Back in 2007, because of the ubiquity of 32-bit architectures, and the market's slow migration pace toward 64-bit computing, Microsoft announced that the next version of the Windows client, Windows 7, would be delivered in both x86 and x64 flavors. In the year of Vista's launch, and even after the general availability of Service Pack 1, 32-bit Windows continued to be ubiquitous, with the 64-bit gaining some ground, especially due to the release of x64 Vista, but failing to achieve sufficient traction to make x86 a thing of the past.
However, the transition from 32-bit to 64-bit is indeed taking its natural course, with Microsoft revealing at the end of July that it had detected what it referred to as a "dramatic increase [in] the percentage of 64-bit PCs connecting to Windows Update." In this context, Christopher Flores, director Windows Communications, signaled the fact that Windows was essentially at a juncture that would make the 64-bit versions of the operating system mainstream. According to Flores, worldwide, the install base of 64-bit Windows Vista PCs had tripled.
In all fairness, it seems that Windows XP is increasingly left behind despite the release of Service Pack 3, which is available only for the 32-bit version of the operating system. x64 XP never succeeded in capturing sufficient market share in comparison to the x86 variant, and it looks like now is the time of Windows Vista.
In the video embedded at the bottom of this article you will be able to see Bruce Burns, group program manager in the Windows Core Operating System Division along with Gary Schare with the Windows Product Management Group, discuss the implications of the recent boost in 64-bit Windows Vista adoption.
"For a long time [64-bit] wasn't even a consideration for most consumers. Basically 64-bit was something superenthusiasts did, high end gaming rigs, maybe scientific applications, and of course on the server. 64-bit has been on the server for a while. But on the desktop it wasn't a big deal, but then what happened was that memory got super cheap. So now all the PC makers are saying "hey, we can load this PCs with memory so you can do more," which means they hit the 4GB limit and behold, got to go to 64-bit," Schare explained.
Windows Vista - 64 bit in the Mainstream
