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No iPhone For 64-Bit Windows

Mizled writes "After buying a new iPhone yesterday and bringing it home to sync and activate it, I found out that Windows 64-bit is not supported. Neither XP 64-bit nor Vista 64-bit works with the iPhone. I called the Apple support line and the rep said I needed to downgrade my computer from a 64-bit operating system. I also posted about my concerns on the Apple iPhone discussion forums, but my post was quickly removed."

762 comments

  1. Look on the bright side... by niceone · · Score: 5, Funny

    the rep said I needed to downgrade my computer

    Look on the bright side, he could have told you needed to upgrade to OSX.

    1. Re:Look on the bright side... by tsa · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Yeah, whatever. The customer should not have to worry that his/her computer is 'compatible' with the iPhone in any way, as long as it's fairly modern and mainstream. Isn't one of Apples 'soundbites' "It just works?"

      --

      -- Cheers!

    2. Re:Look on the bright side... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That Would be an Upgrade.

    3. Re:Look on the bright side... by Whiney+Mac+Fanboy · · Score: 5, Insightful

      The rep should have said "Stop whining. Noone supports desktop 64 bit windows"

      --
      There are shills on slashdot. Apparently, I'm one of them.
    4. Re:Look on the bright side... by Odiumjunkie · · Score: 5, Insightful

      It "just works" with *our* hardware and *our* software.

      Come on, who'd buy a first-gen iPod without checking to see if it would work with their XP box? Or a Newton without checking to see if it could data transfer with Windows 3.1?

    5. Re:Look on the bright side... by WrongSizeGlass · · Score: 0
      Not much to see, but Apple has two small knowledge base articles that mention this. I guess the folks at Apple Stores and AT&T stores should be very specific when asking about your OS.

      Does no '64-bit Windows' mean that no AMD Athlon users can sync their iPhones? I wonder if this is a little bonus for Intel?
    6. Re:Look on the bright side... by dleifelohcs · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I think you miss the concept of a 64-bit _OS_ entirely. The CPU doesn't matter! An AMD or an Intel CPU running a 32-bit OS will work just fine. An AMD or an Intel CPU running a 64-bit OS will _NOT_ work.

    7. Re:Look on the bright side... by catwh0re · · Score: 1, Informative

      Apple would address linux before 64 bit windows. With that said, the manual says it in quite a few places that it's not supported.

    8. Re:Look on the bright side... by Kohath · · Score: 5, Insightful

      64-bit Windows isn't mainstream.

      Linux is more mainstream than 64-bit Windows. iTunes doesn't support Linux either. But if you complain about that on the Apple forums, no one will listen to you. Why should it be different with 64-bit Windows?

    9. Re:Look on the bright side... by _pruegel_ · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Well, my pre-(first-gen-iPod) noname MP3 player does work pretty well with XP, Vista and the 64bit versions thereof.

    10. Re:Look on the bright side... by Tuoqui · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Oh dont worry it works. If not they'll just delete any evidence to the contrary!

      --
      09F911029D74E35BD84156C5635688C0
      +2 Troll is Slashdot's way of saying groupthink is confused
    11. Re:Look on the bright side... by speaker+of+the+truth · · Score: 5, Funny

      I thought by downgrade he did mean switch to OSX.

      --
      Using openSUSE instead of Windows since 9th of October, 2007 and liking it.
    12. Re:Look on the bright side... by vertinox · · Score: 1

      Isn't one of Apples 'soundbites' "It just works?"

      Well it does on OS X.

      It is kind of like getting angry that your Zune didn't work on a 64-bit version of Linux.

      The fact of the matter is that Apple makes good hardware and a good solid OS, but they really suck at making software run on things that isn't theirs. (I'm looking at you Quicktime!)

      --
      "I am the king of the Romans, and am superior to rules of grammar!"
      -Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor (1368-1437)
    13. Re:Look on the bright side... by DrXym · · Score: 5, Insightful
      Apple would address linux before 64 bit windows. With that said, the manual says it in quite a few places that it's not supported.

      Building software for 64-bit windows would usually be a matter of a few compiler switches and using the proper types and macros. Or just building a 32-bit app that runs properly in 64-bit. Apple might have some crazy in-house cross-platform environment or a lack of QA resources which prevents doing either but that isn't much of an excuse.

      They could be doing it for political reasons of course which isn't forgiveable either.

      Considering Apple's reputation for software which "just works", their recent offerings on Windows seem to be doing anything but.

    14. Re:Look on the bright side... by niceone · · Score: 1

      Guess I should have put a smiley face on that post :)

    15. Re:Look on the bright side... by rbanffy · · Score: 1

      "Building software for 64-bit windows would usually be a matter of a few compiler switches and using the proper types and macros."

      Building is easy. Supporting is hard. If you can't use the phone with your OS of choice (a bad choice, IMHO) then return the phone and get a refund.

    16. Re:Look on the bright side... by jcnnghm · · Score: 0

      Apparently not. My macbook pro is now refusing to boot with a stop symbol at startup, and the x key doesn't work. I'm not very impressed, considering that it is only three months old. I'm a little miffed right now, $3300 is a lot of money for a laptop.

      --
      You don't make the poor richer by making the rich poorer. - Winston Churchill
    17. Re:Look on the bright side... by betterunixthanunix · · Score: 0, Flamebait
      First of all, Apple does not make "good hardware," they have been sued for cutting corners on things like display back lights. And anyone who bases their OS on BSD will have something solid (even though OS X still has more unpatched vulnerabilities than *BSD).

      That being said, I agree, Apple shouldn't have to develop software for their competitors. But their competitors should have access to the iPod/iPhone interface specs. Why do people only seem to complain when a company in a monopoly position doesn't release technical information? Apple should be held to the same standard: they should release technical information so that third party developers can create software that syncs up with the iPhone (if Apple's software is so good, then the fact that other people produce lower-quality applications shouldn't be a problem...unless...).

      Of course, Apple has never been very developer friendly, and they have always tried to hide technical details. Why do they keep trying to roll with the strategy that failed during the 80s?

      --
      Palm trees and 8
    18. Re:Look on the bright side... by Hackeron · · Score: 1

      almost certainly your hard drive. Press and hold the option key before you see the white screen with the apple on it -- that will bring up a boot menu, try to boot from the install CD and checking the hard drive.

    19. Re:Look on the bright side... by MindStalker · · Score: 2, Funny

      Why? You can sell it on ebay for $900+

    20. Re:Look on the bright side... by empaler · · Score: 1

      The rep should have said "Stop whining. Noone supports desktop 64 bit windows" Hell, I even had problems getting my MS keyboard and mouse working on XPx64.
    21. Re:Look on the bright side... by sdnoob · · Score: 0, Flamebait

      >> Oh dont worry it works. If not they'll just delete any evidence to the contrary!

      well at least you can take comfort in knowing that if they deleted your post, they actually read the dang thing.

      now the question is: if you have an obscure, little-used version of windows with many known compatibility issues... why didn't YOU verify compatibility before forking over $500-600 for the phone and leasing your soul to at&t for the next two years?!

      i think apple should've held off on ALL windows support for the iPaperweight for the first six months.. if there's people stupid enough to pay $600 for a cell phone, there's bound to be some willing to go a step further and spring for a $1500 computer, too.. ;) after all, the iPod originally did spur Mac sales a bit... with all the iHype here, why would this be any different?

    22. Re:Look on the bright side... by GIL_Dude · · Score: 1

      You are right that 64-bit Windows isn't mainstream yet. I don't know when it will be. However, we have been building both the 32 bit and 64 bit images for Vista at work and to tell you the truth most stuff just works fine (the 32 bit code on 64 bit Windows). I'm guessing in this case it must just be the driver that is the problem? The actual applications would probably work fine as 32 bit if Apple would just compile and sign a 64 bit driver for the phone.

    23. Re:Look on the bright side... by KaptajnKold · · Score: 2, Insightful

      First of all, Apple does not make "good hardware," they have been sued for cutting corners on things like display back lights.

      It's not saying much that they have been sued. Have they been convicted? A great deal of people seem to agree that Apple does in fact make superior hardware, although any opinion is bound to be just that: An opinion. Yours is as valid as anybody elses, but I'd say that it depends on what you compare it with. I know it's an ongoiong discussion here and elsewhere whether it's possible to get a better deal on the same quality hardware as Apple delivers, but I've never seen anyone who claimed that Apple hardware is downright bad.

      Why do people only seem to complain when a company in a monopoly position doesn't release technical information?

      Firstly, they don't just complain when it's a monopoly as you claim. You must be new here. Secondly, the reason why they may complain more when it is a monopoly is because it's considered illegal only in that case. Please eloborate on the ethical principle that tells us why Apple (which is not a monopoly) should be forced to make life easier for it's partners and competitors.

      Of course, Apple has never been very developer friendly, and they have always tried to hide technical details. Why do they keep trying to roll with the strategy that failed during the 80s?

      Again, I'd like to emphasise that your statement is a matter of opinion. You may be a developer and you may feel that Apple has been unkind to you, but I'm confident that lots of other developers feel differently. Your statement about Apples strategy is downright ignorant. Apple has had about as many strategies as they've had CEOs. The current strategy (since 1997) is seen as a departure from the "not-invented-here" strategy of the mid-90s. It's this strategy that has seen Apple embrace open source (Darwin, WebKit), open standards, interoperability, and partnerships a-plenty. This strategy btw has proved to be hugely succesful, which should answer your question as to why they're sticking to it.

    24. Re:Look on the bright side... by timeOday · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Come on, who'd buy a first-gen iPod without checking to see if it would work with their XP box? Or a Newton without checking to see if it could data transfer with Windows 3.1?
      I'm surprised to hear that the iPhone needs a computer at all. Why would it? The thing is a computer... the "real internet" on your phone. Especially if it's locked to a single provider (AT&T) anyways, it ought to be able to connect to that provider to activate itself without a computer.
    25. Re:Look on the bright side... by duffbeer703 · · Score: 1

      Few people use 64-bit Windows, and lots of stuff doesn't work on it. Most printers, for example, don't have 64-bit drivers.

      --
      Conformity is the jailer of freedom and enemy of growth. -JFK
    26. Re:Look on the bright side... by dosquatch · · Score: 4, Insightful

      the manual says it in quite a few places

      You're suggesting people should RTFM for products they haven't even bought yet? BWAAHAHAHAHAhahaha.. heh... hooooo... oh, you're serious, aren't you?

      --
      "Hey, the third matrix movie would have been good except for the plot,story, and acting." --AC
    27. Re:Look on the bright side... by Zeinfeld · · Score: 4, Informative
      Building software for 64-bit windows would usually be a matter of a few compiler switches and using the proper types and macros. Or just building a 32-bit app that runs properly in 64-bit. Apple might have some crazy in-house cross-platform environment or a lack of QA resources which prevents doing either but that isn't much of an excuse.

      No its not.

      64 Bit Vista uses the new driver model. It requires code to be done right. The botchwork that programmers could get away with for 32 bit Windows no longer works.

      And 64 Bit Vista drivers have to be signed. Which is something that vendors should do for all versions of Windows, its only been a recommendation for like 5 years.

      That said, I beleive that to get the 'designed for Vista' logo you have to support 64 bit.

      Taking the comment off the bulleting board is doubleplus lame. Makes it look like Apple can't deal with non cult members as customers.

      --
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    28. Re:Look on the bright side... by mmeister · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Next up: complaints that iPhone won't sync with Sun, Amiga, Atari and Coleco systems.

      Relatively speaking, how many users do you think really are using Windows 64 vs. Windows 32? Maybe .5%. 64-bit is great for certain types of applications and is seriously overkill for others (like iTunes).

      Windows 64-bit is not mainstream AT all. And Microsoft has insured it never will be -- at least until such time as they follow Apple's lead and create a Vista 32-bit/64-bit combo that allows 32-bit apps to run alongside 64-bit apps with no compatibility issues. At that point, it won't matter than iTunes is 32-bit.

    29. Re:Look on the bright side... by Pyrion · · Score: 1

      In the manual?

      So do you get to read the manual before deciding whether to purchase the phone? If not, and I have to assume this is not the case for this to be "news" in the first place, the "I told you so" argument doesn't work.

      Product manufacturers need to make it blatantly clear whether their hardware works on x64, rather than simply stating that it "works" on XP and Vista, because it's automatically assumed that it works on XP and Vista regardless of whether it's x86 or x64 (like pretty much everything else that works on both). Telling the consumer they need to downgrade to make it work shouldn't be an acceptable response either.

      If a newly-released product required you to downgrade from Windows XP to Windows ME in order to use it, would you find this acceptable?

      --
      "There is much pleasure to be gained from useless knowledge." - Bertrand Russell.
    30. Re:Look on the bright side... by jc42 · · Score: 1

      You're suggesting people should RTFM for products they haven't even bought yet?

      So can you get a copy of the manual without buying anything?

      I don't know very many commercial products for which this is true. (And if you've misplaced your manual, you typically find that you can't get a new copy for the model you have, only for the current model.)

      --
      Those who do study history are doomed to stand helplessly by while everyone else repeats it.
    31. Re:Look on the bright side... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's why we need open standards in this industry much more than any other.

    32. Re:Look on the bright side... by yahooadam · · Score: 1

      heh heh i was about to say the same thing, to read the manual you have to have bought the iphone, so to find out that it doesn't support your computer you need to buy an iphone

      GG apple, not that i would expect much more from them

      I also find it sad that his post was deleted off the forum, it seems apple loves to cover up the truth

    33. Re:Look on the bright side... by bigstrat2003 · · Score: 1

      Er... huh? I'd rather like to believe that my Athlon 64 could run a 64-bit OS. And surely an Opteron or an Itanium could run a 64-bit OS. Granted those two aren't mainstream processors, but... what about the Athlon 64? That's AMD's bread-and-butter these days, is it not? I'm fairly positive that it can run a 64-bit OS, so... your statement leaves me scratching my head, when a mainstream processor can do what you said it can't do.

      --
      "16MB (fuck off, MiB fascists)" - The Mighty Buzzard
    34. Re:Look on the bright side... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Only Vista kernel-mode drivers need to be signed. Vista has far better support for user-mode drivers, and particularly for USB devices there is no need for kernel-mode drivers.

    35. Re:Look on the bright side... by Beer_Smurf · · Score: 1

      Everything should just work no matter what, you should never have to read the box before you buy anything?
      Or does that just apply to Apple?

    36. Re:Look on the bright side... by insignificant_wrangl · · Score: 1

      I switched to a MacBook after I had a Gateway PC melt down on me four times. So far I haven't had a problem. What's great about Mac is their customer service, if you are having trouble with your MacBook Pro, then either bring it into a Mac store or contact customer service to arrange to ship it. They'll pay for the overnight. My friend had an issue with his two year old MacBook and they fixed it in a matter of days.

    37. Re:Look on the bright side... by SnapShot · · Score: 1

      I don't own an iPhone but from a quick glance at the forum, the iPhone doesn't work with Vista 64-bit. This isn't a case of the new phone not working with some creaky old box, this is a case of the iPhone not working with the latest box.

      --
      Waltz, nymph, for quick jigs vex Bud.
    38. Re:Look on the bright side... by mmeister · · Score: 1

      Come on, does anyone really call Windows 64 mainstream at this point in time?
      If I was running a 64-bit OS, I would -- at the very least -- ask an Apple rep to look up the requirements and see if it runs on your specific OS.

      That said, I believe the manual can actually be downloaded from Apple's site. Nowhere in the specs (http://www.apple.com/iphone/specs.html) does it say it supports Windows 64, it mentions Windows Vista Home Premium, Business, Enterprise, or Ultimate Edition; or Windows XP Home or Professional with Service Pack 2 or later. No manual reading even necessary.

    39. Re:Look on the bright side... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Apple should not be blamed when someone makes the mistake of buying Windows. And the 64-bit editions of Windows are not by any means mainstream.

    40. Re:Look on the bright side... by shentzu · · Score: 1

      if 64bit windows were either modern or mainstream, this would be a good point.....

      --
      taoist, pantheist, dmozer, nut.
    41. Re:Look on the bright side... by MCSEBear · · Score: 3, Informative

      If Microsoft doesn't support Zune on Windows 64 bit, then why in the heck should Apple bother to write drivers for iPhone? 64 bit Windows is *not* mainstream and never has been.

    42. Re:Look on the bright side... by mmeister · · Score: 3, Informative

      First of all, Apple does not make "good hardware,"

      Nice opinion -- although based on my own experiences, my Macs have much longer life than my PCs.

      And anyone who bases their OS on BSD will have something solid (even though OS X still has more unpatched vulnerabilities than *BSD).

      I love how you absolutely refuse to give any credit for Apple's efforts and as a bonus claim they're just riddled with security holes beyond anything *BSD has - all without real evidence.

      ut their competitors should have access to the iPod/iPhone interface specs.

      Apple does give access to specs to create iPod/iPhone accessories, via licensing. It is a reasonable approach. In fact, it created a whole new market for accessories.

      Why do people only seem to complain when a company in a monopoly position doesn't release technical information? Apple should be held to the same standard

      Again, your facts are a bit off. Microsoft was found to be illegally using its monopoly to get into new markets. It is not illegal to have a monopoly. Second point - Apple does not have a monopoly and is actively pursuing efforts to open iTunes music to all players (by removing DRM). Effectively, they're opening up to more competition.

      I sense a "All software should be free" mentality here.

      Of course, Apple has never been very developer friendly and they have always tried to hide technical details.

      Except for the FREE development tools (Xcode, IB) that come with EVERY copy of OS X. And the tons of API specifications that show you how to write for OS X. So developer unfriendly! How dare they not expose every single line of code.

      Your comments speak of ignorance of Apple's actions or just plain contempt (which means no amount of reasoning will change your mind). Either way, you're off base in your assessments.

    43. Re:Look on the bright side... by zefram+cochrane · · Score: 2, Informative

      An awful lot of electronics manufacturers offer downloads of their product manuals online in pdf format.

    44. Re:Look on the bright side... by MCSEBear · · Score: 1

      Not being a total retard, I decided to google for the iPhone manual to see if it was availible.

      I went to Google and searched for -- iPhone Manual site:apple.com

      I mean, how freaking hard is that?

      Here's the link for those to retarded to search for it themselves.
      http://manuals.info.apple.com/en/iPhone_User_Guide .pdf

    45. Re:Look on the bright side... by WhatAmIDoingHere · · Score: 1

      I don't know why, it's still in stock at ALL Apple Stores and is shipping from the Apple Store website.

      --
      Not a Twitter sockpuppet... but I wish I was.
    46. Re:Look on the bright side... by typobox43 · · Score: 1

      The point here isn't what your processor can and can't do. It's a question of what version of the OS you have installed. If you have 32-bit XP/Vista installed, it doesn't matter what processor you have running under it - it's a 32-bit system.

    47. Re:Look on the bright side... by LoadWB · · Score: 1

      Convictions come from criminal cases; these would be civil cases, in which you win or lose.

    48. Re:Look on the bright side... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Seriously. I work with quite a few people who were thinking about buying an iPhone, and its like, "gee whiz, your kids are going to need to go to college in 15 years. You're going to need to retire sometime. Do you need a $600 phone with expensive data plan and two year contract?" So $60/month * 24 months, + $600 is $2044.

      What's another $1500 for a computer if you're shelling out $2000 for two years cell phone service.

    49. Re:Look on the bright side... by Sancho · · Score: 1

      64-bit Windows is hardly mainstream.

    50. Re:Look on the bright side... by KarmaMB84 · · Score: 1

      bzzzt, x64 Vista editions use the same driver model as 32-bit versions. Apple is just lazy. It's also a good thing they don't want to put so much as a "Works with Windows Vista" logo on any of their software since they would fail the certification process (must work with x64 Vista editions).

    51. Re:Look on the bright side... by LoadWB · · Score: 1

      heheheh You said Amiga :)

      You know, I am having a hard time figuring out what the aversion to 64-bit is. We should have been there 10 years ago, but WIntel has been brow-beating us with the same architecture since 1984, meanwhile the likes of Sun, IBM, and others made the move to 64-bit software and hardware in the early- to mid-90's, while still supporting 32-bit. WTF?

      Speaking of history, the slow progression reminds me of problems that CPU designers had way back when: MOS made great 8-bit stuff, but could not make a good transition to 16-bit, for instance. IIRC, I have read in other places where other computer manufacturers (Data General?) tried to move to 32-bit and did not do so well. And that appears to be the problem with Intel -- they made great (matter for debate) 32-bit CPUs, but just could not make a good 64-bit processor (the quality and effect of the Itanium is a matter for debate, but in most reviews quickly dug up the performance is sorely lacking.)

      Being that I have not programmed anything useful since the 8-bit Commodore/Atari days (6502, baby!) and 32-bit Amiga stuff (680x0,) I cannot opine informed about the difference between x86 and x64 programming, and instead only conjecture and rely upon the wisdom of others: what is the big deal?

    52. Re:Look on the bright side... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Look on the bright side, he could have told you needed to upgrade to OSX.
      But that would also be downgrading to a 32-bit operating system.

      (Am I the only person who thinks it's ironic that after all those lies Apple told about their alleged "World's First 64-Bit Desktop", they'll only finally be releasing a 64-bit OS for it this autumn, some four years too late and long after even Microsoft has delivered an OS that takes advantage of modern chips?)
    53. Re:Look on the bright side... by LoadWB · · Score: 1

      It appears that Apple does strive for the complete out-of-box experience -- components and software that work together without having to read up on compatibility.

      At least that is what they tell us. I still read plenty of places where such-and-such program will not work with anything older than 10.4.5 or 10.3.4 or 10.10.10 (obvious embellishments.) I do not think this is such a crime, operating systems are subject to progress as much as applications, but it does seem to work against the idea.

    54. Re:Look on the bright side... by HAKdragon · · Score: 2, Informative

      http://www.apple.com/support/manuals/ There you go. Apple makes their manuals available online.

      --
      "Our opponent is an alien starship packed with atomic bombs. We have a protractor."
    55. Re:Look on the bright side... by Orestesx · · Score: 1

      Yeah, but presumably most people who are buying iphone already has cell phone service, so the only difference in cost over two years is the $600 price (and I suppose the data package if you don't already get it).

      Some people rationalize this by saying "gee $1500 over two years being stuck with some generic phone or $2100 over two years with a phone I really want. I'll pay $2100."

    56. Re:Look on the bright side... by JadeNB · · Score: 1

      I think the grandparent is saying that you can run a 32-bit OS on these processors, not that you are unable to do otherwise -- that is, the problem the original post describes comes not from the processor, but from the 64-bit OS which can and does run on that processor.

    57. Re:Look on the bright side... by KarmaMB84 · · Score: 4, Interesting

      If Microsoft didn't want x64 to be mainstream, why do they require that any software and hardware with a Certified For or Works With Vista logo to be tested and pass on x64 editions? Vendors got a free pass on XP x64 since it wasn't in the logo requirements so that is how we've gotten into this mess, but any new retail boxes with a logo for Vista must work on all version of Vista.

    58. Re:Look on the bright side... by mclaincausey · · Score: 1
      Mods, explain to me how is that insightful? YOU are missing the point of a 64-bit OS.


      Xeons have been able to run 64-bit for a long time, ALL Core2-based procs will run x64, and AMD has been x64 capable for the longest of all the x86 processors.


      Of course the CPU matters. It has to be 64-bit to run a 64-bit OS. If the registers aren't wide enough to store 64-bit addresses, then it won't work. Intel and AMD make chips that support 64-bit addressing and that are compatible with Windows x64. I deploy them all the time.

      --
      (%i1) factor(777353);
      (%o1) 777353
    59. Re:Look on the bright side... by thePsychologist · · Score: 1

      Please man, file transfer. An actual computer murders the iPhone in terms of surfing the internet. So you have all your files and music on a computer. You're going to need to connect it to your computer, no matter how good the iPhone is.

      --
      "What lies behind us, and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us." Ralph Waldo Emerson
    60. Re:Look on the bright side... by mclaincausey · · Score: 1

      THAT part is true, but it's ignorant to say that Intel and AMD processors won't run x64. Speaking strictly of x86, Xeons, Opterons, and Athlons have been 64-bit for a long time--why do you think Microsoft calls the 64-bit extensions folder "AMD64" on the root of your 64-bit installation media? AMD came up with 64-bit processor compatibility FIRST--saying they don't have it is just plain dumb. All Core2-based chips support x64.

      --
      (%i1) factor(777353);
      (%o1) 777353
    61. Re:Look on the bright side... by Old+Benjamin · · Score: 0

      I think the line 'works on Windows Vista' would have qualified as compatibility to me. I mean in general, since the x64 is a subclass of Vista, then saying it works on Vista should imply x86 and x64.

      --
      "The quickest way to end a war is to lose it" -Orwell
    62. Re:Look on the bright side... by Old+Benjamin · · Score: 0

      WOW. I would have to use Outlook and IE (or Safari for Windows Beta). What about Thunderbird? Firefox? Opera? I would say at least the first two are moderately mainstream.

      --
      "The quickest way to end a war is to lose it" -Orwell
    63. Re:Look on the bright side... by Zeinfeld · · Score: 2, Interesting
      bzzzt, x64 Vista editions use the same driver model as 32-bit versions.

      My understanding was that 64 bit Vista was going to be somewhat more finiky about doing the right thing.

      Apple is just lazy. It's also a good thing they don't want to put so much as a "Works with Windows Vista" logo on any of their software since they would fail the certification process (must work with x64 Vista editions).

      Well yes, and it is all the more irritating that they don't build products to Windows look and feel when they get all snotty about Windows products that don't have the Mac look and feel. There are plenty of shops that write Windows device drivers that pass certification. Why not use one of them, it would cost rather less than just one of the stupid iPhone ads drumming up business for a product thats going to be out of stock.

      iTunes on Windows sucketh. I did a three part series on my blog on the various dimensions of its suckiness. If I could get Windows Media Player to do AAC and talk to an iPod I would switch back.

      --
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    64. Re:Look on the bright side... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      But maybe they just dont wish pay to MS to sign driver?

    65. Re:Look on the bright side... by j79zlr · · Score: 2, Informative

      The x86_64 version of java from sun has been on their bugzilla for 4 and a half years and its in the top five requests to be fixed. If it was as simple as changing some compiler options I think it would be done by now. Also Adobe has released a version of flash for SPARC ahead of x86_64, so I somehow don't think its that easy. Not that this is an excuse, but I don't think its as easy as changing the arch for compilation.

      --
      I'm not not licking toads.
    66. Re:Look on the bright side... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      64 bit Vista has a few extra features over the 32 bit version, such as kernal protection. Only a retard would buy the 32 bit edition at the same price as the 64.

    67. Re:Look on the bright side... by badfish99 · · Score: 1

      File transfer?!?!?

      We've had O/S-independent file transfer protocols for decades now. TCPIP, USB, even serial ports. No, that can't be the reason, surely.

    68. Re:Look on the bright side... by jc42 · · Score: 1

      Yeah, I'd done that some time back, out of curiosity. It is fairly common for vendors of electronic hardware to put the user manual online. Some of them even keep manuals for old, unsupported models.

      Of course, I've found that the iPhone online manual isn't very useful for answering most of the questions that have been discussed here. It's your usual sort of commercial user manual, which is aimed at the novice and casual user. NTTAWWT.

      I'd expect many /. denizens would go looking for online manuals. I'd expect that most of the other 99% of the "market" would be people who wouldn't think of doing such a thing. I don't think it's because they're retarded; it's more like they're sorta ignorant (and the marketing stuff they've seen hasn't taught them to look for information online ;-).

      --
      Those who do study history are doomed to stand helplessly by while everyone else repeats it.
    69. Re:Look on the bright side... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah, actually, they do. This isn't the year 2000 anymore. Anyone still running 32-bit windows can NOT call themselves a computer enthusiast.

    70. Re:Look on the bright side... by ZorbaTHut · · Score: 1

      I use WinXP 64 and I've had almost zero issues with it - I think Defcon might have had trouble with it, but that may have been a driver conflict anyway.

      If I bought something which didn't work on WinXP 64 I'd be extremely disappointed. I mean, unless they're installing drivers, they don't even need to build anything differently - and if they are installing drivers, it's just a compiler flag for the driver. There's really no good excuse, especially with how many things Just Work on XP 64.

      --
      Breaking Into the Industry - A development log about starting a game studio.
    71. Re:Look on the bright side... by MindStalker · · Score: 1

      Cause people are stupid... Though seems the prices have dropped as news has spread they are widely available.

    72. Re:Look on the bright side... by bigdavesmith · · Score: 1

      The customer should not have to worry that his/her computer is 'compatible' with the iPhone in any way...
      I have to disagree with you here. I used to work in technology sales, and it's extremely common for uneducated customers to walk into a store, buy something, take it home, discover it doesn't work like they want, and then get mad at either the store, the company, or me, because the product doesn't work based on magic. You can try to anticipate the customer's needs, try to make sure they have what they need, but they don't always listen, and you can't ask everything. With a product like this, which I'm sure was a mob scene, it's even worse.

      I know most of us are American, and it's out of the question to research a product before we buy it to see what it does, how it works, and what we already need, but I'm sorry. If you buy something and make up your own magic rules about what it needs and does, and then it doesn't do those things, or needs a usb port, or electricity, or a 32bit OS, guess what. Read the freakin box next time.

      I'm not a mac fanboy, but this article is obviously bashing. He had his post removed from the forums right away? I bet Apple is trying to cover up the truth! Maybe they should support 64-bit OSes, maybe they're going to, maybe it's a conspiracy to destroy teh Microsoft, but this article is about a guy who needs to learn how to shop.
    73. Re:Look on the bright side... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

      > And 64 Bit Vista drivers have to be signed

      That's a very good point. Getting the Microsoft blessing is very expensive, and if you're a competitor to them, impossible. We've given-up supporting Windows with our newest products because Microsoft will not allow our drivers to be installed into Vista because we make a health-care product that they are going to attempt to compete against in the near future. I can easily see Microsoft not allowing Apple to use the iPhones with 64-bit Vista like they did to so many other companies.

    74. Re:Look on the bright side... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Has anyone ever told you that you should get hit by a bus?

    75. Re:Look on the bright side... by TheThiefMaster · · Score: 1

      Java uses a just-in-time bytecode recompiler, placing it among one of the few groups of software that are HARD to port to a different cpu architecture. That and "why is a 64-bit version of java needed? Can't you just run the 32-bit version?" = 0% effort into converting it.

      List of things difficult to port:
      Compilers
      JIT Recompiling Emulators
      Drivers
      OS (Kernel or Shell) plugins

      For any other kinds of software, it SHOULD be as easy as changing the arch, as long as the software has been written right in the first place (eg, doesn't store pointers in fixed 32-bit variables).

      Flash hasn't been ported to x86_64 because the 32-bit version runs fine. Even if you are running Linux with the x86_64 version of Firefox there's a wrapper tool to let it use the 32-bit flash plugin.

    76. Re:Look on the bright side... by escay · · Score: 1

      It is the Apple Mobile Device Driver that appears to be incompatible with 64-bit Windows, not iTunes per se.

      Though Apple mentions iTunes doesn't work in 64-bit, all it means is that there is no 64-bit version of iTunes - However, you don't necessarily need a 64-bit version of iTunes (I run iTunes 7.3 - the latest version that was released after iPhone - on 64-bit Vista). Windows 64-bit (both XP and Vista) have the WoW64 emulator, kind of like the 32-bit chroot in linux, that installs and runs 32-bit apps under 64-bit OS and runs them without a hitch. In fact if you have a 64-bit windows OS, there will be two folders of "Program Files", one with the "x86" extension - this is the 32-bit apps directory and this is where you will find most of your installed programs today because very few apps are currently written in 64-bit.

      To all the 64-bit haters out there - yes there may not be enough apps written in 64-bit out there, but that is not a dealkiller. Their 32-bit versions run just as fine - it is the hardware, for which drivers are not being written in 64-bit yet that sometimes causes problems (such as these).

    77. Re:Look on the bright side... by NMerriam · · Score: 1

      First of all, Apple does not make "good hardware," ...their competitors should have access to the iPod/iPhone interface specs. Why do people only seem to complain when a company in a monopoly position doesn't release technical information?


      First of all, your opinion doesn't matter where the issue of hardware quality is concerned. Actual reliability surveys indicate that Apple does, in fact, make some of the best consumer computer hardware. I don't think anyone is shocked that even the most reliable hardware in the consumer industry isn't perfect or that they sometimes screw up big time. Overall, you still have a greater likelihood of getting good hardware from Apple than you do from most any other consumer computer vendor.

      There's nothing particularly secret about the iPod interface, lots of third-party companies have devices and software that interface with the iPod. I don't know where you got the idea that Apple was keeping it a secret, it sounds like you don't really know what you're talking about and simply want to bitch about Apple for some reason.

