laszlonagy wrote:
It is my personal opinion that since memory requirements for all programs are continually increasing and since a 32-bit program cannot handle more than 4GB of RAM under any circumstances (in practice, less under Windows), to me it seems inevitable for all CAD and especially BIM software developers to come out with their 64-bit versions in the next couple of years.
.......well considering the fact that Microsoft initially stated their intention to stop support for their 32-bit Operating systems (XP and Vista) in the next couple of years and versions of windows, it's inevitable that software developers will have to follow suit and start focusing on developing 64-bit software versions; despite the fact that 64-bit OS's can still run 32-bit software fine.
On the other hand, considering how much of a disaster Vista was for MS and the fact that a lot of people downgraded their PC's back down to XP 32 and 64-bit versions, Microsoft seem to have been forced to go back on their initial plans and perhaps will still be forced to stay on the the 32-bit track for the next couple of years, probably until after Windows 7 is released (assuming it's more successful and stable than Vista was).
At the end of the day it might be Hardware manufacturers and the major chip developers who might force the entire industry (both software and hardware) to go 64-bit native across the board
