64-bit Windows isn't new, 32-bit Windows is old.
64-bit Windows isn't new, 32-bit Windows is old. Windows NT 3.1 was introduced in 1993 GC. That is more than 17 years ago. The first 64-bit edition of Windows, Windows XP 64-Bit Edition for Itanium Systems, was introduced late in 2001 GC. That is almost ten years ago. That first 64-bit release certainly wasn't for everyone, but current 64-bit releases are for everyone.
The major limitation of a 32-bit system is that it can address no more than 4 GiB. 32-bit operation system cannot take advantage of more than 4 GiB. Not all of that address space is available for RAM, part of the address space is reserved for I/O and video RAM. Because of that, a 32-bit operating system running on a 4 GiB system will support slight more than 3 GiB of RAM; any additional RAM will remain unused.
The server editions of 32-bit Windows 2000, Windows XP and Windows 2003 support Physical Address Extension (PAE), a processor feature that allows a 32-bit system to use more than 4 GiB, but this feature is not enabled by default. Besides, the best way to take advantage of more than 4 GiB is a 64-bit operating system.
The retail version of Windows Vista Ultimate, introduced late in 2006, includes both the 32-bit and the 64-bit system. With the exception of Windows 7 Starter Edition, all editions of Windows 7 are available for 64-bit systems.
When you install a 64-bit system, you need 64-bit drivers. For most hardware in use today there are 64-bit drivers. One practical approach to upgrading to 64-bit Windows is to continue to use whatever you use today, an simply decide to make your next system one with 64-bit Windows preinstalled. Meanwhile, you check the availability of 64-bit drivers for any add-on hardware you buy.
Sites like X 64-bit Download help you find 64-bit software. Well, to be more precise, they help you find software that runs fine on your 64-bit system. A lot of the software on these sites is 32-bit software that merely happens to work fine on 64-bit operating systems. Most well-behaved 32-bit applications should run fine on 64-bit systems, as these were designed to run the huge legacy of 32-bit applications as well, but not all applications are well-behaved.
Some other sites, such as Start64! list nothing but true 64-bit software - as well as some dual-architecture software that has both 32-bit and 64-bit components.
I have the
Windows Vista 64-bit edition of the Internet Explorer 9 Beta. Mozilla has
not officially released 64-bit Firefox yet, but you can find both Linux and
Windows 64-bit builds of Firefox on their Firefox Nightly Builds page.
Google does not have a 64-bit build of Google Chrome for Windows yet, but they
do have a 64-bit build of Chrome for Linux.
I am running Apple
iTunes 64-bit edition. I have 64-bit editions of the Oracle Java Run-Time Environment (JRE)
and the 64-bit edition of the Microsoft .NET Framework. I have a 64-bit
firewall, 64-bit anti-virus and a 64-bit newsreader. I installed the 64-bit
build of NotePad++ as my editor. I use a 64-bit defragmentation tool.
Almost all major software that you run on a daily basis is either already available in a 64-bit build or will be available in a 64-bit build soon. Office 2010 is available in both 32-bit and 64-bit builds. VueScan 9 is available in a 32-bit and a 64-bit build.
Where is the 64-bit Windows genealogy software? It isn't like the vendors
can't use the additional address space; during the many tests I did for my
reviews these past years, quite a few genealogy applications ran out of
memory when
asked to import a GEDCOM file of just 100.000 individuals, and I am far from the
only person with a database larger than that.
Many genealogy applications use an database system, and would be able to take
advantage of the increased performance of the 64-bit database system.
I know of just one 64-bit genealogy application: Synium's MacFamilyTree 6.0, introduced on 2010 Jul 28. If you have 64-bit Mac with MacOS X 10.6 or later installed, MacFamilyTree will run as 64-bit application.
There are many more Windows genealogy applications than there are MacOS
genealogy applications, yet I am not aware of any 64-bit genealogy application for Windows.
Sure, Java and .NET
applications benefit from a 64-bit Java Run-Time Environment (JRE) and a 64-bit
.NET Framework. That includes GenealogyJ and New Family Tree Maker, but these
are Java and .NET applications, not native Windows applications, and Family Tree
Maker depends on a lot of 32-bit third-party components. Simply put, Family Tree
Maker is a 32-bit applications anyway.
Sixty-four bit Windows is nothing special anymore, it is mainstream already. Where is my 64-bit Windows genealogy software?
I should be wondering which vendor will be the first to stop making 32-bit build of their software, but find myself still wondering which vendor will be the first to make a 64-bit build available.
It is 2011 GC and 64-bit Windows has been around for a small decade. Sixty-four bit Windows is nothing special anymore, it is mainstream already. Where is my 64-bit Windows genealogy software?
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