      And yes, people complain mostly about monopolies being anticompetitive because monopolies are not subject to the same economic pressures as other competitors. There are all sorts of things companies can do that become illegal and immoral when done by a monopoly. This is not news or unfair, it's a basic principle of economic competition. Apple does all sorts of things that would be illegal if they were a monopoly, and it is in fact many of those things that prevent many people from buying Apple systems -- hence, the market provides pressure on Apple as it is intended, there's no reason to worry about it because the market "punishes" Apple for those choices in a way that the a monopoly simply cannot be "punished".
      --
      Recursive: Adj. See Recursive.
    78. Re:Look on the bright side... by typobox43 · · Score: 1

      I could be wrong here, but here's how I read the post in question:

      I think you miss the concept of a 64-bit _OS_ entirely. The CPU doesn't matter! An AMD or an Intel CPU running a 32-bit OS will work just fine [with iTunes]. An AMD or an Intel CPU running a 64-bit OS will _NOT_ work [with iTunes].

    79. Re:Look on the bright side... by mkendall · · Score: 2, Interesting

      iTunes on Windows sucketh. If I could get Windows Media Player to do AAC and talk to an iPod I would switch back.

      I can solve one of those problems for you:
      MGTEK dopisp iPod plug-in for Windows Media Player
    80. Re:Look on the bright side... by Kenji+DRE · · Score: 1

      I just have one question: "Why do they have to delete his post from the forum?" Very lame I must say. No matter how evil most people think microsoft are, I've never seen them deleting people's post from their support forum.

      --
      His exploit "just works". Apple fanbois everywhere implode in a self-collapsing vortex of cognitive dissonance. by jjack
    81. Re:Look on the bright side... by TwoBit · · Score: 1

      Why does the iPhone software need a driver? Why don't they make it an application? Just about any standard Win32 app will work on Win64. Why do drivers need to be involved? Mozilla doesn't need a driver, why should iPhone?

    82. Re:Look on the bright side... by Achromatic1978 · · Score: 1
      And of course, if you bothered to read the manual before you bought the product, you'd know this, right?

      Wait. Hang on, I'm spotting the flaw here.

      How does one read the manual before purchasing the product?

    83. Re:Look on the bright side... by HalAtWork · · Score: 1

      For something that's supposed to be used independantly of a computer (I.e. it's not a computer peripheral), if something like that requires a computer, it should be seen by the computer as a mass storage device and use plaintext configuration files (that can be modified by a 1st party tool, like iTunes, but also 3rd party ones in case you can't use the 1st party tool), and allow you to transfer whatever files are compatible with the device with copy/paste (the 1st party tool such as iTunes can manage it too, but the user must be able to still use the device if they can't use iTunes).

      If a computer's a requirement, then the device should at least degrade nicely if the computer doesn't support everything. Just like web pages + browsers.

    84. Re:Look on the bright side... by j79zlr · · Score: 1

      I know that you can use nspluginwrapper to use 32-bit flash with 64-bit firefox, I use it ;) and it works well. But to say that it hasn't been ported because of that workaround is incorrect, supposedly there are issues with Tamarin not being 64-bit ready.

      --
      I'm not not licking toads.
    85. Re:Look on the bright side... by edwdig · · Score: 1

      Flash hasn't been ported to x86_64 because the 32-bit version runs fine. Even if you are running Linux with the x86_64 version of Firefox there's a wrapper tool to let it use the 32-bit flash plugin.

      Flash hasn't been ported because Flash code is compiled into native code at runtime, just like Java.

    86. Re:Look on the bright side... by cthellis · · Score: 1

      Do we know if it's repetitive or not? Frequently forums get deluged with posts asking the same thing, and some of the late-comers get culled so that attention can be paid to the more active thread. (With the information already in it.)

    87. Re:Look on the bright side... by TheThiefMaster · · Score: 1

      It didn't know flash was JIT too (haven't had much to do with it myself).

      Thanks for the info.

    88. Re:Look on the bright side... by MBraynard · · Score: 1

      thanks for sharing that.

    89. Re:Look on the bright side... by TheThiefMaster · · Score: 2, Insightful

      No, the main reason is that Windows x64 users don't need a 64-bit browser plugin because they still use a 32-bit browser, meaning the only people who need a 64-bit version are running linux x64, and they both: are a very small market share and have that workaround.

      Essentially, they don't matter.

    90. Re:Look on the bright side... by MCSEBear · · Score: 1
      Actually, the very first section in the very first chapter of the easily downloadable iPhone manual answers the question of Windows 64 bit compatibility:

      What You Need To use iPhone, you need:

      A new two-year wireless service plan with AT&T
      A Mac or a PC with a USB 2.0 port and one of the following operating systems:
      Mac OS X version10.4.10 or later
      Windows XP Home or Professional with Service Pack 2 or later
      Windows Vista Home Premium, Business, Enterprise, or Ultimate edition

      iTunes 7.3 or later, available at www.itunes.com
      An iTunes Store account
      An Internet connection You must be at least 18 years old to open a new AT&T wireless major credit card to open a new iTunes Store account.
      Do you see any mention of iPhone working with 64 bit Windows? Me either. I also assume iPhone doesn't work with Solaris, Linux, AIX, Plan 9, OS/2, or any other OS not listed as compatible.

      sarcasm
      Honestly, Microsoft is lucky Apple bothered to support 32 bit Vista given it's tiny market share and all. The market share of 64 bit Windows is too tiny to even be the most minuscule blip on Apple's radar. If Microsoft can't be bothered to support all their own hardware (Zune anyone?) on their own 64 bit OS offerings then I would submit that anyone expecting Apple to do so is pretty much fucked in the head.
      /sarcasm
    91. Re:Look on the bright side... by MBraynard · · Score: 1

      Does Battlefield 2142 work with Windows XP 64 or Windows Vista 64?

    92. Re:Look on the bright side... by aichpvee · · Score: 1

      He's already enough of an apple fanboi to buy an iphone, enter into a two year contract with the worst national cell phone carrier, and probably paid a ton to break his existing contract. I'm pretty sure he's going to be buying a mac to sync his iphone with soon anyway.

      --
      The Farewell Tour II
    93. Re:Look on the bright side... by tacocat · · Score: 0

      Gee, and Microsoft never did this? Give me a break. What a bunch of whining dorks.

      Apple has never had much success with trying to work with Microsoft, why should they start now?

      Maybe this will give you enough reason to at least try a Mac to find out what you've been missing.

    94. Re:Look on the bright side... by aliquis · · Score: 1

      Would you buy a phone and worry about if it would work with your computer? ;D

      Can I make calls with this Nokia N95 using Win 98 SE on a P3 800MHz!?! I have winamp1!?

    95. Re:Look on the bright side... by mqduck · · Score: 1

      Look on the bright side, he could have told you needed to upgrade to OSX.

      And I would have very happily asked him where I could order a copy that will work on my home-built computer currently running Windows.
      --
      Property is theft.
    96. Re:Look on the bright side... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "Isn't one of Apples 'soundbites' "It just works?""

      It does if you have a Mac. All Apple products I own (MacBook Pro, Mac Pro, iPhone, iPod Nano) work seamlessly with each other. 64-bit Windows is a business-ey edition of Windows and the iPhone is NOT a business device. The iPhone supposedly works just fine with *HOME* editions of Vista and XP. I can't tell you how tired I am of hearing people whine, "but... the iPhone doesn't have Exchange connectivity!" A more practical handheld for Windows users is a Pocket PC Phone Edition device; there's nothing wrong with it and there's a model available from nearly every wireless carrier. I don't know why Windows users feel the need to own an iPhone and then whine when it doesn't behave like a Pocket PC. It's sort of like buying a sexy little Miata and whining because it can't tow a camper trailer.

    97. Re:Look on the bright side... by TopSpin · · Score: 1

      It "just works" with *our* hardware and *our* software. Qualifying "just works" is an oxymoron.

      (the rest of this applies to the grandparent)

      If one imagines that what Dell advertises two clicks into their site is a bellweather of the personal computer market [1], observe that the lowest end Inspiron is a 64-bit system. Both Apple and Adobe [2] appear to be oblivious to the fact that for most customers it is now next to impossible to obtain a non-64-bit platform. Granted, running 32-bit operating systems on recent hardware is certainly the current practice, but they should be capable of envisioning the immediate future where this transitional aberration no longer applies.

      They fail to make that leap because your non-mainstream ways constitute zero significance for them. It's a giant "fuck you, geek". Got a problem with our AT&T only policy because you don't wish to contribute to that corporate beast? Fork over the cash and deal with it, and don't sully our message boards with your geekery either.

      Congratulations; you and the other frenzied elois have just reinforced all of this with your disposable income. The next time you witness some business step on its customers just nod your head and smile; it's you being served precisely as you deserve.

      [1] It is, but failure to allow the possibility that it might not be results in hysterical flame-age.
      [2] Picking only two high profile examples.

      --
      Lurking at the bottom of the gravity well, getting old
    98. Re:Look on the bright side... by mqduck · · Score: 1

      Why do people only seem to complain when a company in a monopoly position doesn't release technical information? Apple should be held to the same standard

      Again, your facts are a bit off. Microsoft was found to be illegally using its monopoly to get into new markets. It is not illegal to have a monopoly. Second point - Apple does not have a monopoly and is actively pursuing efforts to open iTunes music to all players (by removing DRM). Effectively, they're opening up to more competition.

      I think you should reread his comment. He very clearly implied that Apple isn't "in a monopoly position" (since it's safe to assume he wasn't saying that Apple's a monopoly that DOES release technical information), but asked why it shouldn't be held to the same standard. But even if he was saying that, I fail to see how "but it's not illegal" is a good rebuttal.
      --
      Property is theft.
    99. Re:Look on the bright side... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No fool...Windows is the hack OS. OS X is most clearly an UPGRADE compared to ANYTHING MS has to offer. Quit being a TOOL LIKE THE AUTHOR OF THIS ARTICLE IS. Obviously the asshat cant READ and COMPREHEND! The iPhone CLEARLY SAYS NOT COMPATIBLE WITH 64 BIT versions of Windows. Which is fine because NOTHING else in the Windows world support 64 BIT Software. It a real shame, the haters have to come out and make up shiat to biatch about the iPhone. Like stuff that is clearly listed as NOT COMPATIBLE. Thats why your posting was removed (author) your bitching about something they told you about...yet you still bitch. STFU and DIAF. So many TOOLS on the internet these days...and by tools , i mean asshats like the author here. Guess what it also doesnt support FORTRAN or CPM you fucking tool. Obsessed with your Mac much? This is why I dont want to 'join the Mac community', too many crazy people!
    100. Re:Look on the bright side... by iluvcapra · · Score: 1

      I own an iPhone too, you insensitive clod!

      -signed, a Morlock.

      --
      Don't blame me, I voted for Baltar.
    101. Re:Look on the bright side... by MaJeStu · · Score: 1

      And that, right there, is why I won't buy from Apple. Ever. If a vendor wants to lock me into their hardware, they'd damn well better be locked into dealing with my questions and complaints openly and honestly.

      --
      The best mixed martial arts training in Boston - www.redlinefightsports.com
    102. Re:Look on the bright side... by Haeleth · · Score: 1

      It is kind of like getting angry that your Zune didn't work on a 64-bit version of Linux.
      I would, if I was in the slightest bit inclined to buy a Zune in the first place. Because there's no good reason for a Zune to require specific platform support. It's a USB storage device that happens to have audio playback capability. I can mount any standard USB storage device on 64-bit Linux and copy files to it with any software I choose -- assuming I want to retain control of what goes on there instead of having my music collection taken over by iTunes-style control-freakery, why shouldn't I expect the same to be true of a Zune or an iPhone?
    103. Re:Look on the bright side... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      rofl

    104. Re:Look on the bright side... by trifish · · Score: 1

      As for XP, yes, the 64-bit version is really minor. However, based on our product stats, about 15% of Vistas are 64-bit. Now, if you realize that the Linux desktop share is only about 1%, I can assure you that 64-bit Windows is at least 1000 times more mainstream than Linux.

    105. Re:Look on the bright side... by SEMW · · Score: 2, Informative

      Why does the iPhone software need a driver? Why don't they make it an application? Just about any standard Win32 app will work on Win64. Why do drivers need to be involved? Mozilla doesn't need a driver, why should iPhone? A driver is a program that allows you (i.e. the OS) to interface with a piece of hardware. Driver is short for "device driver". The iPhone is a hardware device, so it needs a device driver to allow the OS and software to control it. The question about Mozilla doesn't make any sense: Mozilla is not a hardware device, it's a web browser (your network card or modem do need device drivers).
      --
      What's purple and commutes? An Abelian grape.
    106. Re:Look on the bright side... by rbanffy · · Score: 1

      Because of the same principle that governs the stock market - there is always a bigger fool. ;-)

    107. Re:Look on the bright side... by Emetophobe · · Score: 1

      We've given-up supporting Windows with our newest products because Microsoft will not allow our drivers to be installed into Vista because we make a health-care product that they are going to attempt to compete against in the near future.

      If that's true, that's anti-competitive... time to contact the DOJ and/or your company lawyers.
    108. Re:Look on the bright side... by SEMW · · Score: 2, Informative

      Do you see any mention of iPhone working with 64 bit Windows? Me either. Um... So? You seem to be under the impression that the 32 and 64-bit editions of Windows are marketed as different products, sold seperately, and generally kept distinct. While this was true with XP, it is no longer true with Vista: -- if you buy a retail copy of Vista, both the 32-bit and 64-bit editions are included (OEM copies are still sold seperately, for obvious reasons). Whether your installation is 32 or 64-bit is just another decision to make whilst installing Windows. If I bought a copy of Vista labelled "Windows Vista Ultimate" (See any mention of 64-bit? No, me neither), decided to go for 64-bit because my hardware supports it, and later buy a product that claims to support "Windows Vista Ultimate", only to find that it does not do so, I'd be fairly annoyed, and rightly so.

      Honestly, Microsoft is lucky Apple bothered to support 32 bit Vista given it's tiny market share and all MacOS/Vista market share (percent) for March: 3.8/1.9. April: 3.8/2.6. May: 3.8/3.1. Figures for June aren't out yet, but it's now July; I'd be surprised if the market shares aren't approximately equal by now. For Apple to proclaim that Vista market share is too small to bother with would be perhaps a little humiliating for them...
      --
      What's purple and commutes? An Abelian grape.
    109. Re:Look on the bright side... by Emetophobe · · Score: 1

      I don't know if Apple recently updated this site, but take a look at the iPhone: Minimum system requirements page.

      Specifically, it says at the bottom of the "Microsoft Windows Requirements" table:

      1. 64-bit editions of Windows are not supported

    110. Re:Look on the bright side... by SEMW · · Score: 1

      Nowhere in the specs (http://www.apple.com/iphone/specs.html) does it say it supports Windows 64, it mentions Windows Vista Home Premium, Business, Enterprise, or Ultimate Edition; or Windows XP Home or Professional with Service Pack 2 or later. Yeah, that's the point. In XP the 64-bit edition was a seperate product; in Vista it is no longer (for the retail version; doesn't apply to OEM discs for obvious reasons). Go have a look at what you see when you buy Vista Ultimate. Both the 32-bit and 64-bit editions are included in the package. Whether your installation is 32 or 64-bit is just another decision to make whilst installing Windows. If I bought a copy of Vista labelled "Windows Vista Ultimate" (See any mention of 64-bit? No, me neither), decided to go for 64-bit because my hardware supports it, and later buy a product that claims to support "Windows Vista Ultimate", only to find that it does not do so, I'd be fairly annoyed, and rightly so.
      --
      What's purple and commutes? An Abelian grape.
    111. Re:Look on the bright side... by MCSEBear · · Score: 1

      Yo, moron...

      32 bit Vista and 64 bit Vista are two different things. Having them both on the same disc means exactly nothing. You still have to install one or the other. Blizzard ships Mac and PC versions of their games on the same disc. Amazingly they turn out to be different too!

      Why does Microsoft have a web page covering 64 bit Vista if it's the same as 32 bit Vista?

      http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsv ista/editions/64bit.mspx

    112. Re:Look on the bright side... by Reaperducer · · Score: 1

      The customer should not have to worry that his/her computer is 'compatible' with the iPhone in any way, as long as it's fairly modern and mainstream.
      64 bit Windows is mainstream?

      Windows 98 has more users than 64-bit Windows. By your logic, it should have first crack.
      --
      -- I'm old enough to have lived through six different meanings of the word "hacker."
    113. Re:Look on the bright side... by Enderandrew · · Score: 1

      Actually that is reverse logic. The reason they use a 32-bit browser (on 64-bit versions of XP, Vista or Linux) is because they can't get Flash or Java to install without workarounds.

      There is a x64 Java RE and JDK, but not a x64 plugin?

      And again, given that Gnash and alternatives compile just fine in 64-bit mode, and that there is a 64-bit Flash for SPARC, why no 64-bit Flash for Linux or Windows?

      --
      http://blindscribblings.com - Tasty pop-culture in conceptual fashion.
    114. Re:Look on the bright side... by incer · · Score: 1

      So 64bit windows has 1000% marketshare?

    115. Re:Look on the bright side... by dpninerSLASH · · Score: 1

      This is, by far, the funniest Slashdot post I've ever read.

      An individual runs out and buys the latest toy the day after it's released, not realizing it wasn't supported on his particular hardware architecture. Then, not being able to see the error in his ways, he or she whines to the world about it via Slashdot.

      It certainly doesn't appear as though Apple is going out of their way to mislead consumers. Perhaps a bit of research on the part of this person would have prevented the situation.

    116. Re:Look on the bright side... by Reaperducer · · Score: 1

      this is a case of the iPhone not working with the latest box.
      The iPhone works fine with Macbooks, Macbook Pros, and Mac Pros, so it does work with the latest boxes.

      What is this "Windows" you people are in a froth about, anyway?
      --
      -- I'm old enough to have lived through six different meanings of the word "hacker."
    117. Re:Look on the bright side... by Kalriath · · Score: 1

      It's complete bullshit. Microsoft will sign pretty much everything put in front of them. And it's only necessary for Kernel mode drivers anyway (I consider that reasonable, do you?). It's pretty expensive, yes. Mostly because for every signed driver, they need to build a new PC, and get a bunch of engineers to test it and stuff. Pretty rigorous process (well, I hope so anyway).

      --
      For a site about things like basic rights, Slashdot users sure do like to censor "dissent".
    118. Re:Look on the bright side... by Jesus_666 · · Score: 1

      But then the phone wouldn't require the use of a proprietary interface app, thus making smartphones look like a good idea. It's obvious why Apple youldn't do that.

      --
      USE HOT GRITS WITH STATUE OF NATALIE PORTMAN (NAKED AND PETRIFIED)
    119. Re:Look on the bright side... by SEMW · · Score: 1

      Yo, moron...
      32 bit Vista and 64 bit Vista are two different things. Having them both on the same disc means exactly nothing. You still have to install one or the other. Blizzard ships Mac and PC versions of their games on the same disc. Amazingly they turn out to be different too!
      Why does Microsoft have a web page covering 64 bit Vista if it's the same as 32 bit Vista? Ummm...

      Duh.

      Of course it's not "the same" as the 32-bit version. No-one, except your rather silly straw man, ever said they were.

      The point was a simple one, but since it seems to have eluded you, I'll explain it again. However different they may be under the hood, they are both marketed and sold under the same name: "Windows Vista [Ultimate|etc]". If you go to Amazon and want to buy a retail copy of, say, Vista Ultimate, there is only one product. "Windows Vista Ultimate". This includes both the 32-bit and 64-bit versions, meaning that, whether you end up installing the 32-bit or the 64-bit version, the name of the product you have bought is "Windows Vista Ultimate".

      So if a user buys a product called "Windows Vista Ultimate", and a company offers a product that claims to support "Windows Vista Ultimate", the expectation is that it will support the OS that the user installed. Not that it will support the OS but-only-if-the-user-happened-to-install-the-32-bi t-one-not-the-64-bit-one.
      --
      What's purple and commutes? An Abelian grape.
    120. Re:Look on the bright side... by shippster · · Score: 1

      If you check out Microsoft's website they actually group almost all of their information on 64 bit versions of Windows under their server information:
      http://www.microsoft.com/servers/64bit/faqs.mspx

      I couldn't find any substantial information regarding 64 bit processing in their typical Vista and XP pages, so I don't think they consider it ready for mainstream either.

    121. Re:Look on the bright side... by TheThiefMaster · · Score: 1

      As I said, because everyone uses a 32-bit browser on Windows.

      Yes it's a cyclic argument, no they don't care.

    122. Re:Look on the bright side... by TheNetAvenger · · Score: 1

      64 Bit Vista uses the new driver model. It requires code to be done right. The botchwork that programmers could get away with for 32 bit Windows no longer works.

      And 64 Bit Vista drivers have to be signed. Which is something that vendors should do for all versions of Windows, its only been a recommendation for like 5 years.


      Ya but even these requirments are for KERNEL LEVEL DRIVERS.

      There is no need an iPhone/iPod or any other media device would need to have kernel level drivers unless Apple is sticking in some obscure unseen DRM services that operate below user mode.

      Strange that other media players from Creative and phones from motorola interface just fine with any 64bit version of XP or Vista.

      Maybe Apple needs MS to hold their hand and help them write the software/drivers for the iPhone.

      PS, doesn't anyone else find it strange that a Phone with Wifi needs a USB driver to charge and download content? Wasn't the whole point is that you wouldn't need a computer? Geesh.

    123. Re:Look on the bright side... by ClosedSource · · Score: 1

      Certainly a device driver is the cleanest way to talk to a hardware device, but it's not true that it is always the only way to do it. The only restriction is whether the OS prevents you from accessing the hardware from the user level.

    124. Re:Look on the bright side... by VGPowerlord · · Score: 1

      It's impossible to tell from the stats given. It also depends on if that 1% referring to the percentage of Linux desktops that are 64-bit, or the percentage of the market that are Linux desktops. From the context, I'm assuming the former.

      If it is the former, there are no statistics as to the market-share of either Linux desktops or Vista desktops.

      --
      GLaDOS for President 2016! "Well here we are again. It's always such a pleasure." -- GLaDOS, 2011
    125. Re:Look on the bright side... by VGPowerlord · · Score: 1

      You should try looking harder.

      --
      GLaDOS for President 2016! "Well here we are again. It's always such a pleasure." -- GLaDOS, 2011
    126. Re:Look on the bright side... by VGPowerlord · · Score: 1

      The sad part is... a properly designed Windows driver should be able to be compiled for 64-bit Windows with few or no changes. Microsoft even published a checklist of things to watch out for a few years ago.

      Although, since this driver is new, it might have been a better idea to use the User Mode Driver Framework, which appears to be architecture neutral (as does the Kernel Mode Driver Framework, but I can't see why an iPhone/iPod would need kernel mode access).

      --
      GLaDOS for President 2016! "Well here we are again. It's always such a pleasure." -- GLaDOS, 2011
    127. Re:Look on the bright side... by Pyrion · · Score: 1

      64-bit Vista drivers don't explicitly have to be signed. Just load a command prompt with elevated privileges, and enter this command:

      bcdedit /set loadoptions DDISABLE_INTEGRITY_CHECKS

      --
      "There is much pleasure to be gained from useless knowledge." - Bertrand Russell.
    128. Re:Look on the bright side... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      XP 64bit or Vista 64bit is not mainstream.......

    129. Re:Look on the bright side... by Zeinfeld · · Score: 1
      That's a very good point. Getting the Microsoft blessing is very expensive, and if you're a competitor to them, impossible. We've given-up supporting Windows with our newest products because Microsoft will not allow our drivers to be installed into Vista because we make a health-care product that they are going to attempt to compete against in the near future. I can easily see Microsoft not allowing Apple to use the iPhones with 64-bit Vista like they did to so many other companies.

      Utter rot. Microsoft sell keyboards and mice, plenty of folk get their drivers signed.

      The main reason that Windows has been unreliable in the past has been crappy drivers. Getting rid of kernel mode drivers is absolutely the way that Microsoft should have gone much earlier. The only devices for which kerenel mode should ever be necessary is graphics drivers. And that could be done away with if there were some hardware modifications.

      Its about accountability. I want precisely one company I can blame if my machine crashes.

      --
      Looking for an Information Security student project suggestion?
      Try http://dotcrimeManifesto.com/
    130. Re:Look on the bright side... by catwh0re · · Score: 1
      Honestly, this is incredibly petty, I wouldn't bash any company for this.

      I'd be concerned if Apple were actually hiding this information. (but it's their advantage not to annoy iPhone purchasers.)

      However Apple (and plenty of vendors) will remove comments from discussion boards which are just people who can't read the box, listen to the apple-store staff, read the manual/ online documentation or any one of the multitude of other places where the system requirements are written.

      There is no use in clogging a comments board with gripes that any well-researched consumer would have already known.(I'd hope some research went into buying a $600 device.)

      Following that point, the iPhone is not a small purchase, at least read the system requirements list. Apple aren't hiding this fact, e.g. here is the system requirements that you'll find in the various places described above: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=305 703 (noting the creation dates predate the iPhone launch by weeks, it's not late breaking news.) They also make quite a point about checking the system requirements before purchase.

    131. Re:Look on the bright side... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This isn't an insightful comment at all. The requirements are listed on: the manual, the box, the web, instore signage and store staff will tell you them (even at AT&T!) There is no RTFM here. You'd be a total fool to buy a $600 phone without even reading it's system requirements. Seriously how much work does the company have to do to tell you the system requirements, tattoo them to your forehead?

    132. Re:Look on the bright side... by Steven+W00ston · · Score: 0
      Considering Apple's reputation for software which "just works", their recent offerings on Windows seem to be doing anything but.


      Apple's reputation is software for people who don't know anything about computers and they freak out and think something is broken as soon as their screensaver kicks in.

      --
      Steven Wooston, Lead Programmer, J-J-J-Julius Games
      Author of a CONSIDERABLE number of best-selling games
    133. Re:Look on the bright side... by Jackie_Chan_Fan · · Score: 1

      64-bit Windows Vista is being installed by most hardcore pc/windows users rather than the 32-bit version.

      I'm running 64-bit vista, 8gigs of ram because i need it for 3d animation and modelling, which i do professionally.

      64-bit Windows Vista is the only windows anyone should be installing these days. 32-bit is dead.

    134. Re:Look on the bright side... by that+this+is+not+und · · Score: 1

      It probably works fine with Macbooks, Macbook Pros, and Mac Pros, even if you upgrade the OS on them to a Microsoft OS.

      Oh, wait, you probably can't run a 64-bit version of a Microsoft OS on those systems. Oh, because they don't have the latest x64 processor? That's the newest thing Apple is selling??

    135. Re:Look on the bright side... by ericdano · · Score: 1, Flamebait

      Yeah, and I'm sure the 4 or 5 songs you have on it sounds great as well. What were they again, Michael Jackson's Greatests Hits?

      --
      It's either on the beat or off the beat, it's that easy.
      I moderate therefore I rule!
      --
    136. Re:Look on the bright side... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes they are, but the list of supported versions doesn't mention which version it supports it just says "Windows Vista Ultimate". What he was pointing out was they are both installed from the same discs, they are both called "Windows Vista Ultimate" one is labeled 32 bit, one is labeled 64 bit.

      Nowhere does it say that if the label is missing you are to assume they mean 32 bit. So if it means "Windows Vista Ultimate 32 bit" it should say so.

    137. Re:Look on the bright side... by shutdown+-p+now · · Score: 1

      It's rather different for Java, since there the main problem is the JIT compiler. It's a pretty complicated piece of software which happens to be very strongly tied to the underlying architecture - probably more so than anything else you can imagine, except, perhaps, some (not all) drivers. Porting JIT to a new architecture essentially means targeting a whole new set of opcodes and addressing schemes. I don't think it should take 4 years (well, we've got 64-bit .NET already ...), but there's a world of difference between that and iPhone software.

    138. Re:Look on the bright side... by waynelorentz · · Score: 1

      Sorry, Mr. Gates. I know you love to spread FUD, but some Macs have had 64-bit processors for years; since at least 2003.

      And what was Intel pushing in that year? Oh, right -- Pentium M. And then nothing for the next THREE YEARS.

      I don't blame Apple for not pushing the "newest thing" out the door. Why would it want to go down the Microsoft road? Apple would rather have products that actually work. I don't understand how anyone can get any serious work done on a Windows system. It's just not ready for the desktop yet. Maybe when WinFS comes along.

      Solitare, Minesweeper, and blue screens of death aren't any better on the "latest x64 processor" than they were on the Pentium.

    139. Re:Look on the bright side... by Phroggy · · Score: 1

      Apple would address linux before 64 bit windows. Either you're trolling, or you're grossly misinformed.

      First of all, as someone else said, getting the software to work on 64-bit editions of Windows should be fairly straightforward for the most part; Apple simply hasn't done it yet (rather, they tried it but ran into some problems that they haven't been able to fix reliably yet).

      Secondly, from a technical standpoint, getting iTunes to work on Linux would be a huge pain in the ass. iTunes is heavily dependent on QuickTime, and QuickTime doesn't exist on Linux. Yes, there are various applications and libraries to play/encode/convert QuickTime-formatted video files, and I'm sure many of these work quite well for that, but an app like iTunes is going to need 100% compatibility with the entire QuickTime API. No QuickTime, no iTunes. And porting QuickTime to Linux isn't something that's just going to happen overnight - apparently when Apple ported QuickTime to Windows, they determined that rewriting QuickTime to run on Win32 just wasn't feasible, and it would be an easier project to port the entire Macintosh Toolbox over to Windows so they didn't have to use the Win32 API. Apple would have to do the same thing again: port the Carbon API (the modern descendent of the Macintosh Toolbox) over to Linux, then port QuickTime to run on that, THEN port iTunes.

      Thirdly, from a business standpoint, Apple views Linux as a larger competitor and threat to its business than Windows. Sure, Windows has 90% market share, so it seems bigger, but remember, Windows is a monopoly. Apple's computer business only exists within the market for non-Windows systems, and Linux is a huge part of that market. Yes, it would be nice for Apple's iPod/iPhone business if iTunes were fully supported on Linux... but if it were, that would only make Apple's biggest computer competitor (PCs running Linux) that much more attractive an option (for the 10% of people in the market for a non-Windows computer).

      When you add the technical and business issues together, it just doesn't make sense for Apple to devote huge resources to shooting themselves in the foot.
      --
      $x='S24;r)>63/* h@<5+oZ)32"5cz';$me='phroggy'x$];
      $x=~y+ -xz+\0-Tx+;print$_^chop$me for split'',$x;
    140. Re:Look on the bright side... by Phroggy · · Score: 1

      It's pretty expensive, yes. Mostly because for every signed driver, they need to build a new PC, Surely you mean, they need to re-image the same PC they used to test the last driver they signed?
      --
      $x='S24;r)>63/* h@<5+oZ)32"5cz';$me='phroggy'x$];
      $x=~y+ -xz+\0-Tx+;print$_^chop$me for split'',$x;
    141. Re:Look on the bright side... by MojoStan · · Score: 1

      If Microsoft doesn't support Zune on Windows 64 bit, then why in the heck should Apple bother to write drivers for iPhone? 64 bit Windows is *not* mainstream and never has been. 64-bit versions of Vista were not mainstream when the Zune was launched (November 14) because Vista was still in beta. Since Vista was released to the public on January 30, Zune has been supported (with a software update) on 64-bit versions of Vista. Zune is not supported on XP Professional x64 Edition (which is not a general retail product anyway). Somewhat current info is available at Zune's System Requirements page.
      --
      TO START
      PRESS ANY KEY

      Where's the 'ANY' key? I see Esk, Kitarl, and Pig-Up...

    142. Re:Look on the bright side... by Phroggy · · Score: 1

      If Microsoft didn't want x64 to be mainstream, why do they require that any software and hardware with a Certified For or Works With Vista logo to be tested and pass on x64 editions? Sure, Microsoft would like it to be mainstream. But Microsoft can't have everything they want, now can they?
      --
      $x='S24;r)>63/* h@<5+oZ)32"5cz';$me='phroggy'x$];
      $x=~y+ -xz+\0-Tx+;print$_^chop$me for split'',$x;
    143. Re:Look on the bright side... by ZorbaTHut · · Score: 1

      While I don't have any ironclad evidence, I was able to find a designer quote talking about the beta being thoroughly tested on 64-bit systems and a thread on PlanetAMD64 discussing the demo with no major 64-bit issues.

      So I'm guessing it does.

      Battlefield 2 worked fine when I played it, if that helps at all.

      --
      Breaking Into the Industry - A development log about starting a game studio.
    144. Re:Look on the bright side... by catwh0re · · Score: 1
      Actually, it was a hyperbole to point out that since not even Microsoft Zune is supported on 64bit windows(http://www.zune.net/en-us/meetzune/softwar e/minsystemreqs.htm) - Then I doubt apple are going to bother porting, quicktime, safari and itunes to the tiny marketshare that is windows 64 bit editions.

