> 3) ld/ld.so have been hacked to do something absolutely horrible for
>    PIC code on the ARM.  This hack is unnecessary, and should be
>    removed.  However, doing so breaks compatibility with old shared
>    libraries.

Aren't there any spare bits in the Magic number that could be used to note 
a new shared library format?

Not perfect but it might solve the problem.

R.