Microsoft is to release versions of its next major
operating system release, codenamed Longhorn, for Itanium and
64-bit extended systems as well as a 32-bit edition.
"We plan to continue to support the currently supported 64-bit
architectures," said Greg Sullivan, lead product manager for
Windows at Microsoft, at the company's Windows Hardware Engineering
Conference (WinHEC) in Seattle.
Microsoft has said it will deliver server and client editions of
Longhorn. A first beta of the client version is due early next
year, and the final version is expected out in 2006.
While Microsoft has delayed the release of its first 64-bit
version of Windows XP for the desktop, the company said it expected
rapid adoption of 64-bit systems. Microsoft chairman and chief
software architect Bill Gates said that by the end of
2005 he expected that all of the processors shipped by Advanced
Micro Devices would support 64-bit computing and most of the
processors Intel ships.
Gates noted that previous transitions were sometimes "messy",
but predicted the move from 32 to 64 bits will be easier. "This
will be a smoother transition than those that came before, and this
will happen faster, too," he said.
At WinHEC, Microsoft announced it will deliver the 64-bit
editions of Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 for 64-bit extended
systems in the fourth quarter. Before release, Microsoft will give
both products simpler names, Sullivan said. The official names are
Windows XP 64-Bit Edition for 64-Bit Extended Systems and Windows
Server 2003 64-Bit Edition for 64-Bit Extended Systems.
The 64-bit platform processes more data per clock cycle, allows
greater access to memory and speeds numeric calculations. AMD
offers Athlon and Opteron chips, which also support 32-bit
applications.
Athlon is meant for use in desktop computers, Opteron for server
systems. Intel's Itanium processor is 64-bit only and meant for
server use, but the company has announced it will add 64-bit
extensions to chips that also work with today's 32-bit
applications, catching up with AMD.
Joris Evers writes for IDG News
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