      Also porting to 64bit windows is not a trivial matter of clicking a few check boxes in some kind of combined dev environment and choosing recompile, 64 bit windows is an entirely different animal.

      Also OS X is a threat to Linux, not so much vice versa. If Apple actually saw Linux as a threat to OS X they'd start enforcing some of the numerous patents which linux distros are infringing (such as those which copy even recent OS X features such as "expose".)

      Also porting any OSX technology to Linux is actually easier than porting to windows, since Linux shares much of the same *NIX underpinnings. (Hence why it's also so easy to run "Linux software" on Mac OS X.)

      All in all, not even Microsoft give a fuck about the consumer space of Windows 64 bit editon.

    145. Re:Look on the bright side... by GeneralChat · · Score: 1

      The clerk did offer an aerosol of IDontgiveadamn to go with his ICant. General Chat

      --
      General Chat
    146. Re:Look on the bright side... by we9307_ess · · Score: 1

      "Oh, so you're a MAC Genius. Okay, what's the square root of 4096? '64' What's pi to 5 decimal places? '3.14159'. "

    147. Re:Look on the bright side... by we9307_ess · · Score: 1

      "Oh, so you're a MAC genius. Okay, what's the square root of 4096? '64' What's pi to 5 decimal places? '3.14159.' "

    148. Re:Look on the bright side... by Zixia · · Score: 1

      Taking the comment off the bulleting board is doubleplus lame. Makes it look like Apple can't deal with non cult members as customers.

      That all really depends on the tone and message of the comment. For all we know, the comment was written when the poster was a little angry or alarmist, and the comment was merely moderated away. It's also possible that it was reasonable and asking simply for clarification, but without this information there is no way to judge whether the deletion of the comment was unwarranted or not.

    149. Re:Look on the bright side... by MrNemesis · · Score: 1

      If the HP "business" laptops we usually buy are any indication, 64bit Vista (which these machines all ship with) definitely is mainstream. Heck, the nx7300 I bought for myself (works great in Linux by the way) came with a 64bit Vista Business installation that got waxed after an hour of fiddling with it.

      --
      Moderation Total: -1 Troll, +3 Goat
    150. Re:Look on the bright side... by MBraynard · · Score: 1

      THANKS!

    151. Re:Look on the bright side... by trifish · · Score: 1

      No. When someone says 1000 times more, it may not be literal. I forgot this is Slashdot, where everything is taken literally...

    152. Re:Look on the bright side... by tricorn · · Score: 1

      That's sort of how I feel about all the products or services that require you use a Microsoft operating system and a Microsoft Web browser in order to use them, or use all of the features, in things like firmware or database updates for GPS units, controlling your DVR from home, or development environments for microcontrollers. Sort of funny to see people bit by the same thing in the other direction for a change.

    153. Re:Look on the bright side... by Kalriath · · Score: 1

      Presuming they only test one driver at a time, yes. But I doubt that's the case ;)

      --
      For a site about things like basic rights, Slashdot users sure do like to censor "dissent".
    154. Re:Look on the bright side... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I hate to burst your bubble, but a massive percentage of those "Vista" sales figures are from companies like mine. We buy a Vista license for all new PCs, because the cost is the same as an XP license, and sooner or later Microsoft will make sure we need Vista, so we may as well not waste money buying it later.

      When the PC arrives we blow away the pre-installed Vista and install XP on the system, because 90% of the applications we use in-house don't work correctly on Vista without major pain (pain that's far above what a normal user would be willing to bear).

      So... are we part of the Vista installed base? We bought Vista licenses, so we're in the figures you & Microsoft love to quote. But we aren't actually using Vista. In fact, neither you nor I really know how many copies of Vista are actually in use based on simple sales figures.

      Microsoft does, since they force phone-home on all users (which is another notch against installing Vista in a workplace - we're not going to buy larger pipes just to satisfy Microsoft's paranoia), but fat chance of them actually quoting those numbers, since they're going to be lower than the sales figures. Gotta keep the propaganda fed with distorted data, so the Microserfs can paint as rosy a picture as possible.

    155. Re:Look on the bright side... by Phroggy · · Score: 1

      Then I doubt apple are going to bother porting, quicktime, safari and itunes to the tiny marketshare that is windows 64 bit editions. As others have pointed out, apparently QuickTime and iTunes already work fine on 64-bit Windows, it's the iPod driver that doesn't work.

      Also OS X is a threat to Linux, not so much vice versa. If Apple actually saw Linux as a threat to OS X they'd start enforcing some of the numerous patents which linux distros are infringing (such as those which copy even recent OS X features such as "expose".) If Apple were to try that, they'd alienate potential customers and developers. Apple doesn't want Linux to get too far ahead, but Apple can't attack Linux either. Apple wants to attract people who are currently developing for and using Linux over to the Mac platform, and suing them isn't going to do that.

      Also porting any OSX technology to Linux is actually easier than porting to windows, since Linux shares much of the same *NIX underpinnings. (Hence why it's also so easy to run "Linux software" on Mac OS X.) This is a common misconception. Porting Linux CLI software to Mac OS X is pretty straightforward, especially because Apple has been adding more and more Linux compatibility features with each new release of Mac OS X. Porting simple GUI apps should be pretty simple; you just have to rewrite the GUI. Porting complex GUI apps like OpenOffice.org is a huge pain in the ass. Firefox wasn't really ported from Linux; it was basically ported from Mac OS 9 and then various pieces were gradually replaced to make it more OSX-native.

      But going the other way is a whole different ball game. There is no Carbon API on Linux. The closest thing to the Cocoa API is GNUStep, which AFAIK isn't really compatible enough yet. And all the cool stuff Apple keeps coming out with like CoreImage and QTKit just isn't going to be there. I wouldn't expect porting a Mac app to Linux to be any easier than porting a Mac app to Windows (aside from the obvious blessing that you wouldn't have to run Windows to do it), or porting a Windows app to Linux.

      (Do any real developers who have actually done any of this type of porting have anything authoritative to say on this topic?)
      --
      $x='S24;r)>63/* h@<5+oZ)32"5cz';$me='phroggy'x$];
      $x=~y+ -xz+\0-Tx+;print$_^chop$me for split'',$x;
    156. Re:Look on the bright side... by aristotle-dude · · Score: 1

      Yeah, whatever. The customer should not have to worry that his/her computer is 'compatible' with the iPhone in any way, as long as it's fairly modern and mainstream. Isn't one of Apples 'soundbites' "It just works?" So you are blaming Apple for MSFT's decision to fork their OS into two versions instead of doing like Apple has done with Leopard?

      Apple's software is not the only software that does not work with the 64bit versions and it has a completely different driver models. What you should be asking is who is the moron at MSFT that thought it would be OK to break compatibility like that for drivers and third-party software.

      How is it that Apple, as a small company, can develop a flexible OS that works only both 32bit and 64bit OSes while MSFT cannot seem to do the same? Maybe MSFT has become too fat in the middle perhaps?

      --
      Jesus was a compassionate social conservative who called individuals to sin no more.
    157. Re:Look on the bright side... by wiak · · Score: 1

      yep, i use 64-bit (aka x64 & amd64 & emt64) to, the main reason is that you have ALL the power of you CPU if you buy a Athlon 64 or a Core 2 Duo now and run 32-bit windows you only get like 60% of the preformace as you only use the old 32-bit part of the processor

      i have been using xp x64 since its beta and am using vista x64 now and everything is fine.

      32-bit windows has ONLY 3GB max, the whole reason that new motherboards support max 16GB ram is becouse of amd64 aka 64-bit

      64-bit xp and vista has NO problems whatsoever running 32-bit software, unless it has 16bit old crappy code in it or needs a driver that is only 32bit

      and last but not least 64bit windows is kinda imune against 32-bit VIRUSES!

    158. Re:Look on the bright side... by SEMW · · Score: 1

      I hate to burst your bubble, but a massive percentage of those "Vista" sales figures are from companies like mine. We buy a Vista license for all new PCs [...] When the PC arrives we blow away the pre-installed Vista and install XP on the system Impeccible logic! ...At least, it would be if I had actually used sales figures to support my argument. Which... I didn't. See the words "w3schools" in square brackets after the market share link? That means that that's the source of the data -- amassed from the user-agent part of people's browser headers. Not sales figures.

      Gotta keep the propaganda fed with distorted data, so the Microserfs can paint as rosy a picture as possible. You're accusing W3schools ... of being a Microsoft propoganda outlet.

      You're an idiot.
      --
      What's purple and commutes? An Abelian grape.
    159. Re:Look on the bright side... by that+this+is+not+und · · Score: 1

      BFD. Sun has been selling 64-bit desktop systems since back when Apple was a running joke of a company producing a 'cooperative-multitasking' Operating System.

      I don't blame Apple for not pushing the "newest thing" out the door.

      I'm glad we can agree on that about Apple. They're just another mediocre vendor, similar in many ways to Microsoft.

  2. RELIGION OF PEACE STRIKES AGAIN! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Funny

    Okay, hands up who is surprised. ?

  3. Locking down by dreamchaser · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Apple has been so intent on totally locking the iPhone that you *have* to use iTunes just to use the damn thing. They through the anti-DRM a small bone with DRM free iTunes, but in almost every other area they show an almost manic desire to maintain total control over their hardware and software.

    This surprises me just a little. How hard could it be to port iTunes to Vista x64?

    The list of reasons I didn't and won't buy an iPhone anytime soon keep growing. No, not this one specifically as I'm not running Vista x64, but the overall arrogance Apple shows routinely plays a part.

    1. Re:Locking down by dreamchaser · · Score: 0

      No, that would be Microsoft's fault if it's true, and I'd say the same about them. Thing is, we're talking about iPhones and Apple here, not the Zune and MS. Try to stay on topic.

    2. Re:Locking down by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      wow - I've never actually seen someone use "through" for "threw." I've seen the opposite - but you've correctly spelled the longer, incorrect, homophone. Congratulations sir.

    3. Re:Locking down by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Never seen it before? Whey're do your live and ca'n I come to?

    4. Re:Locking down by dreamchaser · · Score: 1

      It's called not having had my coffee yet when I posted. I'd been awake only a few minutes, hence the horrid spelling and bad mood ;)

    5. Re:Locking down by Kohath · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I think you're confusing a "manic desire to maintain total control over their hardware and software" with Apple just not doing what you wish they would do. (You haven't specifically said what that is though.) I'm not sure why Apple should want to make you happy with their actions. They're offering some products. Your choice is to take them or leave them.

      Apple doesn't owe each individual person their dream product -- specifically tailored to your personal individual desires and biases. No one owes you that. And it's not "arrogance" when folks don't focus on what you want.

      If you don't like their products, you're probably outside their target market.

    6. Re:Locking down by Elsapotk421 · · Score: 1

      I'd say that their proprietary-ness (Lay off the grammar) is more for quality control than anything....if you control all the variables, you control performance. Let's face it performance is key. I'm waiting to hear that someone had a bad experience with it on osX.

      --
      We came,we saw, we kicked it's ass!
    7. Re:Locking down by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Arrogance? Apple?
      Oh c'mon now, you're gonna make my head explode!
      Microsoft is, without a doubt, the single most arrogant tech company on the planet!
      Do you own a PC with Windows on it?
      Wrong.
      You *bought* a PC with Windows on it.
      In MS's opinion, you do not *own* what you've bought, you're bowing on your knees and kissing Bill's pinky ring, begging Microsoft's permission to use it.
      MS suck-ups are the worst 'lil beeyatch's out there, and they can't wait to drop trow, bend over and beg for more.

    8. Re:Locking down by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah right. You geeks always spit out the "not had my coffee" yet line to make up for your inadequacies.

    9. Re:Locking down by starjax · · Score: 1

      ummm... port itunes to vista64.... I have ultimate edition 64bit and itunes works just fine.

    10. Re:Locking down by sogoodsofarsowhat · · Score: 0, Troll

      Dreamcatcher...Dont buy one...Apple doesnt give a crap...your not a 1% anyways. Thats the point this is Apple testing the market...and seeing as they SOLD ALL OF THEM...no worries their. While it may piss you off that they wont build by the specs you set....mainly because your specs dont matter. They built the phone that MILLIONS wanted. Lets see...you cant build your own apps for most cell phones anyways...idjit. so your points are pretty much moot. All cell phone makers lock down their phones....Where have you been living. You cannot right new apps for your blockberry, or for your Nokia. Oh you can right java crap but not actually access the phone functions. At least with the iPhone i can have my programmers write web based apps and they work. You want a totally open phone like you describe...well then go farking build it....let me know how that goes. yeah i know about the open linux phone...good luck with that......funny i havent yet seen one NOT ONE in use or sold or suppoerted by ANY cell phone provider. Man the trolls are out today. I got 3 iPhones (8GB) and they are the shiznitz. Does EXACTLY EVERYTHING as PROMISED. Its got to be killing you MS fanboys and apple haters. Wait til you see what apple stock does Monday morning. Split time babies, its a commin

      --
      . I love the sound of burning women and screaming rubber....
    11. Re:Locking down by rm999 · · Score: 0, Flamebait

      "I'm not sure why Apple should want to make you happy with their actions. They're offering some products. Your choice is to take them or leave them."

      It sounds to me like you need an obvious lesson in capitalism and business 101. Incidentally, the iPhone did not sell out at stores like many thought it would (http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2193213/iphone- abundance-frustrates). I was actually convinced I was going to buy an iPhone in the next year before I started reading about all the Apple-created problems associated with it.

    12. Re:Locking down by coomac · · Score: 1

      Dude, where have YOU been living? Most cell phone makers are smart enough to realize that the more freedom they give their customers with their phones, the more likely it is that those phones will sell, and sell well. _All_ smartphones allow third party apps in languages other than java and wow, whatdoyouknow, you can buy them unlocked as well. Oh yah, they're not shackled to a specific OS or program either. Have you even seen a symbian phone, let alone used one? There are tons of non java third party apps available for symbian, blackberry, palm phones, etc and you don't need ajax to run them. Do a little bit of research before posting, otherwise you end up making a fool of yourself. I bet you also believe the iphone is the first phone to have 8GB of memory, eh? And that its browser is the first full featured browser on a mobile phone? Sounds like you've drank so much of the koolaid you couldn't recognize the truth if it came up and bit you in the face. PS: Most Apple stores did NOT sell out of iphones.

    13. Re:Locking down by ColdWetDog · · Score: 1

      Hopefully the iPhone / Safari comes with a spelling checker. Good thing it's not IE.

      --
      Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
    14. Re:Locking down by Dun+Malg · · Score: 1

      No, it's true. Constant exposure via the public internet to boneheaded 'tards and their horrendous spelling has the horrifying effect of "rubbing off". Back when having an email address essentially meant you either worked/studied at a university or a large corporation, the standard of literacy on the internet was much higher. Now it's a constant vigil to keep one's spelling intact in casual writing. When attentiveness is weak--- such as first thing in the morning, particularly before feeding one's addiction to stimulants--- horrible word misuses happen. The key to telling the difference between a literate person under the influence and a typical illiterate internet dolt is that in the former, there'll likely be but one or two errors, and they'll be typos or isolated uses of homonyms.

      --
      If a job's not worth doing, it's not worth doing right.
    15. Re:Locking down by Creepyguywithastick · · Score: 1

      You have to use their software to interface with their hardware? Shock and awe.

    16. Re:Locking down by cthellis · · Score: 1

      How many devices use their own custom software for syncing? Is Palm to be bitched at for using their own HotSync and Desktop software to be the central routing point for your data, or wanting "total control" over it? Or is it simply that Apple is using their most intrinsic and centralized piece of software already used for this purpose (the iPod) and adding another device to it as well? Considering the iPhone DOES function as an iPod... you'd be using iTunes for that purpose already. How in bloody hell is this "arrogance?" Is Kodak "arrogant" for continually wanting to install and use their own picture manager, while it's completely inferior to other options? ...or is it that they want to officially support THEIR software, and if you choose to go in another direction, that's your discretion? Are you telling me there are NO other iPod syncing possibilities out there? (Heck, there are some mentioned in this very thread.)

      The lack of 64-bit support is a bit aggrivating, to be sure, but they appear to be fairly time-crunched to meet their launch timetable, so it's something to take a grain of salt with and wait a month or so for it to show up. If activation is all one is concerned with anyway, it's not like anyone would have a real problem going back to an Apple/at&t store, or finding ANYONE with a 32-bit OS...

      As for iTunes itself, I'm really not sure why people are so hard up on it. I've certainly had problems with it, like I've had with any piece of software, but it manages a shit-ton of media quite well, and despire having a "large memory footprint," I don't notice it slowing down anything else. It doesn't really bother me if ANY program takes up a lot of memory, so long as it knows to get out of the way of other programs when they need the resources not being actively used or given lower priority.

    17. Re:Locking down by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If you don't like their products, you're probably outside their target market.

      Right, that just means that you're not a blind Apple fanboy and thus still have a soul.

    18. Re:Locking down by RzUpAnmsCwrds · · Score: 1

      If you don't like their products, you're probably outside their target market.


      Damn straight I am. I want my phone to work without having to load software on my PC. I want my music player to work with any PC, regardless of whether or not I have loaded specific player software. And I want my OS to run on a wide range of hardware from a wide range of vendors.

      Apple owes me nothing. But as a customer, I'm saying that I'm not going to put up with this bullshit.

      My phone has a user-replacable battery (brand new OEM battery on eBay: $10), expandable memory (2GB microSD card: $18), and a real keyboard (typing on the iPhone sucks, and no matter how much Apple may say otherwise, the software doesn't make it not suck). It also syncs and charges off of miniUSB (just like my media player and my camera), and runs 3rd-party apps.

      I'm sure some Apple fanboy is going to claim that this is sour grapes. Just like they claim for every negative comment about the iPhone. Let me be blunt: this is not the second coming of Jesus. This is a phone. It's revolutionary in some areas (beautiful UI, browser, screen), crappy in others (no MMS/IM/3G/SDK/etc.), and overall it's too damned expensive. It's also an Apple product, which means that it will sell like hotcakes.
    19. Re:Locking down by Emetophobe · · Score: 1

      I'd agree about the Apple DRM. On one hand they want to sell DRM-free music (since they didn't make the music, they don't care), and on the other hand, they sell DRM-laden hardware and software since they want to maintain control. A bit hypocritical, no?

    20. Re:Locking down by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Really? Then why did AT&T say today that they have sold out of iPhones at almost all of their stores?

      Apple, btw, hasn't released any numbers, as they're most likely waiting until the start of the new week to mention anything.

    21. Re:Locking down by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Apple has been so intent on totally locking the iPhone that you *have* to use iTunes just to use the damn thing. ... in almost every other area they show an almost manic desire to maintain total control over their hardware and software. ...The list of reasons I didn't and won't buy an iPhone anytime soon keep growing.

      Totally agree with you on this. I won an iPod Shuffle as a door prize, and really liked it until I found out that I could only sync it on one computer at a time. Once it's been synced, your only options are completely erase and re-sync or unplug it when you plug it into another computer. Defective by design. Last week it went through the laundry in my pants pocket and now it's dead. I'll be replacing it, but NOT with an Apple product.

    22. Re:Locking down by Phroggy · · Score: 1

      They through the anti-DRM a small bone Please learn to speak English! It's 2am here and this mangled phrase was very difficult for my tired brain to decipher.
      --
      $x='S24;r)>63/* h@<5+oZ)32"5cz';$me='phroggy'x$];
      $x=~y+ -xz+\0-Tx+;print$_^chop$me for split'',$x;
    23. Re:Locking down by Phroggy · · Score: 1

      If you don't like their products, you're probably outside their target market. I know I'm outside their target market. But their product is so damn cool, I wish they'd expand their target market to include me, so I can realistically buy one.

      (The must-have feature for me is the ability to use the iPhone as a Bluetooth modem, to connect to the Internet via my laptop. I can do this with my current phone (over GPRS, not EDGE, so all of you whiners saying the iPhone sucks because it doesn't support 3G can go take a flying leap) and I really can't give that up. I need to be able to get work done when there's no wifi around. There are plenty of other missing features that I hope to see in the next revision, but I decided I can do without them. This one, I need.)
      --
      $x='S24;r)>63/* h@<5+oZ)32"5cz';$me='phroggy'x$];
      $x=~y+ -xz+\0-Tx+;print$_^chop$me for split'',$x;
    24. Re:Locking down by Logger · · Score: 1

      Apple owes me nothing. But as a customer, I'm saying that I'm not going to put up with this bullshit. If you didn't buy one, then you are not a customer. That I can understand. The angry tone which seems like you take personal offense that they don't offer your dream product though, I don't.
    25. Re:Locking down by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I think almost all of us "damn straight" people are outside their target market.

    26. Re:Locking down by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I think you're confusing a "manic desire to maintain total control over their hardware and software" with Apple just not doing what you wish they would do. (You haven't specifically said what that is though.)

      No, they do show a "manic desire" to fully control what happens with their hardware and software. I find it funny when Mac users start ripping into M$ for being a monopoloy, because while this may be true the PC platform it self is no where near as proprietary as a Mac! You can buy a PC from thousands of different vendors, assembeled from parts made by hundreds of various OEMs, in all shapes and colors and sizes. What are your choices for buying a Mac? Go to Apple, and choose between a limited number of colors shapes and sizes of cases. For the OS? Go to Apple again. The hardware and software is 100% proprietary, making the Apple platform more of a monopoloy controled system than the PC!! And with how they try to lock everything into iTunes they are the LAST people who should be bitching about things like DRM encumberance! Steve Jobs has no place bitching about that when his own products practice such a high level of vendor specific lock-in... hypocrate...

      I'm not sure why Apple should want to make you happy with their actions. They're offering some products. Your choice is to take them or leave them.

      WHAT?!? You're not sure why a company should want to make a customer happy? What, do you work in marketing or management or something? Your attitude is exactly why large corporations have been getting away with more and more bullshit over the years. People like your self are indifferent and don't seem to understand why large corporations need to be held more accountable for their actions! It SHOULD be the PRIMARY GOAL of ALL corporations to make their customers happy! How ever we currently live in the pigopolist run world where large corporations are only beholden to their stock holders and couldn't give a rats ass about their customers... Only by changing your attitude and the attitude of others will we finaly be able to turn this around and DEMAND that large coporations follow ethics and are held accountable...

      Apple doesn't owe each individual person their dream product -- specifically tailored to your personal individual desires and biases. No one owes you that. And it's not "arrogance" when folks don't focus on what you want.

      Do you not watch TV? Do you not read newspapers or magazines? Have you totaly missed all of the "our products are awesome and just work" type advertisements that Apple puts out on a regular basis?!? They are extremely arrogant in their ads! This has nothing to do with personalized expectations. They are just down right arrogant in the way they decribe their products, always showing an air of superiority and making it sound like their products are absolutely perfect. That is why they delete posts from their user forums all the time when people try to complain about common problems with their products. They don't want other customers to know they have actually made any mistakes. In a way, they are almost more arrogant than M$!! Sure M$ has made some VERY BIG MISTAKES with their products, and we know they lie to us all the time. But last I checked they where not as blatant at trying to sweep those PR problems under the rug. I mean, Apple just out right ignores customers and tries to burry any attempt at message boards discussing major Apple product issues by sending out cease and dissist orders...

      If you don't like their products, you're probably outside their target market.

      Or, if you don't like their products then perhaps their products aren't designed as well as they claim to be? Perhaps the "they just work" line is a lie and total BS? Perhaps some people despise attempts at total vendor lock-in, which Apple's platform is quickly becoming the epitome of!

    27. Re:Locking down by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      Actually, Apple only sells music and movies with DRM.

      They don't

      sell DRM-laden hardware and software
      at all.

      Really, name one piece of hardware by Apple that is DRM-laden. The iPod? Nope, never needs to see a single iTunes Store song or movie, it will work perfectly well with open standards for music and video.

      Want to only have MP3s? No problem. iTunes and the iPod work fine without ever using any DRM-laden media.
    28. Re:Locking down by Kohath · · Score: 1

      WHAT?!? You're not sure why a company should want to make a customer happy?

      He's not a customer. A customer is someone who buys things from your company. When you complain and don't buy, you're not a customer.

      The rest of your post seems to indicate you're either a troll or someone who thinks advertising is the same as testimony in court. It's not. Advertising is a one-sided message. Also, water is wet.

  4. Huh? by r3f4rd30n · · Score: 1

    Well, thats odd - Mac OS is 64bit, or is it? And anyway, syncing what is basically an external hard drive? That can't be too hard...

    1. Re:Huh? by Movi · · Score: 1

      OSX Tiger has 64bit BSD subsystem (if sufficient hardware is found), but the aqua layer and apps are 32bit (unless the application explicitly does something 64bit which i think is possible, but i can't name any). Leopard will be totally fat-binary eg. it will use 64bit in all components when 64bit hardware is used, however it will have a linux-like /lib32.

    2. Re:Huh? by leenks · · Score: 1

      10.5 / Leopard, due in October, is 64bit. 10.4 / Tiger (currently in stores / shipped on new macs) is 32bit.

  5. virtualize man! by wwmedia · · Score: 5, Insightful

    install xp in a virtual machine! virtual pc + windows xp FREE from microsoft!

    or install your legal 32bit copy of windows in vmware

    or google for running osx in vmware like im doing

    1. Re:virtualize man! by dreamchaser · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Or buy a phone that doesn't make you jump through hoops to use it? I can't believe you're actually saying people should use kludges just to use a phone. Amazing.

    2. Re:virtualize man! by ditoa · · Score: 3, Informative

      Unfortunately Virtual PC has no USB support so your plan fails :(

    3. Re:virtualize man! by wwmedia · · Score: 1

      oops ur right! sorry but vmware does support it (i believe vmware have free trial as well?)

    4. Re:virtualize man! by wwmedia · · Score: 2

      well looks like the thread starter is already the bigger fool for buying an Apple product, so i was just trying to help the poor soul (well not poor financially anyways if he afforded an iphone)

    5. Re:virtualize man! by jallen02 · · Score: 4, Informative

      They have two free products. VMware Player can play any VM out there. VMWare Server is their hosted product. VMWare server is completely free, no strings attached and it works great.

    6. Re:virtualize man! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      QEMU does

      Microsoft: "Where do you want to go years after everyone else?"

    7. Re:virtualize man! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I can't believe people still say kludge, much less use Apple software/hardware.

    8. Re:virtualize man! by weave · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I can't believe you're actually saying people should use kludges just to use a phone. Amazing.

      Kind of like how I had to install XP inside a Parallels VM to use my Nokia smartphone on my Mac?

      Mac users have to live with that kind of crap all the time, and we hear it's because Mac OS is not mainstream enough. Well guess what, 64 bit Windows is not mainstream either.

    9. Re:virtualize man! by sogoodsofarsowhat · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Hey yeah...buy some other phone...i mean NO ONE makes one that does what an iPhone does, but if you dont need WEB, and dont need WiFi then please buy another phone. But if you need one that works does everything...then there is only the iPhone. As for hoops....HA...sit down and tell me about the hoops MS makes you jump through. Hows that FORCED move to Vista working out. STFU you MS SHILL!

      --
      . I love the sound of burning women and screaming rubber....
    10. Re:virtualize man! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Maybe Apple will be releasing OSX for commodity computers. At $129 for their premium version, that's not a big deal. You can get their discount version for $129.

    11. Re:virtualize man! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      actually, my htc tytn does everything the iphone does, and a lot more like 3g, hsdpa, bluetooth modem, running ssh clients, no freaking itunes needed to sync the thing, ...

      btw most windows mobile based ppc phones today have all theese features

    12. Re:virtualize man! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      or buy a nokia N91 8GB edition... with (obviously) 8GB of storage, wifi and 3G.. would be more cost effective than the options you listed... why on earth would I pay full price for an OS I would be running under virtualization for?

      P.S. sonyericsson W960 comes out this fall too..

    13. Re:virtualize man! by jbengt · · Score: 1

      "install xp in a virtual machine! . . ." that expires on Aufust 17.

    14. Re:virtualize man! by Hal_Porter · · Score: 5, Funny

      Or buy a phone that doesn't make you jump through hoops to use it? I can't believe you're actually saying people should use kludges just to use a phone. Amazing.

      It's not just a phone, it's the iPhone. Apple fans queued overnight to get one. Some dude sold his corneas on eBay just to get the $500. He can't see for shit anymore unless he holds it a few inches from his face, but he's got his iPhone and he growls at people like a dog when they try to take it away.

      You've got to be more careful. Apple fans monitor these forums. What you posted may get you bitten by some blind fanatic.

      --
      echo -e 'global _start\n _start:\n mov eax, 2\n int 80h\n jmp _start' > a.asm; nasm a.asm -f elf; ld a.o -o a;
    15. Re:virtualize man! by Sancho · · Score: 1

      I'll feed this troll.

      HTC makes plenty of phones which give you the WEB and WiFi. They run Windows, and they work pretty darned well.

      The iPhone doesn't do anything new except for visual voicemail (I can live without it--I usually answer my phone when it rings) and Youtube. Neither of those is going to be a killer feature for most people.

    16. Re:virtualize man! by thePsychologist · · Score: 1

      Only difference is this was misadvertising.

      --
      "What lies behind us, and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us." Ralph Waldo Emerson
    17. Re:virtualize man! by ColdWetDog · · Score: 2, Funny
      Some dude sold his corneas on eBay just to get the $500.

      I didn't know the multi touch interface had a Braille component. Cool.

      --
      Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
    18. Re:virtualize man! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Nowhere on the box does it say

      "Windows Vista Home Premium 64 bit edition"

    19. Re:virtualize man! by sdhoigt · · Score: 1

      Your nifty VM option from M$ is rather limited.

      "... images expire on August 17th, 2007."

      SD

    20. Re:virtualize man! by wwmedia · · Score: 1

      yes but they provide a new one then, like they did for the last year every few months

    21. Re:virtualize man! by movdqa · · Score: 1

      I have Windows XP x64 running and use an XP Home Win32 VM running under Virtual PC for applications that won't run or install on x64. One of the applications is for work (VPN) and one of them is for an online class that our son takes.

      iTunes did have a native x64 image in the 6.0 line but I think that they pulled it. The Win32 version installs and works fine. I think that there's a bit of a drop in performance on the Win32 version.

      I generally prefer working in x64 as it performs better for what I do and I like the VM so that I can be connected to work in one window and connect directly to the internet in all of my other applications.

    22. Re:virtualize man! by dreamchaser · · Score: 1

      I wasn't going to bother feeding him. My Motorola Q does everything I need including quite a few things the iPhone doesn't do.

    23. Re:virtualize man! by IrrepressibleMonkey · · Score: 1

      Wow, where did you buy your copy of OSX?

      I can't find one anywhere for an Intel platform. It's not pirated is it?

    24. Re:virtualize man! by KarmaMB84 · · Score: 1

      Apple needs to explicitly state that they don't support x64 on the packaging. Despite the stupidity of what some fanboys have been spewing, Microsoft makes little to no distinction between a 32-bit and 64-bit version of Windows Vista since their logo programs for certifying hardware and software requires compatibility with everything in 32-bit and 64-bit editions.

      Apple doesn't have the certification logo on their packaging and wouldn't meet the certification requirements without x64 support (and that's the only test failure we know of...) so Windows users shouldn't even expect their product to work with ANY edition of Windows. "Minimum system requirement" may as well mean the phone won't explode when you plug it into a Vista PC if it doesn't carry certification.

    25. Re:virtualize man! by drspliff · · Score: 1

      However - neither Windows XP 32-bit or Windows Vista 32-bit are free, which means you'd have to go out and splart $100+ for an operating system just so you can access your iPhone from iTunes..

      Although I don't know anybody that would be mad enough to pay for a downgrade :)

    26. Re:virtualize man! by jcoleman · · Score: 1

      Is there a cellphone that does this? Sign me up!!!

    27. Re:virtualize man! by jrumney · · Score: 1

      You've got to be more careful. Apple fans monitor these forums. What you posted may get you bitten by some blind fanatic.

      Normally what you wrote applies, but we have about a week now where we can post what we like about Apple without fear of retaliation before all the fanboys give up trying to read Slashdot on a 3 inch screen over a GPRS connection and go back to their beloved MacBooks.

    28. Re:virtualize man! by prockcore · · Score: 1

      Kind of like how I had to install XP inside a Parallels VM to use my Nokia smartphone on my Mac?


      The difference is that the Nokia worked out of the box.. the iPhone must be activated through iTunes before you can do anything with it.
    29. Re:virtualize man! by Jesus_666 · · Score: 1

      Then what the hell have I been connecting my smartcard reader to all the time? My homebanking app (running in a VPC/Win2k environment under OS X) certainly doesn't complain.

