Leopard/Vista & 64-bit software

[Frodo]

From CNET:

RE: 64-bit chips but no applications

...But the software needed to take advantage of those chips is harder to find than a Beatles song on iTunes.

... Practically no one uses 64-bit operating systems, providing little incentive to create 64-bit applications and the 64-bit device drivers required by Microsoft's Windows Vista.

Microsoft's need to cater to a huge install base makes it harder to turn on a dime, which could give Apple an opportunity to show people what 64-bit applications can do.

Several issues have contributed to the problem, but as seen in other transitions, device drivers always seem to be front and center. Drivers are a vexing piece of the PC puzzle. They're small bits of software needed to make sure devices like printers, DVD drives and graphics cards connect properly to PCs and Macs, and they can cause major problems if something goes wrong.

Microsoft is requiring those device manufacturers to develop 64-bit drivers if they want their devices to work with the 64-bit edition of Windows Vista, in an effort to ensure that device drivers are written to proper standards. But hardware vendors and application developers haven't wanted to take the time and effort to develop new software for an operating system that very few people use. As a result, 64-bit Windows software is hard to find, although Microsoft says the situation is improving.

Apple, however, thinks it has found a quicker and easier road to bring its mainstream users into the 64-bit era. When Mac OS X Leopard comes around later this year, hardware makers will be able to use the 32-bit drivers they've already developed and qualified along with 64-bit applications built for Leopard.

"It's a nice migration path, and it recognizes the reality that the benefits of 64-bit (drivers) are somewhat limited," said Dean McCarron, principal analyst with Mercury Research.

...And although Windows Vista is available in 64-bit versions, retail PCs are mostly sold with the 32-bit version of the operating system. Vista Ultimate comes with both 32-bit and 64-bit versions if you buy the boxed copy, but any other edition of Vista requires you to order the extra DVD from Microsoft an additional fee if you want the 64-bit version.

It's hard to estimate how many 64-bit users there are, Microsoft says, but it acknowledges that most mainstream PC users, and even many enthusiasts, have little reason to go 64-bit, for now. Even the next version of Windows, scheduled for the end of the decade, will arrive in both 64-bit and 32-bit editions, suggesting that Microsoft isn't prepared to fully commit to a 64-bit world this decade.

But in October, Apple plans to ship only one version of Leopard that can run both 64-bit and 32-bit applications. Apple thinks this will entice Mac OS developers to create 64-bit applications because every Mac shipping after October--and Core 2 Duo systems that upgrade to Leopard--will be able to run 64-bit applications, said Brian Croll, director of the company's OS X product marketing.

****!!!**** Apple agrees that this transition won't happen overnight. It will first emphasize 64-bit applications for its base of users in the graphic design world, who buy systems such as the Mac Pro workstation to run applications with large data sets, Croll said. That system can already be configured with up to 16GB of memory, and will probably serve as Apple's test bed for 64-bit applications.

As for the mainstream users, "the 64-bit pieces of the puzzle are going to be in place a couple of years from now," McCarron said. "The burden will be on the OS side, and the applications will follow."

more:

http://news.com.com/64-bit+PCs+Drivers+ ... =nefd.lede

[HCMarkus]