Windows is finally hitting 64-bit

Microsoft has finished preparations to release their 64-bit Windows OS. This is great news for anyone who already owns a 64-bit processor or who has been waiting for the right time to buy one.

Andre Da Costa writes:

The 64-bit operating system has been long awaited by both Intel and especially Advanced Micro Devices, whose 64-bit Athlon and Opteron microprocessors have been forced to run on beta versions of the operating system. Linux distribution vendors, on the other hand, have offered 64-bit versions for months.

This is very significant for the Linux community. The architecture that Windows supports will (for a few years at least) dictate what the majority of Linux users can use. It’s always the most affordable computing experience to follow mainstream hardware. Now that Microsoft has supported 64-bit processing there will be desktop and laptop systems developed by major manufacturers (Dell, Acer, Toshiba, Sony, HP, etc.) running 64-bit. This means a greater selection for 64-bit Linux systems.

This is also a great example of the power of open source development. Microsoft has just finished their first release of Windows 64-bit but Linux has had support since 2003 (maybe earlier).