[wplug] (OT) 32 more bits

[Drew from Zhrodague]

> In my opinion, the reason you're seeing slow adoption of 64-bit arch is
> that it's just not in big demand.  The move from 16bit to 32bit was a big
> deal because everyone was doing 32bit math anyway.  But very few apps are
> doing 64bit math right now, so the improvement isn't very notable.
> 
> The two big advantages that will come from 64bit arch:
> 1) As noted by others, the addressable memory will extend far past 4G.
>    This _can_ be a big deal on many servers, but doesn't mean much to
>    the average desktop yet.
> 2) Systems that do a lot of 64bit math will see significant performance
>    gains.  Of course, there are very few systems that _have_ to do 64bit
>    math, so not many people care.
> 
> Overall, I think 64bit architecture will eventually replace 32bit, but I
> doubt it will ever be a big deal.

	Us old Sun and Alpha people are STILL waiting for PCs to catch up!

-- 

Drew from Zhrodague		http://www.WiFiMaps.com
drew at zhrodague.net		Location Based WiFi