title: The world is not ready for a 64-bit desktop link: https://onemoretech.wordpress.com/2009/06/20/the-world-is-not-ready-for-a-64-bit-desktop/ author: lembobro description: post_id: 305 created: 2009/06/20 15:18:18 created_gmt: 2009/06/20 15:18:18 comment_status: open post_name: the-world-is-not-ready-for-a-64-bit-desktop status: publish post_type: post

I have been running a 64-bit desktop for some time now. It has been a valuable experiment.

Having said that, it’s now clear to me that there’s little benefit in continuing on with my current platform, and the down-side has begun to get tedious.

The improved performance of the 64-bit platform, while perceptible, just isn’t worth the hassle of dealing with all the 3rd party (and some platform vendor) incompatibilities.

In a word, while I believe my 64-bit desktop (Ubuntu 8.10) is ready for the world, the world is not yet ready for a 64-bit desktop.

The straw that broke the camel’s back was Skype. And then there’s the free RAM issue.

Not that anyone should ever make a platform decision on whether Skype works reliably or not, but there comes a time when you just need to get back to actual work and set the tinkering aside. But Skype isn’t the only problem vendor (to be fair the far bigger issue with Skype is not their fault at all, but instead the failure of the Linux community to adopt a single, standard, sound architecture). There are issues with that rogue’s gallery of commercial and free software projects who always seem to be at the trailing edge of technology.

The “RAM issue” was one of the reasons I tried 64-bit to begin with: full utilization of all 4 Gb of RAM on my workstations was an irresistible draw. Unfortunately none of the machines I run actually support this. Commodity PC hardware design is stuck in the 90’s (when the bulk of the manufacturing, and design work, moved to Asia) and only superficially allows for 64-bit operations. For those who have not yet taken the plunge, this advice: if your motherboard doesn’t support at least 6 Gb RAM, forget it and save yourself some money by only installing 3 Gb and continuing to run 32-bit.

That time has now come.

There will be lots of work ahead. Rebuilding my home workstation is something I’m not looking forward to. Not at all. I am even less enthusiastic about rebuilding my two work machines. Like I don’t have enough to do already during working hours.

Well, that about says it.

Copyright 2004-2019 Phil Lembo