      --
      USE HOT GRITS WITH STATUE OF NATALIE PORTMAN (NAKED AND PETRIFIED)
  6. Apple lists this problem in fine print by ragingmime · · Score: 5, Insightful

    ...on this page.

    Apple's hardware is generally very well-designed, and their software is solid on Macs, but they can't seem to write a decent Windows program to save their lives. For example: why does iTunes run the iPod service even when iTunes isn't running and even though I've never used an iPod? Why does Quicktime automatically have your browser open MP3s in Quicktime instead of downloading them (and not give you the option of turning this "feature" off?) Why do Apple programs "break" the usual look and feel of Windows programs? Honestly, this isn't rocket science here. How hard would it have been to recompile the iPhone software for a 64-bit machine?

    --
    I produce electronic music and write little games. Have a look.
    1. Re:Apple lists this problem in fine print by doctormetal · · Score: 3, Insightful

      How hard would it have been to recompile the iPhone software for a 64-bit machine? It is not just about recompiling the code. The device drivers for the iphone must be rewritten to run on a 64 bit OS.
      If they made their dfrivers right that should not be hard, But we are talking about apple here...
    2. Re:Apple lists this problem in fine print by mpe · · Score: 1

      Apple's hardware is generally very well-designed, and their software is solid on Macs, but they can't seem to write a decent Windows program to save their lives. For example: why does iTunes run the iPod service even when iTunes isn't running and even though I've never used an iPod?

      To be honest this isn't just a problem with Apple software on Windows. Under XP the wireless service is enabled by default, even on machines which have never seen any wireless hardware...

    3. Re:Apple lists this problem in fine print by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ummm...let's see here... iPhone = Mac company, OSX = Mac company, Windows is not a Mac company. I highly doubt Billy is gonna give code to operate seemless with 64 Windows. There flagship especially on this move that puts them ahead of the mobile computing race. From a business point of view yeah...this makes sense to get more people on OSX. This is simple business. Not a screwed by the man mentality but we want people to use OSX. Makes sense to me. Why should Mac support windows and vise versa.

    4. Re:Apple lists this problem in fine print by garcia · · Score: 3, Informative

      I use iTunes to play my MP3s which unfortunately requires QuickTime be installed. Is QT opening the MP3 because of your browser settings because it's not happening to me in Firefox (and I just had a computer upgrade at work and had to reinstall QT and iTunes).

    5. Re:Apple lists this problem in fine print by weicco · · Score: 4, Informative

      The device drivers for the iphone must be rewritten to run on a 64 bit OS

      Not if you did it the right way at the beginning. MSDN has contained information on this one for quite a time. I remember that back in 2000, when I was writing network driver for Windows 2000, I thought "What are these stupid macros, why I can't just write unsigned int instead of that ugly looking DWORD." Luckily my code wasn't compiled to any 64 bit Windows since I think I unintentionally left couple of mines there :)

      But device drivers are just a small part of "iPhone software" what ever that is. I can envision that GUI and data transfer parts are much bigger things. User-space components are much easier to write to be 32/64-bit compatible unless you really don't know what you are doing.

      I don't know why Apple can't produce quality stuff for Windows (and many other companies). Or maybe they are and this is just a marketing decision "See? It doesn't run nicely on Windows because Windows sucks. Luckily we have nice OS X here for you..."

      --
      You don't know what you don't know.
    6. Re:Apple lists this problem in fine print by Thrudheim · · Score: 1

      Why do Apple programs "break" the usual look and feel of Windows programs?

      True, but for that matter, one could say the same things over time about Microsoft programs on the Mac OS. Word 6.0 on the Mac was a disaster because Microsoft tried to use the same codebase as the Windows version. It goes both ways. If iTunes on Windows were as good as iTunes on the Mac, a lot of complaints about it would go away.

      With respect to Safari, I think one reason could be the development angle. Apple wants Safari to have a broader share and make it easier for web developers to test for Safari compatibility. If this is the goal, it makes sense that they would want the Windows version of Safari to render just like the Mac version. The font anti-aliasing looks out of place on the Windows side, since Microsoft does it differently, but any additional Safari users from the Windows side are just gravy.

    7. Re:Apple lists this problem in fine print by Qrlx · · Score: 1

      There's more to it than just recompiling the code.

      Not a lot more... but the drivers have to be signed, or Windows won't let you install them.

    8. Re:Apple lists this problem in fine print by ragingmime · · Score: 1

      Yup, it is the browser settings - I'm just angry because I don't think QuickTime should change my browser settings without asking me first. I just installed iTunes (with QuickTime), and I had to change all the file type actions back to "download" from "open with QuickTime plugin" after I installed it. I didn't have any problems before I installed QuickTime. Maybe if you change the settings manually and then reinstall QuickTime, the program is at least smart enough not to change them back?

      --
      I produce electronic music and write little games. Have a look.
    9. Re:Apple lists this problem in fine print by tsjaikdus · · Score: 1

      also, iTunes is so slow to get it going and doesn't properly react on a mouseclick. Except for the Windows' search function, nothing is as frustrating to use as iTunes.

    10. Re:Apple lists this problem in fine print by localman · · Score: 1

      I agree with all your points save one: lots of Windows software breaks the Windows look and feel. I'd go so far as to say that these days, programs that don't break the Windows look a bit austere. So iTunes fits right into that lousy pattern.

      But yeah, the rest of your points stand. iTunes on Windows is clunky even after years. They should get some (more) top notch Windows programmers and tighten that shit up. It makes them look bad.

      Cheers.

    11. Re:Apple lists this problem in fine print by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      On iPod Service: It's because of Apple's desire for a seamless experience. Once you install iTunes the iPod service starts running. When you plug in an iPod for the first time, it gets recognized.

      Don't like it? Use Windows Media Player.

      And before an uniformed comment comes back. Quicktime IS available without iTunes. And you can set your program associations.

    12. Re:Apple lists this problem in fine print by Guppy06 · · Score: 1

      "Why do Apple programs "break" the usual look and feel of Windows programs?"

      Because they're hipsters and too cool for that! Haven't you seen any of their commercials in the past fifteen years or so?

    13. Re:Apple lists this problem in fine print by empaler · · Score: 1

      also, iTunes is so slow to get it going and doesn't properly react on a mouseclick. Except for the Windows' search function, nothing is as frustrating to use as iTunes. IE, even IE7 can be just as bad. Ergh.
    14. Re:Apple lists this problem in fine print by sogoodsofarsowhat · · Score: 0, Flamebait

      ragininmime, lets start with ws MS doesnt make thier GOD DAMNED programs look the same on WINDOWS!!! OK if the folks at MS cant seem to follow their own interface rule why are you busting ANYBODIES BALLS over thier interface. SEE iTunes has an interface of its own. Apple is not going to bow to ANYBODIES interface. Hell they are the ones that know how to make a good interface...MS DOES NOT! thats pretty clearly the FACTS!!! As for why apple doesnt follow...its because they LEAD! Continue to suck on that MS tit...as for Apple...they blaze the way. Too bad you and the rest of the idiots dont get it. I love all the bashing. Ive got 3 of the iPhones (for my wife and my production manager) and they kick ass. They do more than any phone available for use in the USA!!! Hell i got overseas customers begging for one even though they cant use the phone part of the device. You bitches need to take a break fromthe bashing and go see...they are sold out...they built a device practically EVERYONE wants. Sorry you cant afford $600 for a phone...but for me it saved $840 in real savings vs what we were paying for Razor service....this includes the cost of phone + 2 years service. Since DATA is the major use we have...every Razor i replace on my sales staff is saving $840 over the next 2 years. You say they cant write a decent program yet Quicktime is great. So go fark yourself...nothing will make you happy if it isnt MS doing. Nobody cares about you, your shitty little games, or your crappy little world.

      --
      . I love the sound of burning women and screaming rubber....
    15. Re:Apple lists this problem in fine print by PenguSven · · Score: 2, Informative

      Quicktime Installer gives you the option to change it's MIME type associations when it's finished installing.

      --
      What is...?
    16. Re:Apple lists this problem in fine print by thegnu · · Score: 1

      Quicktime Installer gives you the option to change it's MIME type associations when it's finished installing.

      How can people be expected to know how to change MIME types with TWO mouse buttons?! It's darn confusing!
      --
      Please stop stalking me, bro.
    17. Re:Apple lists this problem in fine print by bigstrat2003 · · Score: 1

      Only in Vista x64, as far as I'm aware. Vista 64-bit is kind of a non-issue... it's a niche product of a niche product (much as I love Vista, most people don't...). That's just my opinion, anyways.

      --
      "16MB (fuck off, MiB fascists)" - The Mighty Buzzard
    18. Re:Apple lists this problem in fine print by Pyrion · · Score: 1

      You can change the MIME types in the quicktime control panel afterwards.

      --
      "There is much pleasure to be gained from useless knowledge." - Bertrand Russell.
    19. Re:Apple lists this problem in fine print by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Quicktime doesn't break your settings. It is one of the only players that lessons to your settings. Default in a few browsers is to play mp3 in browser. - Apple fool.

    20. Re:Apple lists this problem in fine print by yabos · · Score: 1

      The iTunes helper service runs so iTunes can start automatically when you plug in your iPod. There could be a better way I don't know but with OS X they also have an iTunes Helper program that gets installed in the login items. I've taken mine out of there because I don't use an iPod. It only uses around 2MB of RAM so it's not a big deal but I have no need for it as far as I can tell.

    21. Re:Apple lists this problem in fine print by dekkerdreyer · · Score: 1

      I've always had to go into the MIME types and tell quicktime to play mp3s in the browser. The installed default is not to. It's a setting in the program, try looking.

      --
      Dekker Dreyer
    22. Re:Apple lists this problem in fine print by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Huh?

      You don't have to have QT run your .mp3 files; you can change your settings so that .mp3 files will open automatically in Windows Media Player, or any other player you choose. (And what's stopping you from right-clicking and simply saving the .mp3 file to your desktop, and bypassing any media player?)

    23. Re:Apple lists this problem in fine print by MacDork · · Score: 1

      Apple's hardware is generally very well-designed, and their software is solid on Macs, but they can't seem to write a decent Windows program to save their lives.

      This should be fun...

      For example: why does iTunes run the iPod service even when iTunes isn't running and even though I've never used an iPod?

      Because they figure if you're installing iTunes on Windows, it's because you purchased an iPod? It's a daemon. They want iTunes to launch anytime you connect an iPod, whether it's your iPod or not. I doubt keeping an ear out for an iPod connection is that resource intensive. Perhaps you should look for other background apps that are real resource hogs... Google Desktop indexing, virus scanning products, spyware of any sort, etc.

      Why does Quicktime automatically have your browser open MP3s in Quicktime instead of downloading them (and not give you the option of turning this "feature" off?)

      Just change your QuickTime browser plugin settings If your browser was saving to disk, no plugin was registered to handle that file type. QuickTime just steps up because nothing else is doing the job. Feel free to disable that.

      Why do Apple programs "break" the usual look and feel of Windows programs?

      You gotta be joking right?? Windows look and feel? LOL... Besides, Apple gets lots of shit about not even sticking to their own user interface guidelines these days. Why would they bother to be any more consistent on a Microsoft OS?

      Honestly, this isn't rocket science here. How hard would it have been to recompile the iPhone software for a 64-bit machine?

      Actually, computer science is a little harder than that. Not every app is coded in a high level language like Java or Python. Some folks still need to use C to get low level access for performance critical operations. In some cases, if you don't code with 64 bit in mind, you're app is going to be broken. You can just throw in a 64 bit compiler flag and expect everything to just work. Be great if you could, but it doesn't always work that way.

    24. Re:Apple lists this problem in fine print by LittleDobbs · · Score: 1

      Honestly, this isn't rocket science here. How hard would it have been to recompile the iPhone software for a 64-bit machine?

      It actually can be quite hard to port in either direction. Take any open source program that ported from Linux to Windows as an example.

      Microsoft isn't really doing any better on this front. They have yet to release an Intel compatible Mac version of Office. Once they do it doesn't look like they'll be able to port over VBA. I find that pretty ironic that MS has more trouble on Intel then PPC. Actually I'm pretty sure the reason is more of the need to move away from the Carbon API to the Cocoa API (or did I get that backwards).

      At any rate changing OS APIs is far from a trivial task and certainly not just a recompile.

    25. Re:Apple lists this problem in fine print by Alef · · Score: 1
      Not if you did it the right way at the beginning. [...] "What are these stupid macros, why I can't just write unsigned int instead of that ugly looking DWORD."

      Or you could do it the ISO standard way and write uint32_t. Unless you're running Visual Studio, of course, which doesn't provide the necessary headers.

    26. Re:Apple lists this problem in fine print by sl1thy · · Score: 1

      The iPod service constantly running and Quicktime plugin taking precedence are things that I expect to happen when I'm using Windows. Everyone one thinks their software needs to run at startup and that their app is the default. Why is this surprising? As for the "look and feel," it's by no means broken, just not matching the rest of your fisher price system.

    27. Re:Apple lists this problem in fine print by ZorbaTHut · · Score: 1

      The GUI and data transfer parts don't have to be 64-bit compiled. XP 64 is perfectly capable of running 32-bit Windows code. The drivers are the only part that would need any sort of a modification.

      --
      Breaking Into the Industry - A development log about starting a game studio.
    28. Re:Apple lists this problem in fine print by Ash-Fox · · Score: 1

      I highly doubt Billy is gonna give code to operate seemless with 64 Windows.
      He doesn't need to, it's documented on http://msdn.microsoft.com/

      Why should Mac support windows and vise versa.
      Brings in more business I would imagine.
      --
      Change is certain; progress is not obligatory.
    29. Re:Apple lists this problem in fine print by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Please curb your stupid.

    30. Re:Apple lists this problem in fine print by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Win64 uses an LP64 model. So an unsigned int is exactly 32 bits on all platforms (contrary to what everyone else does, but Microsoft believed, probably correctly, that it would break less of the notoriously platform-dependent code the masses of Windows programmers write). Only longs are 64 bits.

    31. Re:Apple lists this problem in fine print by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Oops, I misspoke. Microsoft uses an LLP64 model, which means only long longs (and pointers, of course) are 64 bits. All other data types are the same as on 32 bit platforms (ints and longs are both 32 bits). You still have problems (especially if you liberally cast from pointers to ints and back), but the whole DWORD business is still useless on Microsoft platforms, because Microsoft's compiler settings are such that it doesn't matter.

      Using the right types, and using type definitions (while good practice in general) hardly solves all the 64 bit bugaboos. The number of implicit assumptions people put into 32 bit code that they don't even realize exist when they're trying to move to 64 bit (or preferably portable 32/64 bit code) are just boggling in number.

    32. Re:Apple lists this problem in fine print by DavidD_CA · · Score: 1

      Maybe it's just me, but ALL hardware companies write crappy code for the software interface.

      HP comes to mind, but it's not just them. Aside from the actual driver itself, software interfaces ALWAYS break Windows conventions, are resource hogs, do annoying things like popup in the middle of the day to say hi, don't use Windows Update to deliver their patches, and are buggy as hell.

      And why do I need a 200 MB download just to run a printer?

      --
      -David
    33. Re:Apple lists this problem in fine print by cthellis · · Score: 1

      For example: why does iTunes run the iPod service even when iTunes isn't running and even though I've never used an iPod?

      I take it you've never used any other Windows program before? o_O You have to continually monitor your services and processes to turn off crapola. Does Adobe have no idea how to write a decent Windo... er... don't answer that. ;-)

      I'll admit the "open in browser, don't ask to save" default in QT is a queer decision. They frequently have default settings that feel odd to me, but I think it's mainly because I always want to manage my media myself. Most people have NO idea what they're doing with it, and forget where they've downloaded anything, so the default makes for less of a mess with them. (And it's not like you can't "save as" easily enough.)

      Meanwhile, Windows programs aren't similar enough to have anything one would call "look and feel" in other than the upper-right-hand min/max/close options (which Apple programs do have), and the menu structuring (which they also have.)

      As for the 64-bitness of iTunes, I assume it mainly comes from too much crunch-time, and not enough time to vet iTunes for 64-bit Windows on top of what they were adding to the mix to get the iPhone working properly. It'll be along in short order, no doubt, but they do have a penchant for trying not to release consistently bug-ridden software.

    34. Re:Apple lists this problem in fine print by hunterkll · · Score: 1

      For example: why does iTunes run the iPod service even when iTunes isn't running and even though I've never used an iPod? ...

      Does the same thing on OS X, don't you know?

      It just seems that, oh heck, out of sight is apparently out of mind or something and/or it just really dosn't affect performance at all and is nothing to bitch about?

    35. Re:Apple lists this problem in fine print by weicco · · Score: 1

      Yes I understood just couple of minutes ago (when I was reading all the replies) that my example was a lousy one and if I remember correctly, DWORD is actually defined as unsigned long, not unsigned int. I probably need to drink more coffee before posting to Slashdot :)

      --
      You don't know what you don't know.
    36. Re:Apple lists this problem in fine print by Phroggy · · Score: 1

      why does iTunes run the iPod service even when iTunes isn't running and even though I've never used an iPod? Because (they're hoping), someday you might plug one in, and if you do, it'll be a nicer experience for you if it simply works.

      Why does Quicktime automatically have your browser open MP3s in Quicktime instead of downloading them (and not give you the option of turning this "feature" off?) For this one, you can blame browser vendors. Browser plug-ins allow the browser to support additional media types in much the same way that a browser supports basic things like GIF and JPEG images. If you click on a JPEG image, it'll open in the browser instead of downloading it; the QuickTime plugin adds support for other formats that QuickTime supports so the browser can display them just as easily.

      A decade ago, most browsers gave you complete control over the configuration of this feature - you just scroll through a list of every available MIME type, and choose which plug-in you wanted to handle it, or if you wanted it to download, or whatever. For some reason, browser vendors have decided you no longer need this configurability, and they've removed the UI for it. I'm sure it's buried in about:config somewhere on Firefox. I think Opera still gives you the option in Preferences, and it wouldn't surprise me if SeaMonkey does as well, but I'm too lazy to check right now.

      Why do Apple programs "break" the usual look and feel of Windows programs? For exactly the same reason Apple programs "break" the usual look and feel of Mac OS programs (although in recent years, Apple has revised the Mac OS X Human Interface Guidelines to define what these apps do as not broken, and has encouraged third parties to break their apps in the same way, although it sounds like Leopard might change things).
      --
      $x='S24;r)>63/* h@<5+oZ)32"5cz';$me='phroggy'x$];
      $x=~y+ -xz+\0-Tx+;print$_^chop$me for split'',$x;
    37. Re:Apple lists this problem in fine print by stewbacca · · Score: 1

      Why do Apple programs "break" the usual look and feel of Windows programs?
      Because there IS no general look and feel of Windows programs.

      I've often wondered why iTunes is such crap on my PCs but great on my Macs as well. Perhaps it has to do with the fact that Apple is a small hardware company with not a lot of Windows programmers? Also, I believe the stoutness of OS X allows it to do things with iTunes (and the tight integration of all the bits) that WinXP chokes on. For example, if my wife runs iTunes on her account in XP, and I switch over to my account and try to open iTunes, I get the error that iTunes is already in use by another user. On our Macs, not only can we have iTunes open simultaneously on both logins, we can do it on both computers, share the libraries and access both of our own or shared libraries from any of the four running instances of iTunes, regardless of who is logged in where. I don't blame Windows, because I'm not a programmer and don't know any better, but you can't blame Apple programmers on the Apple side, because it is a sweet app. It irks me that iTunes, and Safari blow so badly on the PC, because PC people will just think Apple stuff sucks. Not until you show somebody Windows on an Intel Mac, do they start to feign general interest. The stark contrast between beautiful (OS X) and hideous (XP) is never so apparent as running Parallels in convergence mode.

    38. Re:Apple lists this problem in fine print by mr100percent · · Score: 1

      why does iTunes run the iPod service even when iTunes isn't running and even though I've never used an iPod? If they didn't, people would whine that they have to jump through hoops to enable iPod support in their Windows. iTunes is meant to be seamless.
  7. Suprised about what? by www.sorehands.com · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Suprised that it does not work on X64? Or suprised that the kool-aid drinking employees would delete anything that didn't say that the iPhone was not almost God like?

  8. Some or the other by CSHARP123 · · Score: 4, Funny

    People are waiting in line to buy our product and you are complaining about not working in 64 bit OS. Man, this was not released to people like you. The buyers we thought would shell out this kind of money to buy our product will only be running 32 bit OS. You sir, should get a life. Thanks Apple Customer support.

    1. Re:Some or the other by movdqa · · Score: 1

      As far as 64-bit Operating Systems go, I would hope that you could use your iPhone with the Mac Pro which runs a 64-bit operating system. Of course if it isn't, then I guess that 16 GB of ram that you can order it with is mostly going to waste. 64-bit computers and operating systems have been around since the 1980s. They make a lot of sense for servers today. They will make their way into desktops soon. For Apple, it should be by the end of 2007. AMD and Microsoft didn't do a very good job in marketing and in the driver detail work for x64. Microsoft, of course, has been pretty busy with Vista and dealing with security holes. And AMD spent too much time celebrating their success with K8 over Netburst.

    2. Re:Some or the other by Phroggy · · Score: 1

      Of course it works on Mac OS X on 64-bit hardware. Apple planned ahead, all the way back to the original PowerPC in 1994, to make sure that mixing 32-bit and 64-bit code on the Mac will mostly be a non-issue. It's Windows that has a problem with it.

      --
      $x='S24;r)>63/* h@<5+oZ)32"5cz';$me='phroggy'x$];
      $x=~y+ -xz+\0-Tx+;print$_^chop$me for split'',$x;
  9. Why do I need a computer to run my phone anyway? by C+R+Johnson · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I am required to have a computer to use the phone?

    Huh?

    You would think that with the supposed capabilities, you would it could be your computer.

    --
    The alternative to limited government is unlimited government.
  10. not surprising by edwardpickman · · Score: 4, Informative

    A lot of apps still aren't supporting 64 bit. Might have been a good idea to ask. That would have been my first question. I have both Macs and PCs so I don't forsee a problem when I make the plunge. Personally I'm waiting for the dust to settle. There seems to be a few issues that are going to be resolved with software upgrades and the service provider wasn't ready for the onslaught so I can wait a few weeks to make the switch.

    1. Re:not surprising by Dogtanian · · Score: 1

      A lot of apps still aren't supporting 64 bit. Might have been a good idea to ask. No, it might have been a good idea for them to mention it in the requirements, since they stated that it was supported under Vista and XP. Any restrictions they should have mentioned.
      --
      "Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).
    2. Re:not surprising by bakura121 · · Score: 1

      No, it might have been a good idea for them to mention it in the requirements I agree that it should have been more clear in the requirements, but come on... I had Windows XP 64 a while ago and quickly ditched it to go back to the 32-bit version. You just run the risk of compatibility issues when you run a 64-bit Windows. I'm not saying it's right or wrong, but it's a fact that not everyone supports 64-bit Windows. This person should have asked Apple about 64-bit Windows compatibility before making an expensive purchase.
    3. Re:not surprising by wilkinism · · Score: 1

      In this transition period, if you're going to run 64-bit responsibly you have to research every hardware component you plug into the machine. 64-bit hardware support has increased dramatically since Vista came out but it is still far from universal.

      --
      -Bryan
    4. Re:not surprising by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Even my software works on Windows 98 through Vista, both 32-bit and 64-bit and I'm doing API hooks, DLL injection, remote process communication and all kinds of other trickery. So how come 1 guy can do something that a company with millions of dollars at their disposal can't?

    5. Re:not surprising by Midnight+Thunder · · Score: 1

      A lot of apps still aren't supporting 64 bit. Might have been a good idea to ask.

      When you know that you have something that most don't have it is important to do so. At the same time, should a 64-bit version of an OS provide a means to run 32-bit applications (forget drivers for the moment)? I ask this whether your given OS is Linux, MacOS X or Windows. I know that it can be a little tricky when we are talking library dependencies, but knowing that the vast majority of applications out there are 32-bit, I would hope that some solution is provided to make the average user's life easier until 64-bit applications are more available.

      --
      Jumpstart the tartan drive.
    6. Re:not surprising by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      A lot of apps still aren't supporting 64 bit.

      It's hard to have an app that won't run in 64-bit Windows. You don't even need to recompile (unless you're still compiling for Windows 3.1), 32-bit software runs as-is. Drivers, on the other hand...
    7. Re:not surprising by ZorbaTHut · · Score: 1

      XP 64, and I assume Vista 64, does indeed run 32-bit applications just fine. I run XP 64 and the only issues I've had have been Defcon (which may have been a driver issue anyway) and a shareware registration program which was an ancient 16-bit program (which XP 64, unlike XP, does not support.)

      This includes games and apps. Hell, this includes Cygwin, which installs flawlessly. I literally don't have to care about XP 64 99% of the time.

      --
      Breaking Into the Industry - A development log about starting a game studio.
  11. No iPhone for South Dakota either by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    1. Re:No iPhone for South Dakota either by codepunk · · Score: 1

      I like the blurb about 10 people per square mile... In a few weeks here it is about to be 1000 people per square mile... I go to this area every year(sturgis) and of course quite a bit of time in Rapids city. The phone service always sucks so I take a additional old school cell phone with me so I
      may possibly have service. I cannot imagine that even just to service rally week customers it would not be profitable to put up some towers. It is a wide open space but next month it will get pretty crowded when 2 million bikers move into the area.

      --


      Got Code?
  12. 64 bit but do you have the memory ?? by PermanentMarker · · Score: 0, Redundant

    I just wonder for all the home PC's 64 bit platform do you have more then 4 GIG ram inside ?
    If not why did you install a 64 bit OS ?

    To me it makes no sense to be capeable of adressing lots of memory in a 64 bit architecture, while not having this amount of memory (then i gues it's rather more overhead then a performance gain)...

    So probaply they where right.

    Oops debunking a 64 bit platform in just 5 lines of text

    --
    I know you're out there. I can feel you now. I know that you're afraid. You're afraid of us. You're afraid of change.
    1. Re:64 bit but do you have the memory ?? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      > Oops debunking a 64 bit platform in just 5 lines of text

      Hardly. I've been running AMD64 native Gentoo for 3 years, being able to address over 4GB of RAM isn't of any benefit to me but the extra registers are.

    2. Re:64 bit but do you have the memory ?? by tomstdenis · · Score: 1

      Exactly. That and it drops some of the segmentation bullshit [long mode doesn't work like protected mode in terms of descriptors and all that].

      Why people think 64-bit OSes is only for more than 4GB of memory is beyond me. That being said I've had several computers with more than 4GB of addressable memory (e.g. 1GB PCI hole + 4GB of memory, and another with 6GB of ram). If you do a lot of compiling or host multiple users it's easy to burn through a couple GB of ram.

      Tom

      --
      Someday, I'll have a real sig.
    3. Re:64 bit but do you have the memory ?? by vertinox · · Score: 0, Troll

      Oops debunking a 64 bit platform in just 5 lines of text

      Which leads me to believe that if they have a legitimate use for 64 bit Windows, they would have something like May3d or Photoshop up and running.

      Which either means they shelled out a lot of money on computer hardware to listen to MP3s on a powerful work station or simply pirated everything anyways. If they intended to use this as a development platform for iPhone apps, I wondering what the heck for seeing you don't need a supercomputer to do so.

      --
      "I am the king of the Romans, and am superior to rules of grammar!"
      -Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor (1368-1437)
    4. Re:64 bit but do you have the memory ?? by Qrlx · · Score: 1

      We're sorry, the iPhone is not compatible with your "I like to multiply 32 bit integers" lifestyle. Please consider multiplying smaller integers, or maybe just adding them.

      Signed,
      Apple

    5. Re:64 bit but do you have the memory ?? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I dont think anyone in this thread said they gave a rats butt about the OMG eye-ponies!!

    6. Re:64 bit but do you have the memory ?? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative
      • On x86-64 you gain an additional eight machine registers over the x86's eight. In some applications that gives a significant speed boost.
      • Being able to operate on 64-bit values is quicker on a 64-bit architecture. You can also eg. copy eight bytes in a single instruction.
      • Even if you don't have more than four gigabytes of physical memory you can certainly use more than four gigabytes of address space. With all expansion cards and all, the memory map is getting real crowded, and being able to directly mmap huge files can come in handy.
    7. Re:64 bit but do you have the memory ?? by Sycraft-fu · · Score: 5, Informative

      Not that it is useful to respond to an inarticulate troll, but whatever I'm bored.

      There are plenty of reasons to install a 64-bit OS, even if you don't have >4GB of RAM. One would simply be to support larger amounts of memory in the future. If you've just got a new computer, why not be prepared? Seems rather silly to install an OS that you know you can hit a limit on and have to reinstall later.

      Another would be that 4GB isn't the real 32-bit limit. There are two limits you hit first. One is the 2GB per process limit. In Windows, virtual address space is divided right down the centre, with 2GB of kernel, 2GB for user (64-bit Windows does the same just with larger limits). This means that no single process can access more than 2GB of memory, since that is all the virtual address space it is given. So having more memory is fine for multiple programs, but if you have a single program that wants more it doesn't do you any good. Another is the 3.somthing GB limit from PCI devices. PCI devices grab memory ranges to use for getting data to and from them. Not a problem when your memory isn't near the limit of the address space, but when you get above 3GB, you run in to it. At work we have a DVR system with 4GB of memory but only 3.4GB is actually addressable, the rest of the address space is eaten up by the PCI devices.

      So really if you have more than 2GB of memory, and especially if you have more than 3GB, a 64-bit OS is the way to go.

      However there are other reasons too. In 64-bit mode, the processor has some features it doesn't in 32-bit mode. The most notable are extra registers and 64-bit integers. The extra registers are useful for optimising certain complex, but tight calculation loops (like encryption and such). 64-bit integers are useful any time you have a counter that needs to go past 4.some billion. In 32-bit mode, those numbers must be split in to 32-bit parts with a math library and that is rather slow. In 64-bit mode, they can be operated on natively.

      What it really comes down to is that 64-bit is the future. We are rapidly approaching 4GB in normal systems, and the need to move over is well recognised. Even Apple is releasing their OS as 64-bit soon.

      Perhaps in the future you'll take a bit more time to educate yourself before posting.

    8. Re:64 bit but do you have the memory ?? by MORB · · Score: 1

      A more than 4gig adressing space is useful for other reasons.

      For instance, memory mapped file IO can be a very convenient way to deal with large files. Except that with a 32 bit adressing space, it gets cramped very fast.

      Also, sometimes you just need to be able to store a lot of stuff in the heap. For instance, in a painting application dealing with large bitmap buffers, and large undo/redo buffers, a comfortable adressing space let you just let the system swap things out to disk, instead of doing it yourself to free some of that cramped 32bits adressing space.

    9. Re:64 bit but do you have the memory ?? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's a poor mans excuse... there are no real connections between the amount of memory and 64-bit. Datacenter edition of Win2K Server do not have a 4 Gb limit and there are several P3 and P4 based servers wich may have 16 Gb RAM.
      They are using this excuse because they need people to have a good reason to migrate to 64-bit.
      btw. how would you define a 8086 ? a 16-bit or a 20-bit system ? The real "old" meaning of 64-bit are that the registers in the CPU and preferably, but not nessessary, the data bus are 64-bit wide.

    10. Re:64 bit but do you have the memory ?? by DrDitto · · Score: 1

      Hardly. I've been running AMD64 native Gentoo for 3 years, being able to address over 4GB of RAM isn't of any benefit to me but the extra registers are.

      I doubt the extra registers makes a big difference in most apps. Out-of-order superscalars have far more physical registers than architectural registers. Sure, extra registers allows the compiler to reduce the fills/spills from the stack, but really, performance nowadays often depends on eliminating costly L2 misses (1 L2 miss ~= > 300 opportunities to retire instructions).

      Furthermore, narrower datapaths can be faster. Thus if you don't need the addressability of 64-bit and you aren't using 64-bit data types, then in theory 32-bit processors can be far faster.

      That said, advances in computing require > 4GB of addressability and 64-bit is the future. However personally, the gain of a 64-bit OS does not outweigh the hassle of compatability issue.

      PS-- I use and operate a cluster of 100 machines running 64-bit Linux. Yes, I see the hassle of compatability issues with this cluster but they all have 8GB of DRAM. The 64-bit Linux kernel also seems more unreliable than its 32-bit counterpart. No, I have no data to back this up besides my personal observations.

    11. Re:64 bit but do you have the memory ?? by steelerguy · · Score: 1

      "there are no real connections between the amount of memory and 64-bit."

      So you are saying a single process can use more than 4 GB of memory in Win2K Server?

    12. Re:64 bit but do you have the memory ?? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > I doubt the extra registers makes a big difference in most apps.

      What are 'most apps' and do they do crypto, compression, media [trans|en]coding...?

