Microsoft ready for 64-bit push
Microsoft believes a change in the hardware market means it could be time for the 64-bit edition of Windows to catch on.
To recap: 64-bit processors have been used in large-scale computers for decades, but it’s only in the past five years or so that they’ve become a genuinely feasible option for home PCs. Most people still run the 32-bit systems which have been ‘the norm’ since around the early 90s.
Microsoft decided to prepare for the growing popularity of 64-bit machines by producing separate 64-bit versions of both XP and Vista; operating systems need to be majorly overhauled to run in 64-bits.
Chris Flores, a regular blogger on the official Vista site, has revealed that the proportion of all US machines with Vista running the 64-bit edition has tripled in the past three months. And in the same period, the proportion of new installations being the 64-bit version has gone up from 3% to 20%. So 64-bit is growing at a quickening pace.
Flores’s piece aims to reassure potential buyers that any product marked compatible for Vista will run on both editions. He also says retail computers should generally work “quite well” in terms of driver compatibility, but isn’t making any promises for home-built machines. (There is a built-in compatibility mode to run 32-bit software on the 64-bit Vista, but its performance is patchy.)
The biggest advantage of a 64-bit machine for most people is its increased memory, usually at 4GB or more. Flores lists some studies showing the increased performance of high-memory machines under Vista. However, he’s cautious enough to point out that the average home user, who doesn’t need to run multiple memory-intensive programs (such as video editing) at once, will probably not see any major benefits at the moment.
There had been some speculation that Windows 7, due for release in 2010, would be a 64-bit only system. However, Microsoft recently confirmed it will be available in a 32-bit version as well. That’s likely a very sensible decision as it’s still unlikely 64-bit machines will become anywhere close to ‘standard’ within 18 months. And even when that does happen in the US, developing markets may still provide plenty of business for 32-bit systems.
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July 31st, 2008
Microsoft has billions of dollars in support contracts and any OS they market will need to interface with all those products. Businesses aren’t going to wholesale change just to be running the newest OS, let alone buy all new hardware. Since corporations aren’t exactly falling all over themselves embracing Vista, telling them tough, comeback when you have new hardware would be unwise.
For everyone who keeps saying Microsoft needs to to toss out legacy support and do all new code ala’ OSX see above.