Windows 95: A 32-bit patch for a 16-bit GUI shell running on top of an 8-bit operating system written for a 4-bit processor by a 2-bit company who cannot stand 1 bit of competition.
What exactly does 32 and 64 bit mean?
It is the native size of how many zeros and ones the CPU can deal with in one cycle. The number always double, so there is nothing between 32 and 64. At a given speed, a 64 bit cpu is roughly twice as powerful as a 32 bit cpu which processes twice as much as a 16 bit cpu. The problem is the overhead increases geometrically. Which is why we went quickly from 4 bits to 8 bit to 16 bits and why getting to 32 bits quite a bit longer and why 64 bit is just getting here. The next jump to 128 bit will not be for quite some time, probably decades. The word length determines how many discrete states the computer knows and consequently how high it can easily count (without resorting to tricks). Apple likes to make a big deal how the G5 Macs can handle more than 4 gigabytes of RAM, since that is the limit imposed by a 32 bit cpu or 32 bit OS. The problem with being 64 bit is that there just isn't that much that benefits from that doubling of complexity. Apple has been working hard to make use of the extra bandwidth when available, but work without compromise on 32 bit architectures. That is a neat technical trick. Windows XP, by comparison, is available in separate 32 and 64 bit versions and you cannot use the 64 bit version on a 32 bit cpu and vice versa. Is that enough bits?