    13. Re:64 bit but do you have the memory ?? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No... mostly because I do not have access to a Datacenter edition...
      What I say is that Datacenter (and Enterprise) edition can access more than 4 Gb RAM. How it is done is, from the users point of view, irrellevant.
      Anyway, my point is just that it has been done before.

    14. Re:64 bit but do you have the memory ?? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Even Apple is releasing their OS as 64-bit soon.

      Yeah, but Apple's doing it right... one installer disc that installs the appropriate version for the hardware it's on, and no end-user worrying about if 64-bit is supported.

      Microsoft is practically treating their 64-bit OSes like redheaded stepchildren, some of their own other products aren't supported on 64-bit Windows.

    15. Re:64 bit but do you have the memory ?? by jimicus · · Score: 1

      Don't get too excited about 64-bit. 32-bit OSs are quite able to handle >4G of RAM provided they support Intel's PAE (basically, the 4GB limit is pushed down to the application).

    16. Re:64 bit but do you have the memory ?? by ZorbaTHut · · Score: 1

      PAE is a hack, and applications that need more than 4GB of RAM would have to jump through some ghastly hoops in order to do it. 64-bit really *is* the future - it lets applications easily and simply use more than 4GB of RAM.

      Supreme Commander actually has some problems with running out of address space - right now it uses a 2gb address space, and in large skirmish games it can easily crash due to out-of-memory. Pushing the address space up to 3gb with command line switches fixes the problem. We're probably only a year or two out from games where 4gb isn't enough. 64 bit is the future, and considering that 99.9% of all applications work fine on XP 64, I can see why this person would be very annoyed that iPhone doesn't.

      --
      Breaking Into the Industry - A development log about starting a game studio.
    17. Re:64 bit but do you have the memory ?? by movdqa · · Score: 1

      Perhaps they can access more than 2 GB of Ram. Or they're running on Itaniums which are 64-bit processors. I've read that there are some hacks that can allow a process to access more than 2 GB and I suppose that one could do some kind of bank switching to technically address more than 2 GB of memory or use a RamDisk. But the big problem is address space. Addresses are 32 bits in Win32 programs and unless you're doing some kind of special memory mapping, you're limited to 4 GB of address space. I've accessed 5 GB on my laptop in the past and this thing is three years old. I was running a beta of Windows x64. The better performance comes for desktop users where memory isn't a concern is that you can operate on 64-bits of data at a time, the additional 8 general purpose registers and the additional 8 vector registers.

    18. Re:64 bit but do you have the memory ?? by steelerguy · · Score: 1

      Even if you did have a copy, you would not be able to have a single process use over 4 GB of memory. If you are running a simulation that needs a lot of memory then not being able to address over 4GB without swapping becomes very relevant. It does not matter if the machine has 64 GB of RAM if you process can not use it.

    19. Re:64 bit but do you have the memory ?? by jimicus · · Score: 1

      Oh, I quite agree. The most obvious application solution is for there to be two applications running with separate 4GB virtual address pools and some sort of IPC between them, but that's not exactly elegant.

      Right now, Windows 64-bit is in the same kind of situation that NT4 was in back in 1998. Official support for both software and hardware was pretty poor (generally it was "If you can get this to work, well done, but don't come running to us for support"), but everyone knew that sooner or later it, or something like it, would be the way things were done.

    20. Re:64 bit but do you have the memory ?? by jmauro · · Score: 1

      For 32-bit processors it's called Physical Address Extension PAE. Any one process is still limited to only 4 GB of memory but the OS can have different 4 GB maps that are assigned to different processes. It theory it works well, in practice it's a pain in the ass.

    21. Re:64 bit but do you have the memory ?? by movdqa · · Score: 1

      I remember the old Task Builder days under RSTS and RSX in the early 1980s where you did program segment overlays to get effectively get larger programs to fit into memory. I'm pretty happy with the flexibility of virtual models and would rather not go back into the age of hacks to address more memory. I started working on 64-bit processors in the 1980s. Probably MIPs. Was working on DEC Alphas by the 1990s as I worked for DEC back then and we had early experimental prototypes. 64-bits has been around for quite some time.

    22. Re:64 bit but do you have the memory ?? by KarmaMB84 · · Score: 1

      There's not question that some of Microsoft's divisions have goofed up on the transition, but with any luck anything truly new (not started long before Vista was even workable) will be 100% compatible. The Vista logo requirements require x64 support so x64 is really a first class citizen and you can upgrade from 32-bit for FREE.

      Apple's universal binaries are cool but there is the tradeoff of having binary data for absolutely everything in formats for 2-3 architectures.

    23. Re:64 bit but do you have the memory ?? by DrDitto · · Score: 1

      What are 'most apps' and do they do crypto, compression, media [trans|en]coding...?

      Web serving, business processing, database, any GUI interactive application, game engines (not rendering), etc. I doubt any of these use-cases would see more than 10% gain from 64-bit compilation.

    24. Re:64 bit but do you have the memory ?? by SanityInAnarchy · · Score: 1

      you can upgrade from 32-bit for FREE.

      Assuming you already have Vista. They no longer offer free XP 64-bit to 32-bit users, and when they did, the deal sucked. They nuked your 32-bit license upon installing 64-bit, so if you went to 64-bit and didn't have a driver for something, you couldn't downgrade.

      If they're doing that again, thanks, but I'll stick with XP.

      Apple's universal binaries are cool but there is the tradeoff of having binary data for absolutely everything in formats for 2-3 architectures.

      Well, what's cool is, generally developers actually at least have to compile stuff for all platforms. And the tradeoff is close to nil -- the binaries aren't what takes the most space -- although a part of me is glad I'm using Linux and wasting almost no space on that.

      --
      Don't thank God, thank a doctor!
    25. Re:64 bit but do you have the memory ?? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > Web serving, business processing, database, any GUI interactive application, game engines (not rendering),

      A 10% performance increase could be rather significant even in apps that spend 99% of cpu time waiting for input. The gains appear to be a little higher with well generated or hand optimized code.

      Have you ever benchmarked your cluster?

    26. Re:64 bit but do you have the memory ?? by DrDitto · · Score: 1

      I'm not surprised to see that 64-bit helps something like OpenSSL. I am very surprised that the non-hand-optimized code does so poorly. Hand-optimizing sections of code is asking quite a bit out of most coders. I also suspect that 64-bit code could even increase the I-cache miss rate since instructions are 64-bit, right? I-cache misses are not an issue for things like SPEC or OpenSSL, but they are a huge deal when running Oracle/DB2/Sybase/etc.

      Not sure what kind of benchmarking you suggest on our cluster. It doesn't matter how much faster/slower 32-bit code would be because we need to access ~ 8GB of DRAM in a single process with our simulations.

    27. Re:64 bit but do you have the memory ?? by Jackie_Chan_Fan · · Score: 1

      64-bit Vista is being used more commonly than i think people realize. Go to ign's forums, or hardforum.com and you will see that most of the people that have gone vista, are going 64-bit.

      64-bit Vista is running on my workstation pc with 8gigs of ram and i love it. I'm so glad to be out of the 32bit world where ram limited every dam thing i did. As a 3d modeller and animator, i need all the ram i can get. Even with photoshop, working on pictures from a canon eos-1ds is a ram intensive task. Photoshop quickly eats up the 2gig limit in 32bit, and atleast in 64-bit, under emulation, the 32bit task can eat up all 4 gigs. Although i wish Adobe would get off their lazy fucking asses and write a 64-bit Photoshop. They keep saying they wont do it. Which says to me... Adobe sucks :)

      64-bit Vista is the only Windows OS. The 32-bit is a backwards compatibility shit job. Do you want to go backwards, or forwards?

    28. Re:64 bit but do you have the memory ?? by ZorbaTHut · · Score: 1

      Honestly, I think even PAE and similar memory bank swapping techniques are cleaner than that would be ;)

      And yeah, I think you're spot-on with what Win64 is like right now. Generally things seem to work, which is probably why it's so frustrating when things don't.

      --
      Breaking Into the Industry - A development log about starting a game studio.
    29. Re:64 bit but do you have the memory ?? by Phroggy · · Score: 1

      Even Apple is releasing their OS as 64-bit soon. For the record, Apple started selling Macs with 64-bit CPUs four years ago, and although not all of the operating system fully takes advantage of it yet, a lot of it does, and 32-bit and 64-bit code can run side by side, natively. There is no 64-bit edition or 32-bit edition of the OS. Apple has been prepared to go 64-bit since 1994.
      --
      $x='S24;r)>63/* h@<5+oZ)32"5cz';$me='phroggy'x$];
      $x=~y+ -xz+\0-Tx+;print$_^chop$me for split'',$x;
  13. Join the club by Alioth · · Score: 4, Informative

    Join the club, I bet the iPhone doesn't support Linux at all either.

    I like Apple hardware but I won't be buying the iPhone. Too expensive, too locked down. FIC are apparently releasing an open phone (the OpenMoko project), if I upgrade any time soon it'll be to the FIC product.

  14. Another world first for Apple! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    All-New OS-X Leopard! The World's First 64-bit iPhone-Compatible Operating System!

  15. Apple Forums by WrongSizeGlass · · Score: 4, Informative

    I also posted about my concerns on the Apple iPhone discussion forums, but my post was quickly removed. There are several threads in the iPhone forums mentioning that 64-bit Windows isn't supported. I'm guessing Mizled's iPhone post may have been removed because it might have been less charming than this one about his iPod calling iTunes 7 Junk and crappy software. I don't think Apple should remove a legitimate post (and Mizled's iPhone issues are definitely legit), but perhaps it was a little too unpleasant (and who can blame him after dropping $$$ on an iPhone).
    1. Re:Apple Forums by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Don't shoot the messenger! iTunes is crappy software. If Apple doesn't want people calling it that on their message boards, maybe they should make it so that it isn't a piece of junk or at least making it so that iPod owners don't have to use it. Seriously, is there any reason they couldn't have made it appear as a USB drive other than the fact that they want you to install their shitty software?

  16. The Zune doesn't work on 64 bit windows, either. by dimer0 · · Score: 3, Funny

    Is there anything that DOES?

  17. Re-debunking in two words... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Virtual memory.

  18. you're wrong by biscon · · Score: 2, Informative

    64 vs 32 bit is not just about being able to address more memory.

    A 64 bit CPU is able to move 64 bits at a time where as a 32 bit CPU only moves, you guessed it, 32 bits.
    Besides that most of the registers are 64 bits as well.

    If you - for example - want to multiply two integers larger than 32 bit you can do that in one
    operation on a 64 bit CPU (since EAX is 64 bit), on a 32 bit CPU you will have to split the operation
    in two parts. (because the numbers won't fit in the registers).

    debunking you in way to many lines ;)

    1. Re:you're wrong by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You forgot to mention that 64bits instructions (in general terms) can require twice the amount of bytes in program code.
      Thus, your CPU cache could be half as effective when running amd64 instructions, making your program run slower.

      Finally, having a CPU instruction that moves 8 continuous bytes at a time (let's say in 1 cycle) is nice, as long as all your hardware and memory buses are wide enough to not to require more cycles to actually move those 8 bytes.

      In summary : you don't have a 64bits workstation, no matter what MS makes you believe. But if you happily paid for your copy of NT 6.0 for emt64, personal satisfaction is all that mattered.

    2. Re:you're wrong by biscon · · Score: 1

      thats the cost of progress.

      32 bit code is also larger then 16 or 8 bit code, you still don't find many 8/16 bit architectures in the wild these days.
      Anyway since we almost hit the clock frequency ceiling using "normal" processor architecture, we have to focus on parallelism and larger word sizes (64 bit and above).
      At least until a new processor paradigm arises.

      I'm on a 32 bit Ubuntu machine with a 32 bit winxp install I use only for gaming, so I feel no need
      to defend 64 bit processors. The reason I replied was because grandparent was totally wrong and
      very smug about it too.

    3. Re:you're wrong by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No. eax is 32 bits. rax is 64 bits. You _almost_ got away looking like you didn't just read that up somewhere.

    4. Re:you're wrong by KarmaMB84 · · Score: 1

      It's mostly just pointers that are larger. Pretty much everything is the same size and we get more registers to play with so I think it's a good tradeoff.

  19. Re:Why do I need a computer to run my phone anyway by that+IT+girl · · Score: 1, Insightful

    I'm thinking (hoping) that they mean just to put songs in iTunes or whatever. I would -assume- that you could use the phone capabilities with just the cell service provider. But who buys an iPhone just to be a phone?

    --
    10 FILL MUG WITH COFFEE
    20 DRINK COFFEE
    30 GOTO 10
  20. How hard can it be? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Well, where there any smarter-than-the-ISO-standard developers who wrote the code that just knew that "size_t" was an "unsigned int"?

    If you get just one of those morons, making 32-bit code 64-bit compliant can be a time-consuming pain in the ass.

  21. Cheer up. by jrq · · Score: 5, Insightful

    At least if you downgrade you can run Google Desktop, and a whole host of other programs and utilities that don't properly support XP 64bit.

    --
    My UID is prime!
    1. Re:Cheer up. by Jackie_Chan_Fan · · Score: 1

      no thanks. Vista 64-bit is the only windows OS i am running on my pcs. XP64 lacks the driver support that Vista 64-bit has from hardware vendors. As for Google Desktop, it sucks :) Vista's search is far better, which is why Google is playing cry baby.

    2. Re:Cheer up. by jrq · · Score: 1

      Glad to hear that Vista64's support is better than XP64, though I remain sceptical.
      How or why is Vista's search better?

      --
      My UID is prime!
    3. Re:Cheer up. by Jackie_Chan_Fan · · Score: 1

      Vista's search is better than google because googles doesnt integrate with the OS well mainly because it keeps with the google web browser search interface. It looks like their webpage, when you search on your desktop. Which means it doesnt really integrate with the explorer functions such as copy and paste, or scan file for antivirus, etc. It's basically just like google's web search. It's rather limited in its sorting features, it doesnt search specific folders as easy.

      And really these arent unique to vista's search. The old MSN Desktop search on XP (same exact thing in Vista, althoguh in vista it is heavily integrated into the gui a lot better).. was and is better than googles search on xp.

      Google's main problem is that its a web page result basically. It isnt a real OS search like OSX has, or Vista. You cant dynamically scale the thumbnails perform standard operations on the file right out of the search results list, and its just clumsy and counter productive in all aspects really.

      The one nice thing google did was the double control quick key that brings up a google search bar. Other than that.. Vista really has it beat because it is an OS, not google's silly websearch interface. And frankly i cant see why google is bitching about MS's intergration of Vista's search, because Google likes to keep their web ui look. So Google's desktop search has no place intergrating with vista's gui the same way MS's search does.

  22. Quicktime Alternative Apple Quicktime by Cordath · · Score: 1

    If you must play Quicktime Files, don't install Apple Quicktime! Try Quicktime Alternative instead.

    http://www.free-codecs.com/download/QuickTime_Alte rnative.htm

  23. Well it depends by Sycraft-fu · · Score: 1

    If it is all a user-mode app, as in no kernel drivers or anything, should be no porting necessary. 64-bit Windows has a 32-bit emulation layer that works real well. Thus programs needn't be ported at all, they run as is. However that works only for user code, there can be nothing but 64-bit code in the kernel. This is still no big deal, supposing it was written right. I should almost just be as simple as a recompile. However if it is written poorly, well then it could be a major rewrite. I've come across more than one app that has done stupid things like assume that pointers will always be 4 bytes and thus won't compile for a 64-bit target.

    Given the over all poor quality of iTunes and Quicktime on the PC, I'm guessing they are probably NOT very well written and thus a 64-bit port is a more major problem.

    I personally find it rather amazing that they'd mandate iTunes to use the phone. I mean I have a PDAphone that runs Windows Mobile and while you can install a program to sync it to Windows, you need never do that. The phone is happy to work even if you don't own a computer at all. Seems like an extremely unnecessary move to mandate the use of iTunes for thier phone.

    1. Re:Well it depends by EXMSFT · · Score: 1

      It's an app which your iPhone connects to in order to activate and sychronize... there are drivers involved. Even if they could have, why would they (bear in mind I am writing this from a Dell laptop which I use everyday, that runs XP x64 - so I would be SOL too). x64 XP has been a market test. Vista x64 deployment is a novelty for now - not supporting it means less work for vendors to develop and test. If Microsoft cared about x64 deployment, they'd be pushing harder for ISV's to develop for it. I don't find it surprising that they'd mandate iTunes. It's an iPod. It has to sync somehow or you lose 90% of the utility of the device...

    2. Re:Well it depends by keytohwy · · Score: 1

      When I first heard they'd be selling iPhones at Apple stores, I thought the end was near. Have you ever stood in line behind someone buying a cell phone. Shit. The credit checks, the plan choices, etc. I wondered how they'd ever cope at the store level. Then, when I heard it was iTunes, I thought it was brilliant. It's an interface 100M iPod owners are familiar with. And, admit it or not, there are many that use iTunes without an iPod. So again, it is a common and familiar piece of software. It also removes the whole process from the store level. BRILLIANT I tell you. Ever see someone denied credit in a retail store? That customer service message has now been removed, and the person can be denied in the privacy of their own home. People out there concerned about privacy, etc. Give it up. Whether you activate a phone at home or in a store, there is a computer involved and your data is captured. This is brilliant, I tell you! keytohwy

  24. Re:Why do I need a computer to run my phone anyway by karmatic · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Nope.

    You have to have iTunes to activate the phone. Apparently it's "simpler" to include the sim card in the phone (not user accessable), require you to install a new version of iTunes on your computer, _and_ give it your credit card for the new $60+ service plan (or extend your existing AT&T plan to 2 yeas and add $40/mo.).

    If you don't, the phone is unusable. Personally, I suspect they do it that way to ensure that you have iTunes installed, making it more likely you are going to buy songs.

  25. No.. requirements list itself omitted the info. by Dogtanian · · Score: 5, Informative

    Come on, who'd buy a first-gen iPod without checking to see if it would work with their XP box? Or a Newton without checking to see if it could data transfer with Windows 3.1? That's a poor and downright misleading comparison. The listed product requirements mention XP and Vista, but didn't (and at the time of writing still don't) mention anything about incompatibility with 64-bit versions.

    It's reasonable to assume that- unless otherwise stated- the requirements in Apple's list would be both necessary and sufficient. It's not like it says "see this obscure Apple doc for more details". Apple probably kept that on display in the bottom of a locked filing cabinet stuck in a disused lavatory with a sign on the door saying 'Beware of the Leopard'... ;-)
    --
    "Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).
    1. Re:No.. requirements list itself omitted the info. by doce · · Score: 4, Informative

      In fact:

      http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=305 703

      The default search option only hits "Manuals" and ignores technical documents, leading any casual search to _appear_ empty. Changing it to search _everything_ rendered that link. Notice footnote (1) in the Windows section...

      --
      woof!
    2. Re:No.. requirements list itself omitted the info. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

      No, it is not. Microsoft's own documentation is clear on what the name of its products are. Just go to their website and you will see that when 64-bit is not specified, the version of Windows being discussed is a 32-bit one. Microsoft's names for the 64-bit versions of its operating systems:

              Windows Vista Home Basic 64-bit Edition
              Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit Edition
              Windows Vista Business 64-bit Edition
              Windows Vista Enterprise 64-bit Edition
              Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit Edition
              Windows XP Professional x64 Edition

      This is not a raw deal. Until Apple offers to support its products on 64-bit editions of Windows, no such contract as you describe exists.

    3. Re:No.. requirements list itself omitted the info. by Wordsmith · · Score: 5, Informative

      Actually, it says "Beware of the 64-bit Windows." It should work just fine with Leopard.

    4. Re:No.. requirements list itself omitted the info. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=301 301

      "iTunes for Windows not currently supported on any 64-bit editions of Windows"

      Published Feb 06

      On the box it only lists "Windows Vista". The poster above is correct, if Windows *64 was supported, the trademarked name of the 64-bit product would have been listed.

    5. Re:No.. requirements list itself omitted the info. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The test is on what the reasonable consumer* would believe

      *of the specific consumer target with that product/service.

    6. Re:No.. requirements list itself omitted the info. by Dogtanian · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Just go to their website and you will see that when 64-bit is not specified, the version of Windows being discussed is a 32-bit one. No, you provide a link to that page, thank you.

      And as I've said at least 4 times now, the name "Windows XP Professional 64-bit edition" (or whatever) implies that it's being sold as a version of "Windows XP Professional". Regardless of some convoluted argument based on something squirelled away on MS's website.

      The fact that Apple acknowledge the 64-bit incompatibility elsewhere (why bother if it was as cut-and-dried as you imply?) shows that even they acknowledge the potential for confusion.
      --
      "Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).
    7. Re:No.. requirements list itself omitted the info. by cthellis · · Score: 1

      Nicely done! ;-)

      I wonder how many people will catch this... I wish I had mod points. *snf*

    8. Re:No.. requirements list itself omitted the info. by coredog64 · · Score: 1

      Clearly you did not get the HHGTTG reference. Of course, I'm now clearly feeding a troll...

    9. Re:No.. requirements list itself omitted the info. by Wordsmith · · Score: 3, Funny

      Clearly, I did. But I still wanted to make a funny.

      Actually, it's not clear that I did. But I did. I'm clear on that.

    10. Re:No.. requirements list itself omitted the info. by mcmaddog · · Score: 1

      The listed product requirements mention XP and Vista, but didn't (and at the time of writing still don't) mention anything about incompatibility with 64-bit versions.
      Apple explicitly lists which versions of Windows (almost comically thanks to how many versions MS insists on creating) the iPhone is compatible with. The fact that it doesn't list the 64-bit versions is an indication of an incompatibility. MS explicitly lists Windows XP Professional x64 as a separate product from Windows XP Professional. For Vista the 64 bit media only comes with Ultimate edition and must be requested from MS if you have any other version. This is a non-issue for the majority of Windows users.

      Should they have made an even greater effort to indicate a problem with Windows x64 versions? Possibly, but I would lay most of the problem on MS for having such a confusing (arbitrarily so?) product family, and to be honest this has to affect such a tiny fraction of a percent of all iPhone buyers it's probably just better to deal with the returns then to further confuse most consumers.

      Apple sells two OS's for users to choose from, OS X and OS X Server, and has made moves from one architecture to another basically invisible to the average user. The G3, G4, and Core Duo processors are 32-bit, G5 and Core Duo 2 are 64-bit, but the user never had to worry about software incompatibilities. PPC software runs on Intel hardware through Rosetta allowing, for better or worse, many software developers to wait until their next product release to create a Universal binary, again the user didn't have to worry about software incompatibilities.

      It's reasonable to assume
      It's never reasonable to assume (especially on a $500-$600 purchase) because it makes an ass(of)u(and)me.
    11. Re:No.. requirements list itself omitted the info. by VJ42 · · Score: 1

      ah, going for the clearly defined areas of uncertainty I see. You're not an angry philosopher perchance? ;p

      --
      If I have nothing to hide, you have no reason to search me
    12. Re:No.. requirements list itself omitted the info. by lilfields · · Score: 2, Informative

      I suppose that's why my Windows Vista Ultimate disk shipped with both 32 and 64 bit discs under the same package name "Windows Vista Ultimate". The discs pertain no titles "Windows Vista Ultimate 64 bit" or "Windows Vista Ultimate 32 bit", but rather a notice: "This disc contains 64-bit software only" and "This disc contains 32-bit software only"...I also remember Microsoft having a new rule that in order to say you are "Vista Compatible/Ready" you must support both 64 and 32 bit editions. I think this should void the contract between the customer and AT&T, and I would suggest Apple simply have a disclaimer saying "currently we do not support 64 bit operating systems" right on the iPhone package or promotional. Considering I was actually considering an iPhone for the future after seeing it is actually quite nice, and I run 64 bit Vista Ultimate...this is quite disappointing. I hope Apple and AT&T make it right with their new iPhone customers running 64 bit operating systems, or I'll just be sticking with Verizon until Apple moves to them as a carrier, or a competing phone hits the market. I have a feeling AT&T will be more stingy about this than Apple...we'll have to wait and see.

    13. Re:No.. requirements list itself omitted the info. by Emetophobe · · Score: 1

      it's not like it says "see this obscure Apple doc for more details".
      Speaking of obscure Apple docs... take a look at my previous post: http://apple.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=243857&c id=19710027 or you can just go to the Apple page I brought up in my previous post: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=305 703

      On their support page, they indicate that "64-bit editions of Windows are not supported".

      Date Created: June 19, 2007 Date Modified: June 27, 2007

      That page was modified on Friday (release date), maybe they added that tidbit after some complaints on release day? Just a wild guess...
    14. Re:No.. requirements list itself omitted the info. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      I am not sure why you won't provide documentation to support your claim. I just did in response to another of your comments. Microsoft considers Windows XP Professional and Windows XP Professional x64 Edition separate products. Why can't you?

      Go here and click on Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional English North America CD w/SP2. Adding the item to your cart gives you the product name: "Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional". This is not the 64-bit version.

      Moral of the story: If you buy Windows XP Professional from Microsoft, you are not getting a separate and distinct product that runs in 64-bit mode on your processor. For that, you would need to buy Windows XP Professional x64 Edition.

      Not yet convinced? Visit here to see that "Windows XP Professional" and "Windows XP Professional x64 Edition" are different editions of Windows XP. A nice table illustrates the point.

      If a product you buy says it is supported under Windows XP Professional, you cannot assume it is supported under Windows XP Professional x64 Edition. They are different products and they have different names.
      No one is being pedantic, btw. These are the names Microsoft has given its products. Different products, different names. If you have a problem with the names Microsoft has given to its products, you should take it up with Microsoft. You also should admit it.
    15. Re:No.. requirements list itself omitted the info. by Dogtanian · · Score: 1

      It's never reasonable to assume Bollocks. There are plenty of cases where it's reasonable to assume; it's reasonable to assume that the sun will rise tomorrow. It's reasonable to assume that Apple didn't place a small thermonuclear device at the heart of the iPhone.

      (especially on a $500-$600 purchase) Maybe they should check the specs? Oh, hang on, that's exactly what they did. I'll say it again (since you cut it); it's reasonable to assume that unless stated otherwise, the "requirements" are both necessary and sufficient.

      because it makes an ass(of)u(and)me. Secondhand use of clever wordplay might help us remember stuff, but as Voltaire said, "a witty saying proves nothing".

      Apple explicitly lists which versions of Windows (almost comically thanks to how many versions MS insists on creating) the iPhone is compatible with. The fact that it doesn't list the 64-bit versions is an indication of an incompatibility. They listed "Windows XP Professional". The 64-bit version is marketed as "Windows XP Professional x64 edition", implying a variant.

      Should they have made an even greater effort to indicate a problem with Windows x64 versions? Possibly, but I would lay most of the problem on MS for having such a confusing (arbitrarily so?) product family, Sheesh, all they had to say was "not compatible with special 64-bit edition" via footnotes where relevant. Which is exactly what they did on another requirements list.
      --
      "Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).
    16. Re:No.. requirements list itself omitted the info. by Dogtanian · · Score: 1

      I am not sure why you won't provide documentation to support your claim. *What* exactly do you expect me to "prove"?

      That they are different products under the skin? Well, duh. But not the point under discussion; we were discussing MS's marketing.

      I just did in response to another of your comments. Prove what? That MS sells them separately? That was never questioned, and wasn't the point.

      These are the names Microsoft has given its products. Different products, different names. One is called "Windows XP Professional". The other is called "Windows XP Professional x64 Edition".

      Saying these are "different names" is a ludicrous argument.

      No one is being pedantic, btw. And pedantic.

      Regardless of the actual nature of the OSs, the marketing names chosen by MS suggest that they are closely related and under the same umbrella.

      How do you expect me to "prove" that the names sound alike anyway?

      If you have a problem with the names Microsoft has given to its products, you should take it up with Microsoft. Do you mind if I don't? I couldn't give a toss about that.

      You also should admit it. Admit what?
      --
      "Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).
    17. Re:No.. requirements list itself omitted the info. by SCPRedMage · · Score: 1

      Which is exactly what they did on another requirements list.
      Which wasn't the requirements list on the actual product, I'm gathering.
      --
      My sig can beat up your sig.
    18. Re:No.. requirements list itself omitted the info. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      *What* exactly do you expect me to "prove"?
      Your point. You know, like I did. But I think your question shows you can't.

      Prove what? That MS sells them separately? That was never questioned, and wasn't the point.
      You seem not to understand what a point is. If Microsoft sells two products under two different names, Apple saying a product works with one of those names does not imply interoperability with the other name.

      One is called "Windows XP Professional". The other is called "Windows XP Professional x64 Edition".
      Good. You know they are different.

      Saying these are "different names" is a ludicrous argument.
      I don't think I am the one being ludicrous.

      Regardless of the actual nature of the OSs, the marketing names chosen by MS suggest that they are closely related and under the same umbrella.
      And yet, as you acknowledge, Microsoft did choose different names for its operating systems. In particular, Microsoft chose different names for the 32-bit and 64-bit editions of its operating systems.

      How do you expect me to "prove" that the names sound alike anyway?
      I don't expect you to prove anything. If you can't support your point, you haven't made one.

      Do you mind if I don't? I couldn't give a toss about that.
      You seem very concerned that people might become confused by the names Microsoft has given its operating systems.

      Admit what?
      At this point, the correct answer is probably that you are trolling.
    19. Re:No.. requirements list itself omitted the info. by Dogtanian · · Score: 1

      *What* exactly do you expect me to "prove"? Your point. You know, like I did. Your point seemed to be that MS sold "XP Professional" and "XP Professional x64 edition" as separate SKUs. No-one was denying that, so it's irrelevant.

      But I think your question shows you can't. My point was that the name of the "x64 edition" would sound (to most people) like a variant of "Windows XP Professional". There is no way to "prove" that in the manner you suggest without some sort of formal survey.

      One is called "Windows XP Professional". The other is called "Windows XP Professional x64 Edition". Good. You know they are different. Of course the products are different- I never said otherwise. But your argument is nonsensical because the names suggest the exact opposite.

      And yet, as you acknowledge, I didn't.

      Microsoft did choose different names for its operating systems. In particular, Microsoft chose different names for the 32-bit and 64-bit editions of its operating systems. No. Most normal people would read it as a variant, just like they'd (correctly) assume "Diet Coke with Lime" was a variant of "Diet Coke".

      You seem very concerned that people might become confused by the names Microsoft has given its operating systems. Not at all. If you actually read what I said, you'd see that the problem was that Apple didn't make the compatibility requirements clear.

      Admit what? At this point, the correct answer is probably that you are trolling. You want me to admit that Windows XP Professional and Windows XP Professional x64 edition are different products? Of course they are. There's nothing to "admit", because I was discussing how they were being marketed, not what they were under the surface.

      And on the contrary, I've given reasonable answers to all your questions.
      --
      "Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).
    20. Re:No.. requirements list itself omitted the info. by Meski · · Score: 1

      I'd argue that reasonable consumers would not be using Windows 64, just as in '95, they were not using NT. Corporates would use it for servers, and geeks would use it, but tell everyone they are running *nix :^)

    21. Re:No.. requirements list itself omitted the info. by coolGuyZak · · Score: 1

      Ah, I stand corrected. I didn't know that MS differentiated their products in that manner. Regardless, I have no idea why my original statement got modded troll...

  26. 32bit windows runs 16bit apps by el_mancebo · · Score: 0, Redundant

    Why the hell a 64bit OS don't runs 32bit apps?

    1. Re:32bit windows runs 16bit apps by EXMSFT · · Score: 1

      driver app

    2. Re:32bit windows runs 16bit apps by Parsifal713 · · Score: 3, Informative

      All a 64-bit OS does it run applications built with 64-bit libraries. If 1 link in the chain of code from the application itself, down to the lowest level library linked in, is 32-bit, you generally need to build the whole application 32-bit. Often, a 64-bit does not automatically install all the 32-bit versions of the system software (and why would it, since the vendor wants to spend most of their time developing and testing the 64-bit installation) ergo, the 32-bit software won't run.

      P.S. In my experience, it is almost never worth it in terms of performance vs. sotware availability to run a 64-bit desktop. People do it to look macho, then get incensed when all their favorite consumer-grade software won't work.

      Cheers,

    3. Re:32bit windows runs 16bit apps by KarmaMB84 · · Score: 1

      That makes sense considering Microsoft intends Vista to be the OS that transitions everyone to 64-bit. They do require x64 compatibility for anyone that claims their product is compatible with their OS.

      My prediction is that every new retail boxed software or hardware for Windows will be Vista x64 compatible within a year if not sooner.

    4. Re:32bit windows runs 16bit apps by Emetophobe · · Score: 1

      I think one problem is your average non-technical consumer wants to use a 64 bit OS with his or her new 64 bit processor. People assume that they need a 64bit operating system in order for their new 64 bit cpu to work at its full potential or ever work at all. People want the "latest and greatest" and have no real insight into some of the limitations of 64bit Windows.

