32 or 64??

[Dotan Cohen]

>> Have you tried using Wine on 64 bit? Some apps work, some don't.
>
> First I heard of that.  But I don't do too much fancy with Wine.  Mostly
> games and such.  Everything *I* have tried works the same as under 32-bit.
>
> I suppose you have a reference you could point us to?  That way we could
> look at that and see if something important to us is impacted.
>

Personal experience, mostly with ie4linux and some checkmark app that
I forgot what it was called (I now use the Linux-native Zim).


>>
>> Flash? I don't know about *buntu 9.10 (I personally use 32 bit) but in
>> 9.04 installing Flash on 64 bit was a headache.
>
> I don't remember any headache with 9.04.  You *did* have to wait for the
> 64-bit Linux to get released, or else use the Alpha.
>
> With 9.10, Flash 64-bit is the standard, nothing special to do.
>

That is great to know, thanks. The last time I looked at 64-bit Adobe
Flash on *buntu it was in Alpha.


>> Does Virtualbox still
>> have problems with 64 bit?
>
> I think you have to be running 64-bit host for 64-bit guests.
>

I had the opposite problem: on a 64-bit install I was having trouble
with a 32-bit Windows. I don't know if the Windows being 32-bit was
the problem, but after the issue with Flash on the same install I
wiped it, installed 32 bit and everything (Flash and Virtualbox) were
fine.


>> Now tell me, what advantage does 64 bit have?
>
> Basically, you don't have to jump through any hoops to use all your RAM.
>
> Otherwise, as others have posted, some things run much faster as 64-bit and
> some don't.
>

Much faster?


> Plus, you are still restricted to running lots of 32-bit apps.
>
>>
>> Sure, a user _might_not_
>> have any problems with 64 bit, but then again he might. Why take that
>> risk when 32 bit works fine?
>
> You might not have any problems if you go to sites that use Flash, but you
> might.  Why take the risk?
>

Because some people feel that websites such as Youtube, Facebook, and
others are necessary. Some of those sites need Flash.


>>
>> The final straw for me is that many tutorials and guides directed at
>> *buntu users assume 32 bit. The user saves himself quite a headache by
>> stickin with 32 bit, even with 4 GB RAM.
>
> I can't imagine anything along these lines being different, until you get
> into programming.  And the hoops you would have to jump through to try
> 64-bit programming on a 32-bit system seem crazy to even contemplate.
>
> As far as I can tell, last year I needed to install extra packages (like
> 64-bit Flash) on my own.
>
> Now, I don't need to do anything special.
>
> My only complaint is that there aren't as many 64-bit applications around,
> like Firefox.
>


-- 
Dotan Cohen

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