Why i386 binaries?

[corrosion]

Hi all,

This is just a simple question. I simply cannot understand how it is possible that ubuntu ships 32bit intel-compatible architecture in i386 binary mode.
Please, dont tell me that you dont get big differences in performance. Because it is LIE. I used Gentoo from its beginnings until now, that I dont have time for spending trying to find why in the hell the Gentoo portage became a s***.
I really see the difference. In everything. From browsing to video.
The same machine with Gentoo is far more faster than under ubuntu.
We are in 2008... please!

[kellemes]

Hi all,

This is just a simple question. I simply cannot understand how it is possible that ubuntu ships 32bit intel-compatible architecture in i386 binary mode.
Please, dont tell me that you dont get big differences in performance. Because it is LIE. I used Gentoo from its beginnings until now, that I dont have time for spending trying to find why in the hell the Gentoo portage became a s***.
I really see the difference. In everything. From browsing to video.
The same machine with Gentoo is far more faster than under ubuntu.
We are in 2008... please!

Ubuntu is build to handle i386 but it is optimized for i686.
I don't think Ubuntu needs to discontinue support for older architectures, many of us are still running Ubuntu on machines with older architecture, without problem I may add.
With Gentoo you *may* get better performance mainly because you'll (dis)select the features you need to compile in. This can make a big difference, when done well.