Re: 64-bit transition deadline (Re: Etch in the hands of the Stable Release Managers)
On 04/09/07 05:20:34PM -0400, Lennart Sorensen wrote:
> On Mon, Apr 09, 2007 at 08:14:50PM +0200, Robert Millan wrote:
> > You forgot the "+PAE" part.
>
> PAE helps the OS, not the applications. Applications still only get
> 32bit. Well unless the OS starts doing something weird, and it would
> then require applications written explictly for some memory access
> extensions.
>
AWE is the Windows userland counterpart to PAE, it lets processes allocate
up to 64G of memory and shift around a mapping "window" so that they can
access memory that wouldn't normally fit into their address space.
> > They do that already, but it doesn't work for a lot of hardware:
> >
> > - old hardware that was already sold, and for which the vendor may not even
> > exist anymore.
> > - hardware from small vendors that can't afford the cost of certification.
>
> I thought they had started only allowing certified drivers to even
> install.
>
On the 64-bit editions, yes you can only install signed drivers but I
believe the 32-bit versions are more liberal and let you install whatever
you want. And there is a bootup option to disable the requirement on the
64-bit release but I believe you have to do it on every boot so it's a bit
of a PITA.
> > It doesn't really matter. If we win the 64bit battle, when microsoft wants to
> > migrate to 64-bit, they'll find that this niche is already occupied, and that
> > the reference API is another one. Then they can clone us if they want to try
> > something :-)
>
> Well I think users of applications like solidworks, lightwave, maya,
> etc, just might use win64 and be quite happy with it. Not a huge
> market, but not nothing either. I doubt this will be small enough that
> linux can automatically win the 64bit OS market. And if people start
> demanding 64bit support they will find a way to get a machien that does
> work with 64bit windows and get the applications they want.
>
And don't forget games. Game developers will start releasing 64-bit binaries
and gamers will eat them up just because 64 > 32. So the Win64 market will
have a fair amount of users in the not too distant future.
> > We'll surely have that for lenny. :-)
>
> Much as I tend to be optimistic, I am not so sure about that.
>
I tend to agree although I would love to be wrong.
Jim.
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