      Who's to blame? Microsoft for feeding us half supported 64bit operating systems or the software vendors for not supporting it? Either way, the average consumer suffers because of it.

  27. Meanwhile by jb.hl.com · · Score: 1, Troll

    Meanwhile, my Motorola V3 RAZR syncs just fine with Bluetooth, and cost me £100 over a year ago. ...yeah.

    --
    By summer it was all gone...now shesmovedon. --
    1. Re:Meanwhile by AndreR · · Score: 1

      Please sync your 8gb music collection over your 2.1 Mbit/s Bluetooth. It'll be pleasant. And fast. No, really.

    2. Re:Meanwhile by danomac · · Score: 1

      The RAZR? My GOD man, that's SO last year!

    3. Re:Meanwhile by Stevecrox · · Score: 1

      I know your trying to say this is impractical, but I used to sync 1GB of music onto a Nokia 7610 over bluetooth using Windows Media Player 10, I could sync my XDA that way. Most people's music collections are on the PC they use the most, I tend to use a PC for an hour or two, Assuming your on your PC for two hours you could sync upto 1.8GB worth of music, Impractical to load up a device but very handy in shuffling tracks.

      The downside is that bluetooth doesn't charge your phone unlike that handy USB cable, which is why I use a cable for my XDA, since a charge a day keeps the nasty "you've used to much Wifi indicator" away.

  28. Cell Phones could be the greatest but by BroadbandBradley · · Score: 1, Interesting

    there's way to many feature lock downs from not letting you use your MP3 files as ring tones so you'd have to buy ring tones from your cell provider (thus also needing to pay for the data access plans), to the stupid Itunes music phones which won't show up as a removable storage device when you plug into your USB and require you to use Itunes to transfer music files to the phone. Bluetooth mostly only lets you use a headset but not share or transfer photos to another phone or your computer (requiring the data plan to get your photos off the phone)

    buy an unlocked phone and have the freedom to use your hardware. I got a Motorola A780 from celluloco.com and nothing is locked down like the Iphone or the other offerings from various providers. It cost more initially but 2 years later there still isn't a phone available that does those things that I'm aware of from a cell provider (wish it had WiFi though)

    F Apple, F Microsloth, long live Linux, down with the greedy evil cell companies. Sooner or later, someone will bring unlocked service to the masses and only then will they have to adapt to the demands of a liberated consumer.

    1. Re:Cell Phones could be the greatest but by skrolle2 · · Score: 2, Funny

      Sooner or later, someone will bring unlocked service to the US masses and only then will they have to adapt to the demands of a liberated consumer. There, fixed it for you. We're so sorry your phone companies are assholes over there.
    2. Re:Cell Phones could be the greatest but by BroadbandBradley · · Score: 2, Interesting

      you're right, it's not a democracy over here like people want to think it is. government follows the golden rule "He who has all the gold makes all the rules" and politicians are nothing but corporate puppets. George Bush is the biggest puppet of all, the Bush empire is all oil money and war in the middle east has served to bring the price of gas up at the pump not because of lack of supply but because of FUD propagated by the political powers who use fear to win votes.
      It's no surprise that I've heard different unrelated people talking about revolution recently (older people who've been around for awhile) because of the widening gap of those who have and those who have not in our society. Foreclosures on homes are at an all time high and when housing becomes out of reach of the common man who works 60 hours a week something has got to give. I have hopes that advancing technology will change the equation and level the field between individuals and large companies, and erase centuries old programming that religion has placed on a large portion of otherwise free thinking people. It's a strange time we live in.

  29. Re:Pot to Kettle -- Yer Black! by Dogtanian · · Score: 1

    Let me see if I understand this; Going by the following, you don't:

    a select group of Windows users, who use 64 bit, consider themselves elite knowledgeable computer users are complaining that the other group of elite computer users is shunning them. No, they're complaining that Apple omitted information from the product requirements. Apple said it ran under Vista and XP, but neglected to mention that this excluded the 64-bit versions.
    --
    "Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).
  30. Re:The Zune doesn't work on 64 bit windows, either by Kneht · · Score: 3, Informative

    My Zune works fine on 64 bit Vista.

    --
    "Are you on some kind of medication?"
    "No"
    "Well, you should be."

    --Bean

  31. Apple's attitude by jvlb · · Score: 0

    With the possible exception of Oracle, Apple is the most arrogant organization in the high-tech business. Customer service, security, and quality are at best an afterthought at Apple. Marketability is the only real concern, that and lock-in. Like Ronald Reagan, Apple's long list of misdeeds and affronts to their customers slide off as if Steve Jobs is made of teflon. It is a mistake to expect value or serviceability from an Apple product; occasionally an Apple product may exhibit such qualities, but it is nothing more than a happy accident.

    1. Re:Apple's attitude by smchris · · Score: 1

      With the possible exception of Oracle, Apple is the most arrogant organization

      You're too kind. Even Oracle released a free 10g for the small user in response to MySQL and, I particularly like to think, PostgreSQL. So let's go with Apple.

  32. Free Software and Open Source by Pope+Raymond+Lama · · Score: 3, Insightful

    So,
    this is waht we from the Free world use to claim: closed source slows down inovation and locks you out.

    In a few weeks there will be some reverse engeneered software to synch IPhone with GNU/Linux.

    Yes, if I want to use it on the day it is out, I will have to compile it (which likely ammounts to typing three or four commands on my console), and quite possibly it still be a command line tool but in a few more days, it will be improved to integrate nicely with other tools I already use, under the same interface, without changes. Open specifications anyone??

    And...it will work with 32 or 64bit gnu/Linux, and possibly even with other Unix variants.

    But people prefer to be trapped to a monoculture of badly writen code than "pioneering" very nice software.

    I should remember that the fact that now we have to wait for having iPhone or other vendors official support is mainly due to not having a "meaningfull slice of desktop share" of desktops in use. And even then...if they invent things like "no 64 bit support" - we can run our own.

    --
    -><- no .sig is good sig.
    1. Re:Free Software and Open Source by ichigo+2.0 · · Score: 1

      And to top it off, the software you speak of will eventually be ported to 32- and 64-bit windows. Screw itunes!

    2. Re:Free Software and Open Source by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      In a few weeks there will be some reverse engeneered software to synch IPhone with GNU/Linux.

      I highly doubt it.

      Yes, if I want to use it on the day it is out, I will have to compile it (which likely ammounts to typing three or four commands on my console)

      After which you'll discover sixty missing symbols because the versions of the libraries the tool was linked against were about ten iterations out of date, and if you email the author, he'll say it's your fault for having the wrong versions of the libraries, and it's your responsibility to repair the code to conform to the new interfaces.

      , and quite possibly it still be a command line tool but in a few more days, it will be improved to integrate nicely with other tools I already use, under the same interface, without changes. Open specifications anyone??

      Hey, that's right, because if there's anything the open-source community is known for, it's consistency!

      Open source is a great thing, but it is not some sort of magic panacea. It has just as many problems as closed-source -- it's just that the problems are different.

    3. Re:Free Software and Open Source by xtal · · Score: 1

      [quote]
      But people prefer to be trapped to a monoculture of badly writen code than "pioneering" very nice software
      [/quote]

      People prefer to use things that work. Often times, the most expedient way to something that works is not open source. Other times, it is.

      --
      ..don't panic
    4. Re:Free Software and Open Source by dangitman · · Score: 1

      Your first statement:

      So, this is waht we from the Free world use to claim: closed source slows down inovation and locks you out.

      Contradicts your following statement:

      In a few weeks there will be some reverse engeneered software to synch IPhone with GNU/Linux.

      So, it seems you can get the closed source stuff to work, and you aren't locked out. Further, if the free software world is so against closed source, then why are they so keen to spend time supporting closed-source software? Doesn't make much sense to me.

      But people prefer to be trapped to a monoculture of badly writen code than "pioneering" very nice software.

      My experience is the opposite. Usually the pioneering stuff, and the "nice" stuff is closed source. Much of the Open Source and Free Software is just an imitation of the Closed Source applications that have been around for much longer, and is much more mature. Often the Open Source stuff doesn't work so well, or is poorly written compared to the Closed stuff.

      Don't get me wrong, I like the FOSS philosophy - it's just that in the real world, the software isn't as powerful, as usable, or as innovative of much of the closed stuff. It would be nice if that changed. Think of the real innovative and revolutionary software, like Photoshop. It didn't come from the FOSS world, and the equivalent FOSS software is years behind the proprietary software.

      I think the problem is the huge gulf between FOSSy people who focus on tinkering, computers as a hobby and philosophy, and the end users who use their machines to get stuff done, often in a professional environment.

      --
      ... and then they built the supercollider.
    5. Re:Free Software and Open Source by Phroggy · · Score: 1

      Open source software development doesn't just happen by magic. If you want this to happen, start coding. Otherwise, you may find that no such project exists.

      --
      $x='S24;r)>63/* h@<5+oZ)32"5cz';$me='phroggy'x$];
      $x=~y+ -xz+\0-Tx+;print$_^chop$me for split'',$x;
  33. Re:Wahhhhh.... by QuickFox · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Ain't it great when the mod proves the point!? The mods that you got were justly deserved. You were acting like a crybaby, whining and complaining, accusing a poster of being a crybaby, just because he has issues with the stuff he bought. Now you're being a crybaby again, this time whining about the mods you got. Try to avoid being such a crybaby.

    Of course I, posting like this, explaining to you how it works, will deserve an Offtopic mod, or maybe even a Flamebait. Too bad. But unlike you, I'll take it like a man.
    --
    Terrorists can't threaten a country's freedom and democracy. Only lawmakers and voters can do that.
  34. Re:So what's the problem? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Maybe you haven't noticed, but it is often the stupidest people who have and make the big bucks.

  35. Re:The Zune doesn't work on 64 bit windows, either by SunTzuWarmaster · · Score: 1

    Linux

  36. Re:Why do I need a computer to run my phone anyway by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Just to clarify, the SIM is user accessible.... but only accepts AT&T versions...

  37. Me think... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ...that the percentage of 64-bit Windows desktop installations is less than desktop Linux installations.
    Realize it: you are just another casuality of the 32 bit wintel monopoly...
    just say hello to mr. Who-need-64-bit (Intel) and mr. We-only-support-intel (Microsoft).
    I presume You've got a lot of native 64-bit applications on that machine.
    --
    ...and they are telling us that they are the driving force in development ? HA!

  38. Insane relatives by matt+me · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I once visited the iTunes forums. The majority of posts were windows users being driven insane by iTunes adding a shortcut to itself on their start menu, quicklaunch and desktop every time *any* user ran it.

  39. 64 Bit Support is new to everyone by nurb432 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    You can count the number of apps that currently support 64 bit windows on one hand.. ( ok, not quite that bad, but close ).

    Hell, not all of micrsoft apps dont even support it yet, and its THEIR OS.

    By the time this matters to their target market, it will have been taken care of.

    --
    ---- Booth was a patriot ----
    1. Re:64 Bit Support is new to everyone by Goodgerster · · Score: 1

      I literally cannot understand why software doesn't run on Windows properly under 64-bit, when the 32-bit one runs so well. After all, Linux apps function perfectly with only a recompile in most cases...

    2. Re:64 Bit Support is new to everyone by Jackie_Chan_Fan · · Score: 1

      While this is true...

      The few that i can count on my hand, are the ones i use on a daily basis professionaly. Softimage XSI, Zbrush 3, Alias Maya, and 3d Studio Max.

      And i would never dream of running them on a 32bit platform ever again.

      So while there is only a handful of 64bit apps, the ones out there definately benefit from 64bit, as does any user that uses them in a 64-bit environment.

      Vista 64-bit is the only Windows OS anyone should be installing. I dont care how many or few 64-bit programs you think there are, it is the future. By running 32-bit vista, you are holding the computer industry back. Which is why Apple doesnt want to support Vista 64bit with true native 64bit code. They want to simply cripple Windows by keeping it in 32bit so that you will go to their 64bit OSX. Because as apple knows, and as any real pc user knows.. 64bit should be on every fucking desktop by now on the PC and we're late to the party.

  40. no 64 bit? by pjr.cc · · Score: 1

    Very intersting... i made the logical assumption that it would be supported under 64bit, even more interesting to know microsoft don't even support the zune under their own 64bit os's..

    altho someone saying "apple will support linux 64 bit before windows"... well, when did apple do anything linux related again?

    Im not an apple user so my comments are possibly quite inaccurate but I do find it quite odd that apple seem more intent on supporting and getting support for microsoft products in their platforms that OSS. At least, thats my perception

    1. Re:no 64 bit? by figleaf · · Score: 1

      Zune works fine on Vista 64 bit. XP 64-bit is not supported but there are hacks to floating around to make it work.

  41. Proprietary products by kasperd · · Score: 1

    Getting one proprietary product to play well with others can be a challenge. You want to proprietary products from two different vendors to play well together. I'm afraid you are not in for an easy task. Your problem is exactly the reason why people are talking so much about openness.

    --

    Do you care about the security of your wireless mouse?
  42. Apple more arrogant than Microsoft? Please. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Apple can afford to have lousy customer support because the products are great. But nobody could soberly be considered more arrogant than Microsoft, which has overcharged for cruddy software and cheated in the marketplace for decades.

    If Apple is like Ronald Reagan, Microsoft is more like the Soviet Union.

  43. I for one by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I for one say "Who cares!?". This isn't Apple customer service! Stop complaining this is a Beta Phone!

    This is slashdot, not the whining and spoiling center where you complain about everything!...

    oh wait.

    Typical Slashdot user... without an iPhone

  44. Why doesn't it Just Run? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Not just because it's Apple software, and Apple fanbois claim that Apple stuff Just Runs(tm).

    It's x86 code, 32bit, that uses all whopping eight registers of the IA32 CPU architecture.

    AMD64 is nothing but a superset of x86. It has more registers (but the old ones are available), it has new opcodes (but will happily execute any old ones you throw at it). How does any 32bit software NOT run on a 64bit operating system?

    Hell, Panther (Mac OS) was said not just to allow 32bit apps, but to not fully support 64bit apps (as the GUI libs didn't yet run 100% fine when thrown into a 64bit context). Now we get the news that Windows doesn't only support 64bit, but when it does, it won't run 32bit apps? What's that madness all about? Is the Intel architecture, unlike the PPC, constrained that it can only ever run in one mode? That all processes on a 64bit OS have to be 64bit as well? Doesn't make any sense to me, frankly, *especially* given the superset-ness of the 64bit command set and registers.

    CAPTCHA: endemic. Well, maybe to Apple's attitude. Make it look like 64bit Intels can't run that stuff. Just like an AMD can only support five Skype connections.

    1. Re:Why doesn't it Just Run? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I wonder if anyone has tried compatibility tools to make software think it's running an older version of windows...

    2. Re:Why doesn't it Just Run? by 26199 · · Score: 1

      It's not nearly that simple.

      The 64 bit instructions aren't a superset; they're an entire new instruction set. The old instruction set is still supported, but you can't mix and match.

      And while it's possible to run 32 bit apps on a 64 bit OS, this needs to be supported in the kernel; and there need to be 32 bit libraries available. It currently works reasonably smoothly under 64 bit linux, but the favoured method (as far as I'm aware) is to have an entire 32 bit install alongside the 64 bit one; any 32 bit apps run inside a chroot, so they see a 32 bit world. The kernel handles the remaining messy details.

      Summary: it's hard. Why it hasn't been done in Windows, I'm not sure. (Possibly because they don't have chroot?!).

    3. Re:Why doesn't it Just Run? by nxsty · · Score: 1

      And while it's possible to run 32 bit apps on a 64 bit OS, this needs to be supported in the kernel; and there need to be 32 bit libraries available. It currently works reasonably smoothly under 64 bit linux, but the favoured method (as far as I'm aware) is to have an entire 32 bit install alongside the 64 bit one; any 32 bit apps run inside a chroot, so they see a 32 bit world. The kernel handles the remaining messy details.

      You don't need a chroot to run 32 bit apps in a 64 bit linux. The 32 bit libraries can be installed along with the 64 bit libraries (/usr/lib and /usr/lib32 for ex.).

    4. Re:Why doesn't it Just Run? by cciRRus · · Score: 1

      Summary: it's hard. Why it hasn't been done in Windows, I'm not sure. (Possibly because they don't have chroot?!).
      Windows 64-bit edition uses WOW64 to run 32-bit apps:

      The WOW64 subsystem is a lightweight translation layer that has similar interfaces on all 64-bit versions of Windows. Its primary purpose is to create a 32-bit environment that provides the interfaces required to allow 32-bit Windows apps to run unmodified in the 64-bit system. Technically, WOW64 is implemented using three dynamic-link libraries (DLLs): Wow64.dll, which is the core interface to the NT kernel that translates between 32-bit and 64-bit calls, including pointer and stack manipulations; Wow64win.dll, which provides the appropriate entry points for 32-bit apps; and Wow64cpu.dll, which takes care of switching the processor from 32-bit to 64-bit mode.
      I'm not sure if this works the same way as chrooting to a "32-bit world" but it does work. :-)
      --
      w00t
  45. Re:So what's the problem? by tha_mink · · Score: 1

    If you're stupid enough to pay $500.00 or more for Bling AND run Windows on your computer, you're too stupid to have money. So you might as well give it to one of Satan's many minions. My $40.00 cell phone does everything a cell phone needs to do and I could still use it if my only computer was Commodore 64.

    Um...so your phone can get you directions to that business meeting you've got in an hour? Oh wait, business, right you probably don't have any of that either. I'm not going to buy an iPhone anytime soon either, but I can't live and work without my blackberry. (or SOMETHING) These days, if your in the information business, a $40 cell phone isn't going to cut it sir. Welcome to 1998...
    --
    You'll have that sometimes...
  46. What are you talking about? by Yosho · · Score: 1

    I use 64-bit Windows XP on my computer. All of my software works. All of my hardware works, including things like a bluetooth mouse, a firewire DVD burner, and a fancy GeForce video card. Long ago there were many problems, but those days are gone. The only current programs I can think of that I have problems with are the installers for the Oblivion downloadable content, which is very stupid because if you extract the files from the installers via other means, they work fine. I've played many other games that worked just fine, too.

    Do you have any actual evidence that the number of apps that support 64-bit Windows is "close" to being countable on one hand, or are you just spreading rumors?

    --
    Karma: Terrifying (mostly affected by atrocities you've committed)
    1. Re:What are you talking about? by pev · · Score: 1

      All of *your* software works? Good for you! You could of course open your mind and take into account programs that others use too before accusing the parent of spreading rumors!

      There are two issues here - the original said "You can count the number of apps that currently support 64 bit windows on one hand." this is cynical but true. Most 32-bit apps can run in emulation under x64 XP but thats different. Also, bear in mind that theres also a difference between "seems to work" and "fully supported and tested" for professional users. Take for example products by Digidesign or Autodesk. No one that uses these products for a living would use them on an unsupported system even if they appear to run in emulation. Additionally there are lots of explorer extensions that won't work with the 64-bit XP.

      ~Pev

    2. Re:What are you talking about? by ChronosWS · · Score: 1

      All of my software works as well. In fact, everyone I know who runs 64-bit Vista has very few issues with software compatability. It mostly revolves around hardware/driver issues.

      The original statement about the number of apps supporting 64-bit Windows being extremely small was extremely disingenuous if the person knew the actual compatability rates, or just ignorant if not. In either case, I wouldn't be defending it.

    3. Re:What are you talking about? by pev · · Score: 1

      Did you even read the post?

      A 32-bit app that "works' under WOW32 emulation != an app supporting 64-bit windows (i.e. ported to x64)

      Also, just because our 32-bit app "works" in x64 emulation doesn't mean your app vendor will give you support for it which is critical to nearly every commercial organisation.

      ~Pev

    4. Re:What are you talking about? by Yosho · · Score: 1

      You could of course open your mind and take into account programs that others use too before accusing the parent of spreading rumors!

      "Open my mind"? The parent said that you could count the number of apps that support 64-bit Windows on one hand, which is patently false, because I use more applications than I can count on one hand. What other people use doesn't even matter.

      There are two issues here - the original said "You can count the number of apps that currently support 64 bit windows on one hand." this is cynical but true. Most 32-bit apps can run in emulation under x64 XP but thats different.

      I see, so if you change the definition of "support 64 bit windows" to mean "has a natively compiled 64-bit version", then somehow that makes his argument true. Just for the sake of argument, let's pretend that it's impossible for a 32-bit application to be supported on 64-bit Windows. Off the top of my head, here's a few programs I use that have native 64-bit versions:
      All of my drivers, obviously, and because I'm nice we'll count them as one program.
      Logitech's mouse control center.
      Half-life 2.
      7-zip.
      Avast Anti-virus.
      Java.
      Motorola's phone tools.
      (we're over one hand now, but I'll go on a bit more)
      PeerGuardian.
      We'll lump some of MS's applications together: Internet Explorer, Windows Defender, Outlook Express, etc.
      Daemon Tools.
      Firefox.
      And more, but this is getting tiring. Here is a list of some native 64-bit applications that popped up as the first link on Google. I hope your hands have lots of fingers.

      Look, I know it's popular to hate on 64-bit Windows here on Slashdot, but the fact is that there are lots of native 64-bit applications out there, and the vast majority of existing 32-bit applications work perfectly unless they try to install drivers.

      --
      Karma: Terrifying (mostly affected by atrocities you've committed)
    5. Re:What are you talking about? by pev · · Score: 1
      I'm not changing the definition, i'm using the one that using what was written! Theres a difference between an environment supporting an application and and applications supporting an environment. 32-bit apps on x64 windows run in an emulation layer. Your argument that an app supports the OS because it happens to run is akin to saying Microsoft Office Supports OSX and Linux because it tuns under VMWare and Wine respectively. Or indeed saying that a PPC binary supports Intel OSX as it happens to run using Rosetta.

      Personally I have nothing against Windows XP x64 Edition - I'd probably use it myself but my main development environment is Microsoft Windows CE Platform Builder and it doesnt formally support Windows XP x64 Edition.

      ~Pev P.S. Its a bit of a bad example for you to have quoted as IE and Outlook Express as supported - given that their part of the OS as distributed its pretty obvious MS will have recompiled for the OS they're distribute with...

    6. Re:What are you talking about? by KarmaMB84 · · Score: 1

      XP for x64 or Vista for x64 for that matter doesn't do any emulation. It switches the CPU into 32-bit mode for 32-bit processes when it schedules them. The closest thing to emulation would be memory address translation and translating certain file paths to get to the correct directories for 32-bit libraries. Of course, we've been mapping virtual memory addresses to real physical addresses for a couple decades or longer already so extending an x86 memory address into x64 format is NOTHING to the OS.

    7. Re:What are you talking about? by movdqa · · Score: 1

      Here's a list from September 2006 from PlanetAMD64. BTW, you can add Mathematica to this list and, I'd guess, quite a few more applications. Antivirus / Spyware Software avast! Antivirus Symantec Antivirus Corp. 10 NOD32 AVG Antivirus Ghost Security Suite (Beta) System Utilities Stratup Monitor64 SpeedCommander Filemon OpenGL Extensions Viewer Prime95 Process Explorer Regmon ActivePython UltraMon DVDInfoPro 64 Stata TweakNow eXtended Task Manager Process Lasso dtSearch (Beta) MD5 Checksum Tool Benchmarking / Overclocking Tools Sisoftware Sandra 2007 Fraps CineBench SpeedFan PCI Latency Tool v2 SysTool Desktop / UI Customization True Launch Bar WindowBlinds StyleXP File Compression Squeez 7-Zip sfvsub 1.4 (Beta) Disk Management WinImage Filedisk O&O Defrag Diskeeper 10 Silicon RAID Management Utility Graphic Apps POV-Ray Softimage | XSI RealWorld Icon Editor Autodesk Maya Maxon Cinema 4D Internet / Email Apps Mozilla Firefox x64 Sun Java x64 PeerGuardian 2 Mozilla Thunderbird x64 Arctic Torrent cFosSpeed Firewall / Security Tools Tiny Firewall 64 UltraVNC With Firewall Control Networking CommView CommView Remote Agent NetResident CommTraffic FTP Software SmartFTP Audio / Video Editing / Production Cakewalk Sonar x64 VirtuaDub DVDx CD/DVD Authoring AnyDVD (Beta) CloneDVD (Beta) CloneCD (Beta) DAEMON Tools X64 Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 x64 IntelliType Pro 5.5 IntelliPoint 5.5 Windows Media Encoder 9 x64 .NET Framework 2.0 SDK x64 Windows Defender x64 (Beta) Internet Explorer 7 x64 Windows PowerShell x64 DirectX (8/8/06) DirectX SDK (8/8/06) PostScript Interpreters AFPL Ghostscript GSview Games Half Life 2 Far Cry Unreal Tournament 2004 Unofficial TweakUI64 (UI Tweaking) PuTTy x64 (Networking) Misc. Gozoku x64 (Japanese to English dictionary)

    8. Re:What are you talking about? by nebosuke · · Score: 1

      Any software that is certified for Windows Vista must be tested for and support the 64 bit edition of Vista.

    9. Re:What are you talking about? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      I hope your hands have lots of fingers.

      Some of us count to 31 on one hand :-)

  47. Done on purpose by gilesjuk · · Score: 1

    I think Apple like to frustrate Windows users on purpose. There's no reason why 64-bit wouldn't simply be a re-compile?

  48. Apple IS NOT GPLv3 COMPLIANT!!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Steve Jobs is the devil! Apple is a monopoly! It's a threat to democracy! Beware!

  49. The "Free" VPC XP Image expires in 1 month by cyclocommuter · · Score: 1

    Aside from VPC not supporting USB, another problem is that XP image FREE from Microsoft expires in 1.5 months. From the blog you linked to: "Just a reminder that both images expire on August 17th, 2007. PEte LePage, Product Manager".

    I would rather use VMWare's free VMWare Player assuming I have a legal copy of XP. The latest version of the Player has no problems running on Vista either as a host, or guest. It also supports USB 2.0 for the guest VMs.

  50. Missing the Point by asphaltjesus · · Score: 2, Informative

    This surprises me just a little. How hard could it be to port iTunes to Vista x64?

    First, nearly all big-time software vendors wait quite a while before moving their products to the next flavor of OS. They don't allow engineering to get started unless the PHB's see compelling adoption of that platform. XP 64-bit is in a very awkward place in this regard. Microsoft has all their eggs in Vista.

    Second, it's a heck of a lot more work in the average big company dev environment.

    Third, it's really important to remember there is even more kernel-level DRM in vista64 such that it's easy for me to imagine the USB hacking changing more code than just some usb bits.

    Finally, why are you surprised that another corporations intent is to create vertical silos that don't interoperate?

    --
    Got Trader Joe's? friendwich.com RSS feeds work now!
  51. Not being funny... but by wallyhall · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I'm not being funny, honestly, but why (as a Windows user) are you so shocked? This is the kind of thing that Microsoft have being doing to all non-Microsoft users for years already. The difference is, I'm willing to bet that it's only a case of waiting for Mac to finally port iTunes or whatever it needs to Win64 (as apposed to waiting for the moon to turn blue for Microsoft to port Office / PocketPC Sync / Windows MP / whatever to Linux for example). If you buy a device such as an iPhone, which much alike the iPod is very clearly an Apple device which is stated to require Apple software, are you so suprised that it's not working for you on Windows? I personally steer as far from all closed source stuff as I can. I use Windows when I practically need to use Windows and I'd absolutely love to own a MacBook for the benefits they bring (stability, size, weight, battery life, usability etc). However I don't kick up a fuss when something doesn't work on Linux because it's Windows only, because /that's life/. People are so quick to accept Microsoft's marketing on their own stuff, but "oo dear", when Apple's new toy doesn't work on it everyone goes awol. If I were you, I'd be asking myself why I'm using an Apple device on Microsoft's platform. If it's because I need both, I'd not be complaining that I have to buy a Mac to use the Apple hardware (when infact you don't, all you need is 32bit Windows).

    --
    I think therefore I am... a Linux geek.
  52. WINE for Windows by xvjau · · Score: 0

    Someone should port Wine to run on Windows. That should solve everything! ;-)

    1. Re:WINE for Windows by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      You're missing the point, this *IS* whine for Windows.

    2. Re:WINE for Windows by Ash-Fox · · Score: 1

      Wine has been ported to Windows long ago. I remember running XP-only applications under Windows 2k with it.

      --
      Change is certain; progress is not obligatory.
  53. Re:Why do I need a computer to run my phone anyway by EXMSFT · · Score: 1

    You can't download music or video to it without iTunes and a computer... kinf of makes sense why they'd require it. If you don't plan on watching video or listening to music on it, perhaps you should reconsider spending $500+ on a phone whose main reason for being is just that...

  54. dual boot-- heck, triple or quad boot! by bzipitidoo · · Score: 1

    Don't downgrade. Just put on all the OSes needed.

    Last time I installed Windows on a 64-bit PC, I hedged. I made it a triple boot with a 64-bit edition of Windows, a 32-bit edition of Windows just in case, and a 64-bit edition of Ubuntu Linux. So far, that's been righteous-- I have not run across any silly limitations that would force me to add a 32-bit Linux, while I have run across several Windows things that are 32-bit only. The biggest 32-bit only problem was a driver for an old Canon laser printer. (No Linux driver either.) Canon even says on their website they aren't going to put out a 64-bit driver-- too old a printer, not worth their time. Yet somehow Canon did find time to make a new driver for that printer for 32-bit Windows Vista, hmmm. And, yes, Apple's software was another one that wouldn't work in 64-bit Windows.

    What I didn't know was that Windows Server could be inferior. AVG Free and another antivirus product (don't recall the name offhand) refuse to work on any "Server" version of Windows because according to them, home users don't use Windows Server, only rich businesses run that. Until that, I had no reason to think Server was "inferior". Oh well, dumped AVG Free and used ClamWin. Yet another reason Linux is better-- no purely artificial divisions or natural divisions made bigger through artificial means. Though there is Linux software that comes binary only ands runs only on specific versions of specific distros.

    --
    Intellectual Property is a monopolistic, selfish, and defective concept. It is "tyranny over the mind of man"
    1. Re:dual boot-- heck, triple or quad boot! by EXMSFT · · Score: 1

      The biggest 32-bit only problem was a driver for an old Canon laser printer. (No Linux driver either.) Canon even says on their website they aren't going to put out a 64-bit driver-- too old a printer, not worth their time. Yet somehow Canon did find time to make a new driver for that printer for 32-bit Windows Vista, hmmm.

      Assuming you're talking about XP x64... the number of people ever running XP Pro x64 has already long since been passed by the number of people running any version of Vista (heck, probably those just running Vista Home). Companies provide drivers where there is a compelling demand.

    2. Re:dual boot-- heck, triple or quad boot! by Wolfraider · · Score: 0

      The reason that AVG will not install on Windows Server is that AVG sells a server version. They want to make sure that business's that use AVG will have to buy the software.

    3. Re:dual boot-- heck, triple or quad boot! by bzipitidoo · · Score: 1

      So AVG Free informed me when I tried to install it on Windows Server.

      What I'm getting at is that there shouldn't be clear cut distinctions between "Server" and "Home" versions, because the distinctions are wholly artificial, often wrong, and limit freedom. Who is anyone to classify their users like that? If users want to run, say, web servers on their home PCs, who is MS to tell them they have to "upgrade" to a "Server" version, and then AVG to come along and tell them they are no longer home users and must now play by different rules? If that works, there are heaps more vendors who will spring out of the woodwork to demand their special version with built in cut for them. The RIAA, for instance, might love it if MS would do up some sort of split where "Windows Basic" does not have Media Player, but "Windows Media" does.

      --
      Intellectual Property is a monopolistic, selfish, and defective concept. It is "tyranny over the mind of man"
  55. OpenMoko Neo1973 by SteveM · · Score: 2, Interesting

    "Too expensive, too locked down." Well, one for two ain't bad. From the OpenMoto site (for the mass market version):

    "We will sell this device through multiple channels. Direct from openmoko.com, the price will be $450 for the Neo Base and $600 for Neo Advanced."

    Not much of a price advantage, although discounts and subsequent costs are unknown.

    I agree with you about the lack of third party access, although access to the source code while nice is not of great importance to me. YNMV.

    "... if I upgrade any time soon it'll be to the FIC product."

    Anyone interested in this phone should review the FAQ. The current time table is for the mass market phone to ship in October.

    An interesting project. I hope they pull it off.

    SteveM

    1. Re:OpenMoko Neo1973 by ari_j · · Score: 1

      And I hope I can rally enough people to work toward a CDMA version. It shouldn't be too hard - just have to find a good CDMA modem and write libcdma to replace their libgsmd. Or am I missing something? I know I can't do GSM - I really don't know how AT&T (Cingular) can possibly claim to have the largest network in America without qualifying that it's the largest GSM network, given that it covers hardly anywhere I spend any amount of time whereas CDMA has never left me without service anywhere in the continental USA.

