dedicated volunteer base."Sounds like they could use some help as interest continues to soar. I'm glad they have decided not to sacrifice quality as this is my favorite distro around by far and it positions the project very aggressively. I know Chakra's minimalism plays nice on older hardware but I like that that is not the focus and I can still get a very lightweight system dedicated to current specs.
**Also, in case you missed it, the new Claire ISO is in the works with KDE 4.9, Kapudan, and other really cool stuff. Best of all for us dA users, is that will have a brand new theme. Top to bottom, this is an awesome and complete redesign by our very own ~
Malcer inspired by his very popular and thorough Caledonia theme. It's called "Dharma" and you can check it out here:
[link] 
Sta.sh
by ~Hombremaledicto
)
Deviants
brought some great news to my attention: 
