Microsoft sees uptick in use of 64-bit Vista
People are beginning to use 64-bit Windows Vista on PCs in favor of the 32-bit version of the OS faster than they have previously, Microsoft said this week.
However, analysts warn the uptick may have less to do with customers' interest in a 64-bit OS and more to do with the fact that so few people have, until now, used a 64-bit client version of Windows.
A post by a member of the Vista team, Chris Flores, on the Windows Vista Team Blog claims that the installed base of 64-bit Windows Vista PCs as a percentage of all Vista systems has more than tripled in the U.S. in the past three months. He also wrote that worldwide adoption has more than doubled in the same time frame.
"Put more simply, usage of 64-bit Windows Vista is growing much more rapidly than 32-bit," Flores wrote, speeding up from the previously "glacial" movement toward the platform, driven mostly by "technology enthusiasts."
"Based on current trends, this growth will accelerate as the retail channel shifts to supplying a rapidly increasing assortment of 64-bit desktops and laptops," he wrote.
But don't be fooled by the numbers and think there is rampant interest among PC customers in 64-bit Vista, warned one analyst, who said that prior to Vista, use of 64-bit versions of the Windows client OS was virtually nil. "If you start from almost zero it's easy to triple," said IDC analyst Al Gillen.
He said that true adoption of 64-bit Vista -- or any Windows client OS for that matter -- is still a couple of years out. "Two things have to happen: people have to begin deploying Vista in a broad way, and have to believe that all of their applications are fully compatible with a 64-bit environment," Gillen said.
As for the latter, the inclusion of more peripheral drivers that are compatible with a 64-bit OS in Windows Vista Service Pack 1, released in April, may be responsible for the recent increase in 64-bit Vista users, said Mike Cherry, an analyst with Directions on Microsoft.
This adoption may continue to grow as PC makers are more comfortable putting a 64-bit version of Vista on PCs and selling them to customers now that they know third-party devices will be compatible with the OS, he added. But he still doesn't see people necessarily being "thrilled" by the idea of using 64-bit Vista.
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A recent shopping expedition
A recent shopping expedition with a friend reveals that if you are in the market for a quad-core PC, you'll be hard pressed to find a 32-bit version. They are all 64-bit right now, and typically with 6GB of ram or more.The quad core hardware seems to be driving this trend towards 64-bit Vista as much as anything else.
I found that there were ZERO problems using a 64-bit Vista PC and that some apps are really quite smart about it. I tried to install a previously downloaded version of iTunes from my thumb drive and it suggested I download the 64-bit version instead of proceeding.
Drivers were not an issue, just plugging in devices and they were automatically recognized and installed, no need to 'track down' 64-bit anything.
I disagree with Mike Cherry that its not time just yet for the mainstream to adopt 64-vista. It seems to be just fine to me, my friend is not an expert by any means and he is enjoying the new PC. His biggest problem is learning Office 2007.
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