    2. Re:OpenMoko Neo1973 by theoddbot · · Score: 1

      Thats about all there is to it, at least from a development perspective. Our product can accept either a GSM or CDMA modem, (and HSDPA soon).

      The real trick is that the certification process for a CDMA product is more of a pain (I understand that it's per-provider), and I'm not sure how compatible CDMA networks are between countries. The neo1973 is using quad-band gsm, which, while a bit slow, should work just about anywhere in the world.

    3. Re:OpenMoko Neo1973 by ari_j · · Score: 1

      I didn't realize that GSM would be any easier to get certified. I know that there's more interest for GSM products because of its global prevalence and availability in urban areas in the USA. When you say "our product," do you mean the Neo1973, OpenMoko, or some other specific item? Do you think there's a likelihood of a CDMA version in the near future, or is a CDMA iPhone more likely to show up first?

    4. Re:OpenMoko Neo1973 by happymellon · · Score: 1

      GSM being an open standard you can build for, CDMA is patent encumbered by Qualcomm, so expect to spend a lot on patent licenses. Other than that GSM is a lot more widespread, in fact most countries don't have CDMA infrastructure.
      So you can see why the foreign countries, esp. open source projects, concentrate on GSM over CDMA.
      Oh and CDMA being SIM less means that the phone companies don't have to support your phone (I've heard that was the reason most US telecoms chose it through lock out and licencing), in fact they can prevent you from running a CDMA phone unless they explicitly approve it. GSM, just slip in the SIM and no one is the wiser.

    5. Re:OpenMoko Neo1973 by ari_j · · Score: 1

      I don't know a lot about cell phone technologies, but I do know the general geographical coverage of GSM vs. CDMA. The problem is that the USA is fairly vast and GSM coverage only hits the most major metropolitan areas. Even some major cities lack good coverage, and even AT&T's little coverage map makes you think that the main interstate corridors are covered when in reality they are hit by partner networks to the extent that AT&T won't sell you an iPhone if you live there. Obviously, GSM is going to hit most of Europe and Asia (I believe) and the major US cities, so it's the starting point for anything with this much investment (same with the iPhone, no doubt).

      I didn't, however, realize that GSM was open in a way that CDMA was not. That could put a damper on my dreams of ever having a cool smartphone. (I already have a great phone, the E815, but smartphones are another story altogether.)

    6. Re:OpenMoko Neo1973 by theoddbot · · Score: 1

      Sorry, "our product" is a telemetry box. I am completely unaffiliated with FIC and OpenMoko. We're using GSM/CDMA modules not chipsets, so I'm not sure how that impacts on certification either.

      According to this post, more OpenMoko devices will be coming out next year, but no details on what they will be.

    7. Re:OpenMoko Neo1973 by ari_j · · Score: 1

      Thanks! I'll keep my fingers crossed, just in case. It's unlikely that CDMA will be a new feature for 2008, but you never know. Let's hope that it's successful, though - that's the main prerequisite for them to keep going and expand. :)

    8. Re:OpenMoko Neo1973 by aCC · · Score: 1

      "We will sell this device through multiple channels. Direct from openmoko.com, the price will be $450 for the Neo Base and $600 for Neo Advanced."
      Not much of a price advantage, although discounts and subsequent costs are unknown. You're comparing the price of an unlocked phone (no forced contract) with the price of a locked phone which requires a 2-year contract with the choice of exactly one provider. I guess it's clear that the Neo is much cheaper than the iPhone even with the advanced model at $600. The advanced model is for developers with things like a debug card (see http://lists.openmoko.org/pipermail/announce/2007- June/000013.html). The base model for $450 is the one you need to compare to the iPhone.

      OpenMoko is a VERY interesting project and I've been following it for quite a while. The hardware specs are really good (for the phase 2 phone which is going to be released in October) and the open source aspect is just fantastic.
  56. M$ is dying. by twitter · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    My Zune works fine on 64 bit Vista.

    Kneht is obviously using some M$ definition of "works". The rest of us don't see it that way.

    The new M$ party line is that Vista is "perfect" and anyone complaining is a malicious liar. Looks like a temper tantrum to me. M$ is dying.

    --

    Friends don't help friends install M$ junk.

    1. Re:M$ is dying. by Macthorpe · · Score: 1

      You see, you shouldn't post links that you think people won't read.

      I can't find a single instance of the word 'malicious' or 'liar', and the only matches for 'perfect' were next to applications that work 'perfectly' on Vista.

      You might also want to read their disclaimer: "PLEASE NOTE: This article is not intended to be a review of Vista itself. Nor is it a statement for or against that or any other available OS. It is certainly not an argument for or against switching or upgrading. Its primary purpose is to provide accurate information as to what works and what doesn't on a particular platform."

      What was your point?

      --
      "It does not do to leave a live dragon out of your calculations, if you live near him." - Tolkien
  57. Vista is a downgrade by Candera · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Vista is a downgrade from XP.

    --
    ~Candera
  58. No 64-bit for any other real Os either by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The iPhone doesn't support any of these 64-bit OSes either:
    AIX
    Solaris
    HP-UX
    Irix
    Digital UNIX
    OSF/1
    Tru64
    Linux64
    MVS
    Windows Srv 2003 64-bit

    So why should it support Windows 64?

  59. PEBKAC by WhatAmIDoingHere · · Score: 2, Interesting

    The iPhone requires iTunes to work. Does iTunes support 64bit Vista or XP?

    I don't see how you can make that mistake.

    --
    Not a Twitter sockpuppet... but I wish I was.
    1. Re:PEBKAC by Yosho · · Score: 1

      The iPhone requires iTunes to work. Does iTunes support 64bit Vista or XP?

      Uh, yes, yes it does. I've got my iPod hooked up to iTunes on 64-bit XP right now.

      I don't see how you can make that mistake.

      What mistake?

      --
      Karma: Terrifying (mostly affected by atrocities you've committed)
    2. Re:PEBKAC by WhatAmIDoingHere · · Score: 1

      Buying an iPhone when you run an OS at home that is not supported by iTunes, which the iPhone requires.

      You may have iTunes installed, but if you did what I think you did, you had to copy files from a 32bit Windows install. Meaning, iTunes does not support your OS.

      --
      Not a Twitter sockpuppet... but I wish I was.
    3. Re:PEBKAC by Yosho · · Score: 2, Informative

      You may have iTunes installed, but if you did what I think you did, you had to copy files from a 32bit Windows install. Meaning, iTunes does not support your OS.

      No, I don't even have a 32-bit installation of Windows. I downloaded the iTunes installer and installed it. I'm telling you that iTunes works just fine, straight from the Apple web site to a 64-bit Windows XP installation. Does that not make sense to you?

      --
      Karma: Terrifying (mostly affected by atrocities you've committed)
    4. Re:PEBKAC by WhatAmIDoingHere · · Score: 1

      No, because your OS is not supported by the installer.

      --
      Not a Twitter sockpuppet... but I wish I was.
    5. Re:PEBKAC by movdqa · · Score: 1

      They fixed the Win32 installer problem in iTunes 7. iTunes 6 had a native x64 build which apparently was dropped in 7. I was using the x64 native version but can't find a link to it right now as PlanetAMD64 apparently was hacked and lost the older posts.

    6. Re:PEBKAC by huguley · · Score: 1


      So apple will lose the 12 sales to windows fanboys who run 64 bit xp. I think they are more worried about at&t botching the whole thing.

    7. Re:PEBKAC by Weedlekin · · Score: 1

      ""The iPhone requires iTunes to work. Does iTunes support 64bit Vista or XP?""

      "Uh, yes, yes it does. I've got my iPod hooked up to iTunes on 64-bit XP right now."

      For a supposedly technical forum, the number of people on Slashdot who who obviously don't know the difference between "support" and "works with on my computer" is quite astonishing.

      "What mistake?"

      This one: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=301 301

      Quote: "iTunes is currently not supported in Windows XP Professional x64 Edition or any 64-bit edition of Windows Vista. Features may or may not work correctly."

      --
      I'm not going to change your sheets again, Mr. Hastings.
  60. People really don't get it... by Idbar · · Score: 1

    This is not about incompatibility, it is just a simple excuse to tell you: You are not worthy.

    Jobs' creation isn't just for everyone.
    (note you might find that the poster is not allowed to drink from the holly grail either).

  61. Re:The Zune doesn't work on 64 bit windows, either by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    You BOUGHT a Zune! Bwa ha ha ha

  62. DRM, more of the same - Re:Locking down by twitter · · Score: 0

    How hard could it be to port iTunes to Vista x64?

    It could be impossible, ask the anti-virus makers that one. DRM is impossible snake oil but M$ is going to use it to M$ advantage with Vista.

    This is nothing really new, M$ screws competitors on their program then blames the competitor. Google and anti-virus makers are feeling the pain now. Previous victims include Netscape, Word Perfect, Lotus, Notes, DRDOS and so on and so forth. In each case, technical sabotage is followed by smear. Adobe is next and then who's left? Windoze is like barren.

    --

    Friends don't help friends install M$ junk.

    1. Re:DRM, more of the same - Re:Locking down by Macthorpe · · Score: 1

      Lies, lies and more lies. How is Microsoft screwing Apple in this situation?

      The iPhone doesn't have to interact on any level with DRM, and the component parts of my system that do interact with it (audio, video) have full 64-bit driver support. I should know, I'm using 64-bit Vista. Even better, XP doesn't have any of the same support for Blu-ray/HD-DVD DRM, so how are they not able to code XP 64-bit drivers? Apple have no excuse in this situation when plenty of hardware manufacturers are able to code them.

      Then you reel off the same stupid list that you repeatedly cite to show that 'M$ am bad' which has been debunked a hundred times by Windows and Linux users alike.

      Your final sentence is a gem that sums up the rest your post: "Windoze is like barren". What does that even mean?

      --
      "It does not do to leave a live dragon out of your calculations, if you live near him." - Tolkien
    2. Re:DRM, more of the same - Re:Locking down by dedazo · · Score: 1

      M$ screws competitors on their program then blames the competitor.

      Ah, yes. They "sabotage" stuff. Yes, you've talked about that before, with about as much success.

      Google and anti-virus makers are feeling the pain now.

      Never did reply to this one, one wonders why.

      --
      Web2.0: I love when people Flickr my cuil and digg my boingboing until my google is reddit and I start to yahoo
    3. Re:DRM, more of the same - Re:Locking down by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I hate to break this to you, but using "M$" just makes you look like an idiot.

  63. 64 bit Windows?!? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You should know better than to question the wisdom of Apple......

  64. Troll Feeding Time ... by SteveM · · Score: 4, Insightful

    "Customer service, security, and quality are at best an afterthought at Apple."

    Curious, Business Week would seem to differ, at least on the customer service ranking.

    I'm just wondering, how many iPods do they need to sell before it's "more than a happy accident"?

    SteveM

    1. Re:Troll Feeding Time ... by shippster · · Score: 1

      I am an Apple fan too, but the article you linked to is about 7 years old. Time to get some new information.

  65. Re:Why do I need a computer to run my phone anyway by Wingsy · · Score: 1

    You don't. Just have it activated at an AT&T store like all the other phones they sell.

    But you obviously will need a computer if you want to sync with it. But if you don't have one then there isn't anything to sync with, but you still have a phone, browser, email, but no iPod.

    --
    If I didn't have absolutely NOTHING to do, I wouldn't be here.
  66. yo by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I also posted about my concerns on the Apple iPhone discussion forums, but my post was quickly removed.
    Chinese tactics at Apple.

  67. Sim Accessible? by twitter · · Score: 1

    Just to clarify, the SIM is user accessible.... but only accepts AT&T versions...

    Where?

    --

    Friends don't help friends install M$ junk.

  68. Re:Why do I need a computer to run my phone anyway by shawnce · · Score: 1

    (or extend your existing AT&T plan to 2 yeas and add $40/mo.) Nope the base unlimited data plan for the iPhone is $20/mo.

  69. Ass backwards. by twitter · · Score: 0, Troll

    A lot of apps still aren't supporting 64 bit.

    All the trolls are blaming Apple for this one. Where is that famous Windoze backward capability when a competitor needs it? M$ should have a way of supporting legacy 32 bit software. Instead, 3rd parties have stepped up to the plate with virutlization and emulation. Shame on the M$ treadmill.

    --

    Friends don't help friends install M$ junk.

    1. Re:Ass backwards. by thegnu · · Score: 0

      All the trolls are blaming Apple for this one. Where is that famous Windoze backward capability when a competitor needs it?

      Dude, you're a douchebag. x64 Windows has some compatibility problems with printers, some applications, etc. Microsoft did not print anything on the iPhone box.

      It is false advertisement to print something false on a retail box.
      It is bad customer service to delete support requests from your support forum.
      Microsoft did not perform the referenced actions, and are therefore not accountable for them.

      I'm glad stories can't get modded troll by the zealots. Geez.
      --
      Please stop stalking me, bro.
    2. Re:Ass backwards. by Sancho · · Score: 1

      It is false advertisement to print something false on a retail box. There's a pretty good argument to be made that XP-64 and Vista-64 are products separate from XP and Vista. The compatibility issues alone are enough--and note that when something supports these non-mainstream operating systems, they tend to specifically mention it. No one says, "Supports XP-32 and Vista-32."

      Even Microsoft differentiates them by edition.

      Checking the specs at Apple.com:

      Windows Vista Home Premium, Business, Enterprise, or Ultimate Edition; or Windows XP Home or Professional with Service Pack 2 or later Note how they mention two of the five XP editions. If I bought this, plugged it into an MCE or Tablet Edition PC, I wouldn't expect it to work based upon their specs. Why should I expect it to work with the x64 Edition, which is notorious for compatibility issues, and which is not listed in their specs?

      It is bad customer service to delete support requests from your support forum. I couldn't agree more, and I'm getting really tired of these companies deleting posts in order to maintain their image. If it's spam or a made up problem ("My iPhone won't turn water into wine!!! It sucks!!!") I could understand. But legitimate issues? Someone might read the forum, realize that the iPhone won't work with their computer, and decide not to buy it, saving them hassle and probably a 10% restocking fee. Apple should allow these posts.

      Microsoft did not perform the referenced actions, and are therefore not accountable for them. True. Microsoft did two things:
      1) Chose not to provide a 32-bit compatibility layer for drivers.
      2) Provided explicit names for their operating systmes (see their list of XP editions.)

      Neither of these makes them culpable for the iPhone drama, however addressing number 1 would be nice as it would mean more compatibility overall.

      I'm not an Apple guy. I used to want a Macbook Pro because I think that their OS is kinda neat, but then I realized that it doesn't really do anything that Linux+Xorg+Beryl doesn't do. The iPhone, in my opinion, is rife with flaws (lack of 3G, lack of 3rd-party support, no OTA sync/iTunes, lack of hardware buttons, lack of customization--ringtones specifically--etc.) I definitely don't think that Apple can do no wrong--they do lots and lots of wrong (like speaking out against DRM while keeping DRM in their own OS.) But you've got to be fair. I don't think that Apple did anything legally wrong, and while mentioning that 3 editions of XP aren't supported would have been nice, they clearly stated which versions were supported. That should be enough.
    3. Re:Ass backwards. by ZorbaTHut · · Score: 1

      It does have a way of doing that. It doesn't work with drivers, but it works with everything else, and in my experience it works nearly 100% flawlessly - the only problems I've had may not even have been problems with that.

      The iPhone, apparently, requires a driver that they're too lazy to port over. I suspect that if the driver was ported, the software would Just Plain Work.

      --
      Breaking Into the Industry - A development log about starting a game studio.
    4. Re:Ass backwards. by dedazo · · Score: 1
      Blaming "M$" for this as well? LOL, ROFLMAO and so on.

      That thing you feel dribbling down your chin is the muck at the bottom of the barrel. How does it taste?

      --
      Web2.0: I love when people Flickr my cuil and digg my boingboing until my google is reddit and I start to yahoo
    5. Re:Ass backwards. by thegnu · · Score: 1
      First, sorry for calling you a douchebag. It was way uncool, as the kids say.

      If I bought this, plugged it into an MCE or Tablet Edition PC, I wouldn't expect it to work based upon their specs.

      I probably would. I would also have questions about the 64-bit version of Windows, but considering that I'm a computer technician, it's feasible to assume I WOULD have questions. A normal user or business user who happens to be running an x64 version of Windows (they exist) should at least have their complaints respected.

      People would be upset if something came out and said it supported OS X, but it turned out it only supported 10.2+. The problem with the term "Windows Vista"--and this IS MS's fault--is that it means Vista Ultimate, Vista Home, etc. Apple should pay attention to what they're releasing, and if they don't, fix it. That's all I'm saying. It's not high crime or anything, but Google at least TRIES to put on a show about their "Don't Be Evil" thing. Apple could try to live up to their self-proclaimed computing messiah status. It Just Works, indeed.

      But really, why the hell are people using 64-bit Windows, anyway? I purchased Win2003 64-bit for a client's server, and it's one of the stupidest things I ever did. :)
      --
      Please stop stalking me, bro.
    6. Re:Ass backwards. by Sancho · · Score: 1

      First, sorry for calling you a douchebag. It was way uncool, as the kids say. Well that wasn't me. I kinda jumped into the thread midway.

      I agree that the naming situation is tough, but I'm not sure what I'd expect Microsoft to call their 64-bit OS. I guess when you get right down to it, the world isn't ready for a fully 64-bit OS. If they'd made it so that 32-bit drivers could still run, they could have slowly transitioned people into 64-bits. Hell, even Apple doesn't do this right. OS 10.5 (developers releases, at least) don't support the iPhone, either. But then, Apple has a history of drastically changing the ABI and not always having compatibility built in. Microsoft (and Intel, AMD) focus on backwards compatibility almost to a fault. If they hadn't been doing it for years, and then suddenly stopped with 64-bit Windows, no one would have complained.

      But really, why the hell are people using 64-bit Windows, anyway? I purchased Win2003 64-bit for a client's server, and it's one of the stupidest things I ever did. :) Not sure. Does it even come standard from any OEM? People probably buy it because they expect it to be better. I guess if you need to access more than 4 gigs of memory, it is.
    7. Re:Ass backwards. by thegnu · · Score: 1

      People probably buy it because they expect it to be better.

      Yeah, you get twice the bits for your money, which adds up to big-time savings in the long haul, because since you have more bits, you can add more softwares before they run out. And don't have to install a linux on top of the GUI to reclaim them. The control panel can even handle more tools. It's a win-win situation. Who needs printers connected to their server? Or .Net running in IIS (which you CAN do, but it sucks, boy howdy)?

      And for those who have seen the virus episode of sbemails at homestarrunner.com:
      "I see a 'Strong ba' in there, but it's getting eaten by some...Linux or something."

      On that note, has anyone thought up a good analogy to explain what the hell a browser is? Because I have numerous clients who think that IE and Firefox have different webpages in them. I've tried the it's-a-webpage-reader-and-the-pages-are-in-the-tub es-waiting-to-be-flushed analogy, and no worky.
      --
      Please stop stalking me, bro.
    8. Re:Ass backwards. by Sancho · · Score: 1

      Easiest to say that Firefox is a safer version of Internet Explorer.

    9. Re:Ass backwards. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You are amazingly stupid. Please kill yourself.

  70. That's correct... by msauve · · Score: 3, Interesting

    the customer shouldn't have to worry about compatibility. When they buy a product called "Windows XP," it should provide compatibility with all programs written for "Windows XP." Microsoft claims that "Windows XP Professional x64 Edition gives you access to greater amounts of memory while continuing to support 32-bit applications." and "seamlessly run 32-bit...applications." (emphasis added)

    So blame Microsoft, not Apple. Even Microsoft's own Zune didn't run on XP64 when it was released.

    --
    "National Security is the chief cause of national insecurity." - Celine's First Law
    1. Re:That's correct... by KarmaMB84 · · Score: 2, Informative

      Here I thought the Zune was a piece of hardware targeted at the consumer market. XP x64 was not a consumer release and not in the XP logo certification requirements. Vista x64 IS a consumer release and compatibility is REQUIRED for certification. Apple does not have theirs so it's not even guaranteed their stuff will work with Vista.

    2. Re:That's correct... by Eravnrekaree · · Score: 1

      What I have heard about iphone has not impressed me. First Apple does not distribute an SDK so one can write applications for the Iphone. Here you have the ridiculously expensive black box which has been made useless except for whatever brain dead applications apple decides you want to use it for. I am also sure that apple probably does not distribute whatever protocols it uses to communicate with your OS, so that Linux cannot support it either. Its a prime example of closed systems which take peoples money and then control and limit how people can use the device that they paid for. I am sure getting access to the phone so if you wanted to install or tweak its OS or install another OS is likely near impossible as well. Its a rip off. Dont buy it.

    3. Re:That's correct... by TheThiefMaster · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Windows x64 does run 32-bit applications. However to plug something in you need a 64-bit DRIVER, and that's a whole other story.

      It's also annoying when you find out that a game has licensed a copy protection system that doesn't work on 64-bit Windows, and so stops you playing. In some cases without any message or anything, leaving you guessing about the problem. The last game that I got that did this also had a no-dvd crack out before release, so it seems to me that the companies should give up on copy protection.

    4. Re:That's correct... by ZeroSerenity · · Score: 1

      Applications. What about drivers?

      --
      For those who seek perfection there can be no rest on this side of the grave.
    5. Re:That's correct... by Emetophobe · · Score: 3, Informative

      I already mentioned this in another thread, but take a look at the iPhone: Minimum system requirements page

      1. 64-bit editions of Windows are not supported

      Not sure if Apple added this after the fact or whether this little tidbit of information was there all along...

    6. Re:That's correct... by MojoStan · · Score: 1

      I already mentioned this in another thread, but take a look at the iPhone: Minimum system requirements page

      1. 64-bit editions of Windows are not supported

      Not sure if Apple added this after the fact or whether this little tidbit of information was there all along...

      Well, the bottom of the page says:

      Article ID: 305703
      Date Created: June 19, 2007
      Date Modified: June 27, 2007

      I'm not sure if you didn't notice this or if you're suggesting Apple falsified the dates.

      Also, while your link is informative, it's an article from Apple's product support pages. I wouldn't expect the vast majority of iPhone or iPod buyers to check the support pages until after buying the product. Shouldn't Apple be this specific (a little footnote would do) on their iPhone product info pages?

      Windows system requirements

      • PC with USB 2.0 port
      • Windows Vista Home Premium, Business, Enterprise, or Ultimate Edition; or Windows XP Home or Professional with Service Pack 2 or later
      • iTunes 7.3 or later
      Not one mention of 64-bit versions of Vista on that page, even in the 553 words of footnotes.

      BTW, while I think Apple should be more clear about 64-bit versions of Vista being incompatible, I think it's reasonable for Apple not to specifically mention Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, which was not a normal retail product. AFAIK, XP Pro x64 was only available OEM, volume license, and other methods for "advanced" users.

      --
      TO START
      PRESS ANY KEY

      Where's the 'ANY' key? I see Esk, Kitarl, and Pig-Up...

  71. Bad, but is it that bad? by mlewan · · Score: 1
    I agree that this is bad, but I am not sure I agree that it is outrageous.

    To start with, there are very few 64bit users out there. Does anyone have statistics on how many have taken the plunge?

    The reason only few users have switched is that there are plenty of incompatibilities with existing software. Microsoft themselves say "The 64-bit editions of Windows Vista are not for everyone, and require a system with a 64-bit processor and 64-bit system drivers. Please confirm that your system, applications, and devices are compatible with a 64-bit edition of Windows Vista before installing."

    In other words, if you run 64-bit Windows, you already have a problem. You should not just assume that all previous software works with 64-bit. You should make sure that there is an explicit specification: "Hey! We promise that we work in 64-bit." If not, it is unlikely that it does.

    Besides someone who runs 64bit Vista also necessarily has the software to run 32 bit, unless I am mistaken. If you are unlucky enough to have bought an iPhone and only have one computer and that one runs 64 bit, you already have the software to downgrade it to 32 bit for activation.

    Is it inconvenient? Yes. Is it surprising that there is an incompatibility? No.

    Regarding your deleted post, I am sure it was not because you revealed the truth to mankind. There are dozens of posts in the discussion forum about people with 64 bit problems. Not many out of 6000 posts and many thousands sold units, but some, probably reflecting the number of users in this situation. Posts are deleted when they do not follow the terms of use. They should be constructive, polite, and they should not discuss Apple policies. Further they should not include ads and so on and so on. I do not know what rule you broke against in your post, but it was hardly that you mentioned a technical problem.

  72. Apple is missing a HUGE opportunity by erroneus · · Score: 1

    Apple already has this "gotta have it" insanity built in to whatever they release. The decision to support Windows at all is a mistake in my opinion... at some point they need to ween people off of the idea and I think the iPhone would have been the perfect item with which to do that.

    Release the iPhone and just before that time, release a *VERY* inexpensive iMac...perhaps one just barely good enough to support the iPhone and make sure the cheap iMac integrates easily with PCs through some convenient means like, say, a USB datalink cable or some such. This would give people even more reason to buy Apple and move away from Windows.

    Anyone willing to pay $500+ for a phone will certainly pay $400 or less for some entry-level iMac device.

    1. Re:Apple is missing a HUGE opportunity by Afecks · · Score: 3, Funny

      Anyone willing to pay $500+ for a phone will certainly pay $400 or less for some entry-level iMac device.
      Anyone willing to pay $500+ for a phone will not be satisfied with an entry-level iMac device.
    2. Re:Apple is missing a HUGE opportunity by Candera · · Score: 1

      Its called a Mac Mini..

      --
      ~Candera
    3. Re:Apple is missing a HUGE opportunity by catbutt · · Score: 1
      Good you aren't running Apple. The smartest decision Apple ever made was to make iTunes/iPod work with windows....until then iPod was nothing but a niche product.

      Anyone willing to pay $500+ for a phone will certainly pay $400 or less for some entry-level iMac device. Wow. So, what you are saying is anyone willing to pay $500 for something will also be willing to pay $900 for it? What exactly are you trying to say here?

      Personally I think the best way to increase Mac market share is to get Windows users using (and hopefully enjoying) Apple products. Your "all or nothing" approach would not only NOT help Mac market share, but would certainly kill the iPhone by restricting it to 1/10th the market.
    4. Re:Apple is missing a HUGE opportunity by Quasicorps · · Score: 2, Funny

      "Anyone willing to pay $500+ for a phone will certainly pay $400 or less for some entry-level iMac device."

      Absolutely. Anyone who has just spent $500 on a phone would be more than happy to almost double their spending to use a main feature of the phone. It's common sense.

    5. Re:Apple is missing a HUGE opportunity by couchslug · · Score: 1

      "perhaps one just barely good enough to support the iPhone and make sure the cheap iMac integrates easily with PCs through some convenient means like, say, a USB datalink cable or some such."

      With simple instructions for file and bookmark transfer that would be a great deal for non-geeks who might switch even with out the iPhone. Call it an iSwitchkit.

      --
      "This post is an artistic work of fiction and falsehood. Only a fool would take anything posted here as fact."
    6. Re:Apple is missing a HUGE opportunity by stewbacca · · Score: 1

      Perhaps it isn't in Apple's corporate culture, or interest to dominate the desktop computing world? Perhaps this is why they make great products that cost more money; because they (Steve Jobs) want to make cool stuff that people want to use, whatever the cost, and not boring business stuff that only people forced to use will use (then like lemmings, buy the stuff for home, for all the "work" they do at home).

  73. Re:The Zune doesn't work on 64 bit windows, either by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Erm, owning a Zune doesn't necessarily buy you bragging rights. At least, not here.

  74. No, Joke AC. Neo1973 out next month. by twitter · · Score: 2, Informative

    Boo-yah, baby. $200 cheaper than an iPhone.

    The Neo1973 is the first smartphone to support the OpenMoko software platform, made by FIC. It is named for the first year of mobile telephone communication: the inventor of the mobile phone, Martin Cooper, made the first call in 1973.

    I like it like that.

    --

    Friends don't help friends install M$ junk.

  75. My experience by Registered+Coward+v2 · · Score: 1

    Went to ATT store on teh 30th - about 20 people milling around, I'd guess 15 or so were there for iPhones. Three on display - once someone shooed three kids away (10 - 14 yo; they were playing with the phones) the rest of us got to check them out.

    Pretty neat interface, really nice screen, great form factor. A bit hard to type on the on screen keyboard, but then I'm used to Treo.

    My name is called - said I wanted to ask some questions. The lady said she was the expert there - so I asked about synching via exchange active synch. Blank stare.
    I asked about tethering as a modem - assured it can be done, costs an additional $60 per month.

    I like the phone, but until it uses Exchange AS to synch with corporate email and can be used as a modem it's not that useful for me.
    My guess is Apple and ATT are milking the early adopters by getting full margins on the phone, in a year or so we'll see $100 iPhones with real corporate connectivity. I hope the current price points aren't loss leader pricing; if Apple can't make decent money on each phone it is in trouble.

    Ideally, the European ones will not be SIM locked and have removable SIMS o I can buy one there and use it here in the US, but I'm guessing Apple will replicate the locked phone model in Europe as well; given their insistence on doing things there way despite what the rest of the market is doing.

    --
    I'm a consultant - I convert gibberish into cash-flow.
  76. So why doesn't Microsoft ship 32-bit libraries? by argent · · Score: 1

    Even Tru64, which *never* ran on 32-bit hardware, has a 32-bit mode (using the amusingly obscure option "-taso"), and system libraries linked for it.

    Every other 64-bit operating system is upgraded from a 32-bit OS, and everyone but Windows that I've ever used has supported 32-bit applications.

    Why is Vista different?

    1. Re:So why doesn't Microsoft ship 32-bit libraries? by antime · · Score: 1

      It's a question of drivers, not applications.

    2. Re:So why doesn't Microsoft ship 32-bit libraries? by argent · · Score: 1

      Drivers I can believe.

      But not (as the poster I was responding to claimed) libraries.

      And if that's the case, Apple needs to update their web pages throughout to list 32-bit Windows as a requirement.

      I wonder if we'll need new drivers for Leopard?

  77. ...my post was quickly removed by hardcode57 · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    Of course it was removed: it was critical of Apple. You seem to think this is notable enough to be worth mentioning: it isn't. Apple is every bit as vile and amoral as M$, just with better dress sense.
    BTW, since your iPhone is a newly released Apple product, not working with win64 is not your main problem: your problem is that your product will soon break, and you'll spend the rest of the warranty period in an endless cycle of return/replace.
    Sorry to sound like a troll, but I read your post and my first thought was 'what a brain-dead sucker'.

  78. I don't use iTunes... by Tony · · Score: 1

    *I* don't use iTunes, and I can use my iPod just fine. It's a choice, you see. I use Gtkpod, though many other music systems also support the iPod.

    The reason Apple uses iTunes rather than just setting it up as a USB drive is simple: the iPod software requires an internal database to know all about the music. Keeping that database up-to-date requires external software that knows how to manage that database. It's just that simple. If Apple made it a USB drive, dolts who didn't know better would complain on the Apple forums that, "I put music on my iPod, but it's not in the playlist!"

    There's a lot of reasons I don't use iTunes, but mostly because it's crap. It requires all music on the iPod to be part of its internal system, making management of very large music collections difficult in a multi-OS household. (I have about 1k CDs stored on a central media server, served up to Linux boxes and my PS3 using UPnP, which Apple doesn't properly support in iTunes, damn them.)

    So, you see, you *do* have choices.

    As far as that goes, I find it funny when MS-Windows users complain that another company is locking them in to proprietary software in some way. In fact, I laugh my ass off.

    --
    Microsoft is to software what Budweiser is to beer.
  79. Blame the victim. by twitter · · Score: 1

    It's funny how it's always someone else's fault when something does not work with Windoze. Despite the frequency and virtual inclusion of "everything" in "something" you trolls never blame M$, do you?

    --

    Friends don't help friends install M$ junk.

    1. Re:Blame the victim. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And who's fault is it when something doesn't work with Linux?

    2. Re:Blame the victim. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I hate to break this to you, but using the word "windoze" also makes you look like an idiot.

  80. Conspiracy Re:Apple Forums by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
  81. lack of support by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You know it's too bad about the lack of 64-bit support across the industry. I have Windows XP 64 and trying to find wireless drivers was an adventure. It's too bad that companies aren't getting on bored considering the mainstream Windows 32-bit OS is going away eventually.

  82. Welcome to Apple! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    May I just say - Welcome to Apple Product Ownership!

    Feel free to visit the Newton group and ask about Apple's SYNC product.

  83. His own fault. by Beer_Smurf · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I'm sorry.
    Windows 64 bit is not listed as supported.
    http://www.apple.com/iphone/specs.html
    How is this guys problem anything but his own fault?

