
We've been able to drop the world of 32bit for a while now, with 64bit processors and support for them being prevalent in all popular, modern operating systems. However, where Mac OS X and Linux seem to make the move to 64bit rather effortlessly, Windows has more problems. Even though 32bit applications should run fine on 64bit Windows, some don't; and to make matters worse, drivers need to be 64bit, as there's no support for 32bit drivers in 64bit versions of Windows. Still,
Gizmodo claims that with Windows 7, the time is right to take the plunge. But really, is it so? And why do Linux and Mac OS X seem to handle the transition so much easier?
Member since:
2005-07-06
MacBook:/ gousiosg$ file /mach_kernel
/mach_kernel: Mach-O universal binary with 2 architectures
/mach_kernel (for architecture i386): Mach-O executable i386
/mach_kernel (for architecture ppc): Mach-O executable ppc
On Mac OS X right now it uses PAE to access/detect memory above 4GB, however, there is a performance penalty associated with it.
Snow leopard will be the first 'pure' 64bit version of MacOS X - it'll be interesting to see how many vendors jump onboard and start compiling their stuff to take advantage of the new features.