Mrs. Mecomber's Scrapbook Talking technology, computers, and the Internet… for the average computer user

Vista is the first Windows operating system to be 64-bit. A “bit” is bascially a data unit. Most Windows machines have 32-bit (32-bit processors, and 32-bit operating systems to make full use of the processors). But as we use computers to manage more and more data and manage it all simultaneously, the 64-bit processor was made. However, most computers didn’t make good use of these processors, because they ran 32-bit operating systems.

Enter the 64-bit operating system. Here’s a good summary from the Microsoft site:

Today, 64-bit processors have become the standard for systems ranging from the most scalable servers to desktop PCs. The way to take full advantage of these systems is with 64-bit editions of Microsoft Windows products.

The 64-bit systems offer direct access to more virtual and physical memory than 32-bit systems and process more data per clock cycle, enabling more scalable, higher performing computing solutions. There are two 64-bit Windows platforms: x64-based and Itanium-based.

And this tidbit from Wikipedia:

64-bit processors calculate particular tasks (such as factorials of large figures) twice as fast as working in 32-bit environments (given example is derived from comparison between 32-bit and 64-bit Windows Calculator; noticeable for factorial of say 100,000). This gives a general feeling of theoretical possibilities of 64-bit optimized applications.

By now you may be wondering why I am mentioning all this. I personally don’t see any reason to be on the “cutting edge” of everything (and the cutting edge changes, what, every month or two? Remember when magnets used to be the cutting edge?!). However, 64-bit machines are becoming the new standard. It would be of good use to start to learn about them; before long, you’ll probably be looking at machines that have them.

That’s an old Mac from the 80s. Believe it or not, I still own one, and it still works!

In a very simplistic way, I think about 32-bit and 64-bit in this way:

A juggler has two arms. He can juggle up to 3 balls. Think of it as if the two arms are the 32-bit machine. He can juggle three balls with his 32-bit machine. But start adding more balls, and he will start to drop some. It will be more than he can manage.

Suddenly, the juggler sprouted two more arms, for a total of four arms. Think of this as he is now a 64-bit machine. He can now juggle twice as many balls efficiently and simultaneously.

That’s how I explain 32-bit and 64-bit to my kids. It’s a very simple description, but I think it helps them understand.

We are using computers to do more and more things now. Thirty years ago, it was mere word processing and calculating. Today, we watch video, make video, listen and create music, manage and edit images, connect to the Internet, and so much more. 64-bit enables the computer to manage a lot of multi-tasking without straining the hardware components.

But like I said, operating systems were still stuck in 32-bit mode. Even if you had a 64-bit processor in your computer, if you had a 32-bit operating system, half of the processor’s capabilities were left unused.

Vista has changed this. Vista has two versions– 32-bit and 64-bit. I have computers with both the 32-bit and 64-bit. And there is a noticeable change, definitely.

This is all on my mind, because I’ve been discovering that the 64-bit, while not noticeably different on the outside, is very different as I manage my software. Last week, I wanted to use Windows Movie Maker to edit a video I made with my Samsung camcorder. I’d downloaded the Samsung software and codecs for Windows Media Player, and was able to view my raw videos with WMP. However, I could not get the raw video to play in the Windows Movie Maker. It was driving me beserk! I’d downloaded, tried, and uninstalled about a dozen different codec packages to get it to play. (A codec is short for compressor/decompressor; a codec is like a little translator package that tells your computer how to communicate with the software you want to use).

I could NOT get the Movie Maker to work. I first thought the issue was with Vista (some things are still incompatible with Vista, like my Konica laser printer). But the Windows Movie Maker worked just fine with the Samsung files on my laptop that has Vista. Finally, it dawned on me– I was downloading codecs designed for 32-bit software. I have a 64-bit operating system; no wonder nothing was working! I had to find out the hard way that my choices are limited and may be difficult to locate. Software manufacturers really aren’t making a whole lot of stuff for 64-bit systems yet. So a lot of my old software won’t work on this new machine.. BUT…

1.) Software makers are starting to come around. A year or so ago, there was no firewall or anti-virus that would work with Vista 64-bit. Now, both AVG and Comodo (two free programs that I use) have it.

2.) My Vista machine has some compatibility software that enables me to use both 32-bit software and 64-bit software (most of the time). This does cause my computer to work harder, and some programs (like the ULead Video Editing Studio) run painfully slow.

So my points in all this? You’re going to be coming across these new 64-bit machines very soon, as they are becoming standard. The next Windows operating system (code named Windows 7) is going to be 64-bit. And Vista already is. I have seen several computers on sale in stores with 64-bit software. Know what you are getting into when you’re out shopping. Just as you had to learn about “hard drive,” “RAM,” and “modem,” you’ll have to learn about processors and “bit” capability. If you realize what you’re getting into now, the changeover will be much easier later.

Once more people start buying more 64-bit machines (and we will once such machines become a more popular standard), the software makers will accomodate it. The 64-bit machine and operating systems are here to stay. I am glad, as I think they perform better and run faster.