    1. Re:His own fault. by nwbvt · · Score: 1

      Uh, where? I searched the page for "64" and all I got were a few numbers in the video section. And in the Windows system requirements, all it says is "Windows Vista Home Premium, Business, Enterprise, or Ultimate Edition; or Windows XP Home or Professional with Service Pack 2 or later". Nothing about 64 bit.

      --
      Mathematics is made of 50 percent formulas, 50 percent proofs, and 50 percent imagination.
    2. Re:His own fault. by nocturnus · · Score: 0

      Re-read the OP. He said x64 is not listed as supported. He Did Not say that it is listed as Not Supported. So, of course you're not going to see it on the page, that's the point. If something isn't listed as being supported, then obviously it's not supported.

    3. Re:His own fault. by joe+155 · · Score: 1

      I agree, I too searched and found no mention for 64bit windows, I certainly wouldn't have got that 64 bit wasn't supported. Hell, with how common it is getting I was expecting a big "64BIT WINDOWS IS NOT SUPPORTED". This just makes me laugh at the people who bought into all their hype and seem happy to put up with this crap from their software/hardware providers. Stupid.

      --
      *''I can't believe it's not a hyperlink.''
    4. Re:His own fault. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Windows 64 bit is not listed as supported.


      Niether is Windows 32 bit. It just says, "Windows Vista ...". That's the point, if you support Windows Vista, you're supposed to support both.

    5. Re:His own fault. by KarmaMB84 · · Score: 1

      According to Microsoft you are, but Apple's device is not certified for Windows so they just sucker people into buying their hardware and signing up for mandatory contracts etc etc...

    6. Re:His own fault. by pionzypher · · Score: 1

      Wrong.

      "Windows Vista" is a 32 bit OS. "Windows XP" is a 32 bit OS. "Windows Vista x64 edition" is a 64 bit OS. "Windows XP x64 Edition" is a 64 bit OS. They are all different pieces of software. I'm sorry, but this just reeks of someone that's pissed off because their diet coke doesn't taste like non-diet. Sure they have the same brand naming in the product name.. Coke/Vista/XP. Diet coke isn't original coke. XP x64 isn't XP.

      --
      I'll believe in corporations having personhood when Texas executes one... - advocate_one
    7. Re:His own fault. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Windows 64 bit is not listed as supported.

      Windows XP is listed as supported. 64-bit is one version of Windows XP, as is 32-bit. How is this anything other than Apple's fault? IANAL, but if this caused problems any greater than having to return a faulty phone, I'd say that this was actionable.

  84. Re:The Zune doesn't work on 64 bit windows, either by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    A WITCH! A WITCH! BUUURN HIM!

  85. Re:The Zune doesn't work on 64 bit windows, either by Khyber · · Score: 0, Troll

    Everything except my logitech webcam works in 64-bit XP. BTW, games that can take advantage of the 64-bit environment (like ut2k4 and others) will smoke their 32-bit OS crippled versions any day. 800 FPS in 64-bit as opposed to a paltry ~85 FPS in 32 bit. No contest.

    --
    Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
  86. Does anyone? by Bert64 · · Score: 1

    Does anyone use 64bit windows?
    I tried 64bit XP, and it had incredibly poor support for my hardware.... Vista was just as bad too.
    As for apps, lots of games that use ridiculous anti-piracy kernel drivers fail to work on 64bit windows too.
    The 64bit version does run faster, especially if you have lots of ram since it doesnt need to use nasty kludges like PAE, but that gets thrown out the window if it runs your video using a generic driver.

    Amongst the hardware not supported on my AMD64 machine...
    An early revision radeon card wouldnt work
    A DEC tulip ethernet card wouldnt work (and these cards were actually designed for 64bit machines, over 10 years ago)
    My soundblaster pci128 card (i think) wouldnt work...

    Now i can understand removing support for some old ISA devices, since i'm not aware of any 64bit machines supporting them.... But is it really so hard to recompile the 32bit pci drivers for 64bit? It seems to work ok for linux.

    Just face it, proprietary software and microsoft especially are keeping people stuck in the 32bit dark ages just like they did with 16bit many years ago. There were 64bit processors and OS's before microsoft even came out with a 32bit version of windows.

    --
    http://spamdecoy.net - free throwaway anonymous email - avoid spam!
    1. Re:Does anyone? by VGPowerlord · · Score: 1

      Amongst the hardware not supported on my AMD64 machine...
      An early revision radeon card wouldnt work
      A DEC tulip ethernet card wouldnt work (and these cards were actually designed for 64bit machines, over 10 years ago)
      My soundblaster pci128 card (i think) wouldnt work...

      Shortly after AMD took over ATI, I noticed that their newer driver sets no longer supported cards below the R300 chipset (9500-9800 used the R300).

      Creative Labs is bad about releasing drivers for its older products for new OSes. If Microsoft doesn't do it, I doubt Creative will. (As a side note, the PCI 128 is something like 10 years old now, so it's not surprising.)

      I'm surprised that the DEC card doesn't work. Windows usually has tons of network drivers for common chipsets.
      --
      GLaDOS for President 2016! "Well here we are again. It's always such a pleasure." -- GLaDOS, 2011
    2. Re:Does anyone? by jmauro · · Score: 1

      I thought all OSes were required by law to support the DEC Tulip. It always seemed to be the only ethernet card other than the 3Com 3c59x cards that were supported on non-popular OSes (BeOS, Solaris x86, Plan 9, etc). I must be getting too old now.

  87. GCC/Cygwin Problem? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Could it simply be that the compiler they are using doesn't support it?

  88. Uhm... boo-hoo? by Tony · · Score: 1

    First, when hardware vendors talk about MS-Windows XP/Vista/2003 Server, they default to the 32-bit version. If they *mean* the 64-bit version, they *specify* the 64-bit version. MS-Windows 64-bit drivers do not necessarily come in the box. And I have yet to see a hardware box that isn't from Apple that doesn't have the "Built for MS-Windows version X" logo.

    Second:

    Welcome to the club, buddy. As a looooong-time Linux user (13 years now), I'm used to vendors telling my their hardware is "not supported." It's only been over the last few years that most hardware vendors have started loosening up some about Linux support. It'd be nice if the did the same for the *BSDs and OpenSolaris as well, but Linux support is a small victory.

    So buck up, kiddo. It'll happen. Your favorite niche operating system may get support from hardware vendors yet.

    --
    Microsoft is to software what Budweiser is to beer.
  89. Sure they were removed? by MrZaius · · Score: 1

    There are multiple surviving threads about the lack of 64-bit support that predate this Slashdot post went live. If your's was deleted, might it not have simply been a dupe?

    http://discussions.apple.com/search.jspa?threadID= &q=64-bit&objID=c201&dateRange=last90days&userID=& numResults=15&rankBy=10001

    1. Re:Sure they were removed? by pilsner.urquell · · Score: 1

      /.ed

  90. Re:So what's the problem? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Perhaps you were not aware that some $40 phones do have navigation software? Or perhaps you were not aware that a Pocket PC + GPS could do this exact same thing for less than an iPhone / crackberry, don't restrict the programs you load, and don't have a monthly fee? Perhaps you like being tied to one device that does everything poorly, but I'd rather have a phone that worked well as a phone, and other devices that perform their functions well...

  91. Serves you right for runninng x86-64 Windows by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    x86-64 windows (xp and vista) are a complete and utter disaster. No driver support. No performance benefit. Why is anyone even running it in the first place?

    "My iphone doesn't work with my ITANIUM?!?"

    1. Re:Serves you right for runninng x86-64 Windows by pev · · Score: 1

      Actually there are several examples of apps running quicker when rebuilt for x64 Windows. e.g. photoshop manipulations of large files taking up to 50% less time and audio processing taking 30% less time. Admitedly it's not a straight scalar improvement across the board, but there is a big tangible potential benefit for many media apps if ported right.

      ~Pev

    2. Re:Serves you right for runninng x86-64 Windows by movdqa · · Score: 1

      If your application uses SIMD programming, then you get 8 extra registers which means that you don't have to toss stuff on the stack for temporary storage. AMD and Intel are adding considerable performance improvements in SIMD instructions (witness SSE4 and Super Shuffle in Penryn and the move to 128-bit instructions from 64-bit SIMD instructions).

  92. Not a MS product. by Riquez · · Score: 1

    Y'know, If you went onto Microsofts websites to ask why your xBox360 won't work properly with a Mac, you'd get laughed out with comments like "you should've got a real computer" - not that I condone this, but it's kinda expected.
    When I bought a xBox360 I pretty much knew that I wasn't going to get every benefit unless I had Windows.
    Does a Zune work on OS X at all? I doubt it.
    I think the same should be assumed by non-OS X users when buying an Apple product. You will get 90% of it working, but it's not quite going to be the same experience.
    I think you should count yourselves lucky, the same courtesy is seldom extended in the other direction.

    Every other phone comes with a software CD, but I've never seen one with OS X software. Now Mac users have one (count 'em) phone & everyone else is complaining. Unbelievable.

    --
    * Game Over * High Score: 264,846,927 -- Your Score: 14
  93. Re:The Zune doesn't work on 64 bit windows, either by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    According to the system requirements page from Microsoft's official site, "Zune software is not currently supported on Windows XP Professional x64 Edition or Windows Server." It says Vista is supported, but the x64 edition is not specifically mentioned, and googling for Vista x64 and Zune indicates it isn't exactly a smooth process for some people.

  94. It's not my Zune! It's a false one! by Gary+W.+Longsine · · Score: 2, Insightful

    This is a very silly and utterly artificial debate. Anybody running a 64-bit version of Windows on their PC surely has access to a 32-bit version of Windows. They also know enough about 64-bit Windows to know that precious little software actually runs on 64-bit Windows, simply because it's not a consumer operating system. It's designed basically as a database server OS. The original parent is a Troll.

    --
    If you mod me down, I shall become more powerful than you could possibly imagine.
  95. Product names by pev · · Score: 1
    Let me put this simply. A company (lets call them Microsoft for the sake of argument) have two products. They decide to call the two products :
    • Windows XP Professional
    • Windows XP Professional x64 Edition

    Another company (lets call them Apple shall we?) releases a product thats compatible with "Windows XP Professional" and a user is surprised that it doesn't magically work with the other product? Er... These are two separate products and you shouldn't assume that because the names are similar that they are automatically compatible. Its a bit like buying a tomato from the grocers and then complaining that they didn't explicitly tell you that you shouldn't use it in a fruit salad...

    ~Pev

    1. Re:Product names by SEMW · · Score: 1

      Let me put this simply. A company (lets call them Microsoft for the sake of argument) have two products. They decide to call the two products: Windows XP Professional; Windows XP Professional x64 Edition.
      Another company (lets call them Apple shall we?) releases a product thats compatible with "Windows XP Professional" and a user is surprised that it doesn't magically work with the other product? Er... These are two separate products and you shouldn't assume that because the names are similar that they are automatically compatible. Let me put this even more simply. A user (let's call him Bob for the sake of argument) buys one product. The product is called Windows Vista Ultimate. Let's clarify: he has bought one product. It just says "Vista Ultimate".

      So, is it 32-bit or 64-bit?

      Answer: both. You can choose which one to install. Because they're not two seperate products. They were with XP. They aren't in Vista.

      So, back to Bob. He picks the 64-bit option, because he has a 64-bit processor. Then he buys an iPhone. It won't work with his computer. The iPhone website says that it works with "Widnows Vista Ultimate". His box says "Windows Vista Ultimate". The webpage where he bought Vista says "Windows Vista Ultimate". But it doesn't work. And the user would be perfectly justified in complaining.

      --
      What's purple and commutes? An Abelian grape.
  96. 64-bit Carbon by RogueWarrior65 · · Score: 1

    At least you're not a commercial Mac app developer being told "The hell with you peons, we're not going to release 64-bit Carbon APIs even though they're finished. Instead you must throw out all of your Carbon-based code and rewrite everything in Objective-C and Cocoa." Thanks a lot, Apple. Once again, you've screwed over third-party developers.

    1. Re:64-bit Carbon by IrrepressibleMonkey · · Score: 1

      I say "Hooray Apple!" on this one. I don't want your clunky Carbon application running on my shiny new 64bit processor... I'm a consumer, not a developer. Cocoa is what the Apple loving masses want.

    2. Re:64-bit Carbon by RogueWarrior65 · · Score: 1

      Can you pick ANY commercial application on the market and tell me if it was written in Cocoa? I highly doubt that. And even if you could (by reading the spec sheet), can you point to any feature of said app and tell me that the ONLY reason that feature exists is because it was written in Cocoa? Puhleez. The only reason YOU as a CONSUMER get to use a commercial application is because that company invested the resources to develop it. Commercial development is a business not some geek philanthropic love-affair. Development resources (read: time, money, people) are limited. If a company is starting a 64-bit product from scratch, they're going to say the hell with the Mac because Windows has a much larger market share and we don't want or can't devote the resources to writing two sets of interface and system-resource access code. I guess you missed the announcement that Adobe isn't going to be release 64-bit versions of its Mac product line. Furthermore if you have to write ALL your code in Objective-C and then write it all again for C++, you'd have even less incentive to do it. The fact of the matter is tha 64-bit Carbon exists but apparently some bonehead holdover from the NeXT acquisition nixed it. Apple screwed the developers by not acquiring Metrowerks which could have been bought for Apple's seat-cushion change and forcing people to use XCode. With Metrowerks, it's possible to build Mac and Windows versions of the app in one development environment instead of two. Have you ever tried to work on a multi-million line major application in XCode? It's a terrible environment which they chose for the bogus altruistic reason of being able to use the open-source GNU compiler which generates slower code than Metrowerks.

    3. Re:64-bit Carbon by prockcore · · Score: 1

      I say "Hooray Apple!" on this one. I don't want your clunky Carbon application running on my shiny new 64bit processor... I'm a consumer, not a developer. Cocoa is what the Apple loving masses want.


      Please.. the Apple loving masses can't tell the difference. iTunes, Photoshop, and Finder are Carbon applications. Did you even know?
  97. Not shocked by AricC · · Score: 0

    If it makes you feel better Microsoft doesn't have everything for Win Pro x64 either, last week I tried to find OLE drivers for IIS and it turns out MS decided they aren't making them. Yeah Windows!

  98. I guess you get what you pay for... by MoxFulder · · Score: 1

    ... when you enslave yourself to a closed-source operating system, not just on the computer but on the phone.

    Every time I hear about 64-bit something not working on Windows, I have to laugh a bit. Basically every open-source package has worked flawlessly on 64-bit systems since around 2002, with some of the code released *before* the Opteron/Athlon 64 actually came out. All the open-source drivers work too.

    The way I see it, if you want progress and portability in computer systems, forking over lots of money to buy proprietary hardware and software isn't a good way to get it.

  99. Lack of XP-64 Support is Maddening by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    iTunes may not be supported (formally) under Windows XP-64, but it works just fine.

    However, the continued lack of software support for Vista and XP-64 (which has been out for YEARS, for God's sake) is totally ridiculous. Adobe STILL hasn't released a 64-bit native version of Flash and Shockwave for the 64-bit Internet Explorer 7.0 -- how hard could that be?! If you're running XP-64 (which is the preferred platform for the 3D graphics software I use for work), then you have to use the 32-bit Firefox, running the 32-bit Flash/Shockwave.

    And as much as I hate RealPlayer, many websites use it to present music sound clips from CDs -- but you're SOL if you try to listen to them under XP-64 -- no 64-bit version of RealPlayer exits.

    Since 64-bit OSs are the future, it's ludicrous that software vendors haven't stepped up to the plate earlier -- they've had years to practice development for Windows XP-64, and they're still sitting on their asses.

    1. Re:Lack of XP-64 Support is Maddening by KarmaMB84 · · Score: 1

      XP x64 uses a 32-bit build of IE by default specifically so it can work with 32-bit plugins like Flash and RealPlayer. MS would have done well to simply force everyone to start providing 64-bit builds early by providing NO 32-bit IE in XP x64 and telling them to start testing with XP x64 because Vista would be the same way. They should have made Vista x64 the requirement for PCs carrying the "Design for Vista" logo while they were at it.

  100. interesting point! (was: blame the victim) by Gary+W.+Longsine · · Score: 1

    Furthermore, the split betwixt 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows is likely the result of years upon years of sub-optimal architectural decisions accumulated within the operating system that made it too difficult or expensive for them to provide a unified 32-bit/64-bit OS. Microsoft undoubtedly would prefer that their systems could seamlessly handle both 32-bit and 64-bit programs, as Mac OS X Leopard does. (Of course, even given the technical capability in the OS, they might still disable certain features from the 32-bit version and package and charge extra for a 64-bit version, but the latter would run programs from 32-bit world.)

    The article is a Troll.

    --
    If you mod me down, I shall become more powerful than you could possibly imagine.
  101. It will be supported by bussdriver · · Score: 1

    This isn't the 1st time somebody put out a product that doesn't upon release do everything it says it does. Its classified as a known bug and they downplay it like everybody else.

    Besides, Apple doesn't put out a 64 bit version for Mac either. (FYI: 10.4 requires 64bit apps to run in background with the GUI running 32bit) Most likely they are beta testing iTunes in 64bit on 10.5 at this point, with the windows version likely being behind that.

    1. Re:It will be supported by pasamio · · Score: 2, Interesting

      You do realize that the G5 and latest Intel chips are all 64bit. The fact that you don't notice it or that there aren't five different versions of the operating system just to get 32bit/64bit working together nicely doesn't mean it isn't that way even if not all of the layers are full 64-bit (thats Leopard). You may or may not realize that a universal binary actually contains four binaries, one for each platform (PPC and x86) and for each word size (32 and 64 bit). The fact that every time I read about 64-bit Windows its some form of gripe (XYZ app doesn't have a native version, hacks to run in 32bit mode) and that even Microsoft documentation clearly designates a difference (why not just like "Vista XYZ Edition" instead of "Vista XYZ Edition 64-bit" if its the same) is a problem with the Microsoft platform. To be honest Apple have made transitioning between architectures a breeze, my Mac runs some PowerPC applications (like my Palm synchronization software and my TI software) without blinking. And thats PPC running on an Intel. Perhaps when Microsoft get building across the 32-bit/64-bit bridge (hey remember how long it took to get a full 32bit native desktop operating system from Windows?) it'll be smooth again. The issue for Microsoft is that when people went to 32 bit, the CPU was there in almost every machine, they were catching up. Now they're trying to push ahead and it isn't as easy as last time (Windows 95). Perhaps they should look at what Apple have done and try to copy it...again.

      --
      I always wondered where this setting was...
    2. Re:It will be supported by jnf · · Score: 3, Informative

      just for the record, you're not using the phrase 'word size' correctly, because both ia32 and amd64 have the same size word, 16-bits, with a dword being 32 and a qword being 64. i understood what you meant, but between that and talking about how smart apple is you lost any credibility i might've thought you had.

    3. Re:It will be supported by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      the 680x0/PPC standard for a word is the native registers size. intel/amd/microsoft are concerned with 8086 compatability; Apple isn't.

    4. Re:It will be supported by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You may or may not realize that a universal binary actually contains four binaries, one for each platform (PPC and x86) and for each word size (32 and 64 bit).
      Really? So why does Apple's own XCode user guide claim that it can only build universal binaries for up to THREE architectures, which are i386, PPC, and 64-bit PPC? No mention at all of universal binaries including x86-64 code... and indeed it also states that the 64-bit PPC mode is not enabled by default.

      So, Apple's developer documentation claims that most universal binaries are purely 32-bit, while pasamio (737659) claims that all universal binaries are both 32-bit and 64-bit. Hmm, who to believe - Apple or a random Slashdotter? Damn, this is so tricky.
    5. Re:It will be supported by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      hey remember how long it took to get a full 32bit native desktop operating system from Windows? Now, I'm no Microsoft fanboy, but I recall it took 1 year. Win95 came out in 1995, WinNT 4.0 came out in 1996 (In fact NT 3.5 was available for years before that as a fully 32bit desktop OS). Now, do you remember how long it took to get MEMORY PROTECTION out of Apple?
    6. Re:It will be supported by VGPowerlord · · Score: 1

      Unfortunately, Microsoft's solution to this, as I recall, was to write programs in .NET.

      --
      GLaDOS for President 2016! "Well here we are again. It's always such a pleasure." -- GLaDOS, 2011
    7. Re:It will be supported by jibjibjib · · Score: 1

      Actually you're the one who's wrong. We call 16 bits a "word" because that was the word size on the original x86 processors. The word size on a 32 bit processor is actually 32 bits, and the word size on a 64 bit processor is 64 bits. You just call 16 bits a word, but on a 32- or 64-bit processor it actually isn't.

    8. Re:It will be supported by jnf · · Score: 2, Informative

      I can't help but wonder where you read that rubbish. If you check chapter five in the intel developers manual, specifically the section titled 'fundamental data types' you will find the following sentence:

      'The fundamental data types of the Intel architecture are bytes, words, doublewords and quadwords (see Figure 5.1). A byte is eight bits, a word is 2 bytes (16 bits), a doubleworld is 4 bytes (32 bits) and a quadword is 8 bytes (64 bits)'

      That itself is pretty hard to argue against, but then when you consider the syntax of the instruction when you actually program in it, you also realize that a word on intel is 16-bits, i.e.

      mov dword ptr [...], [...]

      Or if you prefer at&t syntax it becomes even more prevalent, i.e.

      movw 0xFFFF, %[...]

      So really, I don't see how you or anyone else could claim a word size is >16-bits on an intel architecture, because its plainly not.

    9. Re:It will be supported by nevali · · Score: 1

      Read the release notes for the latest Xcode releases: it specifically mentions 64-bit Intel support, if memory serves. The developer docs are just a little bit out of date.

      In any case, the OS X Mach-O loader actually understands VAX, 68k, x86, x86_64, mc98k, hppa, SPARC, i860, PPC an PPC64 (with numerous subtypes for each). In the wild, though, you get binaries that are optimised specifically for G3/G4/G5 (in 32-bit flavours), G5 (64-bit), Intel (32-bit) and Intel (64-bit). The G3/G4/G5 32-bit versions all use the same system libraries, might contain different application-level code.

      If you want more "proof":

      $ lipo -info /Developer/SDKs/MacOSX10.4u.sdk/usr/lib/libSystem. B.dylib
      Architectures in the fat file: /Developer/SDKs/MacOSX10.4u.sdk/usr/lib/libSystem. B.dylib are: ppc ppc64 i386 x86_64

      $ lipo -detailed_info /Developer/SDKs/MacOSX10.4u.sdk/usr/lib/libSystem. B.dylib
      Fat header in: /Developer/SDKs/MacOSX10.4u.sdk/usr/lib/libSystem. B.dylib
      fat_magic 0xcafebabe
      nfat_arch 4
      architecture ppc
              cputype CPU_TYPE_POWERPC
              cpusubtype CPU_SUBTYPE_POWERPC_ALL
              offset 4096
              size 276976
              align 2^12 (4096)
      architecture ppc64
              cputype CPU_TYPE_POWERPC64
              cpusubtype CPU_SUBTYPE_POWERPC_ALL
              offset 282624
              size 119204
              align 2^12 (4096)
      architecture i386
              cputype CPU_TYPE_I386
              cpusubtype CPU_SUBTYPE_I386_ALL
              offset 405504
              size 249320
              align 2^12 (4096)
      architecture x86_64
              cputype CPU_TYPE_X86_64
              cpusubtype CPU_SUBTYPE_X86_64_ALL
              offset 655360
              size 111540
              align 2^12 (4096)

      See also /Developer/SDKs/MacOSX10.4u.sdk/usr/include/mach/m achine.h which lists the known CPU types and subtypes.

    10. Re:It will be supported by jnf · · Score: 2, Informative

      I guess my first example wouldve made more sense if I had actually used a word instead of a dword, so i.e.:

      mov word ax, 0xFFFF

      and in the at&t syntax I needed to put a $ in front of the immediate value

    11. Re:It will be supported by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Technically the word size of any system is the size of the bus, The idea of the dword and qword are native windows concepts not the Computer Science definition of what a Word is. Only the bit (always one binary value) and the word (size of the bus), when talking about computers in general are defined -- other terms vary in the industry and should be avoided. Bytes are starting to become widely accepted as 8-bits but there are still some 6-bits as a byte systems out there.

    12. Re:It will be supported by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's not rubbish, it's the actual definition of 'processor word' ... however incorrectly Intel may use it. The word size choice is a holdover from legacy hardware. Modern hardware has a 64bit word, using the proper definition.

    13. Re:It will be supported by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I can't help but wonder where you read that rubbish. If you check chapter five in the intel developers manual, specifically the section titled 'fundamental data types' you will find the following sentence:

      'The fundamental data types of the Intel architecture are bytes, words, doublewords and quadwords (see Figure 5.1). A byte is eight bits, a word is 2 bytes (16 bits), a doubleworld is 4 bytes (32 bits) and a quadword is 8 bytes (64 bits)'


      The problem is, you are looking at data types, rather than the hardware. For backwards compatibility (both with software and humans (no need to make the word "word" mean something new just because a new CPU enters the market)), data types are called the same as they always were, even though the hardware has changed.

      The term "Word size" is not a specific data type, it's a hardware term meaning "the native size of "one data unit", i.e. the size that defines if this is an 8, 16, 32 or 64-bit CPU. If the word size was 16 bits, it would be a 16-bit CPU. "Word size" is not Intel-specific, it's a term used on every kind of CPU, even those wachy IBM 36-bit machines.

      As long as you stick to "word size"'d data, every operation is done in one instruction. If you use data any bigger than that, multiple instructions are needed (e.g. 8 ADC instructions are needed to add two 64-bit numbers on a 6502, plus a number of LDAs and STAs). And if you go below word size, on some CPUs you need and'ing, and bit-shifting. On others you'll be using the backward compatibility features that go all the way back to 8 bit (AL and AH on x86).

    14. Re:It will be supported by Curien · · Score: 1

      Actually, he used the term correctly. You are using it incorrectly (and so does Intel -- but they, unlike you, have a good reason). In the original 8086, a word was in fact 16 bits. As the x86 architecture expanded to a 32-bit architecture, the word size became 32 bits. To maintain backwards compatibility with documentation and compilers/assemblers, they just started calling those words "double words" (this avoided a LOT of confusion and pointless waste of effort that would have occured had they insisted on pedantry). On ia32, a "dword" is the word size of the system. When amd64 came out, AMD did the same thing for the same reasons.

      --
      It's always a long day... 86400 doesn't fit into a short.
    15. Re:It will be supported by Curien · · Score: 1

      Intel prefers backwards compatibility to pedantic correctness. Good for them. You, on the other hand, are just plain ignorant.

      --
      It's always a long day... 86400 doesn't fit into a short.
    16. Re:It will be supported by pasamio · · Score: 1

      I was referring to the fact that the Intel 386 platform, the first one capable of 32bit from Intel, came out in 1986, almost a decade before Windows 95 and that the first native desktop operating system was actually Windows XP, but even using your Windows NT 3.5 example put its at late 1994, still 8 years. To be honest its not a jab at Microsoft per se, but a mere observation to support the later statement that the 16-bit to 32-bit transition was made easier by this fact because they could run code in 16bit mode still and also safely move to 32bit (something that having mixed 32bit/64bit environment stifles for Microsoft). The fact that Apple have consistently switched without having too many issues is perhaps something Microsoft needs to examine more closely given their present issues with 32-bit/64-bit compatibility (and Vista does fix a lot of things by breaking others).

      --
      I always wondered where this setting was...
    17. Re:It will be supported by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      In the C programming language, the size of an int is the native word size of the processor. This is the variable type that would neeed no conversions to be use most efficiently by the CPU.

      The 64 bit modes of the new processors is a bit misleading. The size of a memory address has been extended to 64 bits (to allow addressing beyond 4 GB), but the size of an int it still 32 bits. (So - no mixing up pointers and ints please!)

      The old WORD and DWORD typedefs really are meaningless in this context.

    18. Re:It will be supported by tricorn · · Score: 1

      Use of "word" can be ambiguous. It's most natural meaning is the size of the data registers in a particular computer architecture. C has slowly moved away from having word size (which is "int" is normally assumed to be) be dependent on the underlying hardware, instead having "int" and "long" both be 32-bit, requiring "long long" for 64-bit. This obviously makes portability a lot easier.

      The height of the insanity was with the early x86 chips, with compilers having "int" be 16 or 32 bits (thus, either matching "short" or "long"), and a whole family of pointers of varying sizes to deal with the weird segmented memory and varying execution models. Compared to that, having a variety of "char" sizes that might be either signed or unsigned was a piece of cake (some char sizes being 6 bits, 7 bits, 8 bits, 12 bits and 60 bits). Be thankful that the DEC convention of Radix-50 characters went away, there wasn't even a true bit size for those, just a word (36-bit word at that) containing characters that had to be unpacked.

    19. Re:It will be supported by toadlife · · Score: 1

      ...the first native desktop operating system was actually Windows XP... What is your definition of "native desktop OS?". As the parent poster said, NT4 workstation, which came out in 1996, was a native 32bit OS and was for desktop use. XP was actually the third native 32bit desktop OS from Microsoft as Windows 2000 Professional came out before that.
      --
      I don't always use unix-like operating systems; but when I do, I prefer FreeBSD.
    20. Re:It will be supported by arodland · · Score: 1

      The word is 16 bits. The word is 64 bits. Except when it's 32 or 16 due to some sort of compatibility mode. The word is not the word.

    21. Re:It will be supported by plague3106 · · Score: 1

      Why is that unfortunate? .Net is set to replace the old Win32 API. It suprises you that they want people to move to it, just as they moved to Win32 / Win32S back in 95?

    22. Re:It will be supported by VGPowerlord · · Score: 1

      As long as it runs in a VM, it will never supplant the Win32 API.

      --
      GLaDOS for President 2016! "Well here we are again. It's always such a pleasure." -- GLaDOS, 2011
    23. Re:It will be supported by bussdriver · · Score: 1

      You may or may not know that 32bit code runs on the 64bit G5 and latest Intel chips but currently OS X does not support 64bit GUI programs. iTunes is a universal binary app with two flavors and does not yet have the two 64bit flavors except perhaps in their beta of OS X 10.5. When the 64bit clean version is ready, then building the Windows 64bit port can begin (if not done concurrently.)

      Windows poorly handles the transition, OS X gradually handles it and in the next OS release this fall they should have totally nailed it.

    24. Re:It will be supported by pasamio · · Score: 1

      I'm referring to desktop as in the home environment, but even then I made my point about NT4 (even went to 3.5 which came out 8 years earlier), but that means it took Windows a decade to get to 32bit on your definition. This will make the third time I've made this point. 10 years ago (1997) we didn't have desktop class 64 bit processors on the x86 platform (Itanium is the first from Intel in 2002, and AMD follow in coming to the 64bit market). Microsoft had life easy with the last transition, so 10 years to get to a 32bit CPU for NT4 workstation, how does this detract from my point that it takes a while? In any case my point on XP happens to be based on the fact that in parts NT4 still relied on 16 bit drivers, and I was giving Microsoft the line at XP as the point where 16 bit was really finalised but again I didn't mention XP in my original post because it wasn't relevant to the fact that it took at least 10 years to get to NT4.

      --
      I always wondered where this setting was...
  102. The dark side of Apple by Raisey-raison · · Score: 1

    "I also posted about my concerns on the Apple iPhone discussion forums, but my post was quickly removed."

    When companies sensor information that the consumer needs make an informed decision, I suspect that it's the tip of the iceberg. If you knowingly supress information about your product that would influence consumer choice you are in effect misrepresenting that product, aka fraud. Of course this is another example of where if you are a big corporation you can get away with what ever they want. Yes their products are nice, but if this is how they act when they have such a small piece of the pie could you imagine how they would be if they had 95%. I suspect Apple would be as bad or worse than Microsoft.

  103. Now you know by theolein · · Score: 4, Insightful

    "After buying a new iPhone yesterday and bringing it home to sync and activate it, I found out that Windows 64-bit is not supported. Neither XP 64-bit nor Vista 64-bit works with the iPhone. I called the Apple support line and the rep said I needed to downgrade my computer from a 64-bit operating system. I also posted about my concerns on the Apple iPhone discussion forums, but my post was quickly removed."

    Now you know what it's like to be a Mac or a Linux user.

    1. Re:Now you know by jimicus · · Score: 1

      Actually, I'm a Mac user and I've never had a problem with getting Apple accessories to work on it.

    2. Re:Now you know by Phroggy · · Score: 1

      The whole reason Apple made the iPod in the first place was, nobody else's MP3 players worked with Macs.

      --
      $x='S24;r)>63/* h@<5+oZ)32"5cz';$me='phroggy'x$];
      $x=~y+ -xz+\0-Tx+;print$_^chop$me for split'',$x;
  104. iPhone? What about all Palms by waytoomuchcoffee · · Score: 1

    No Palm or Treo works with Vista 64. Any Palm product only has "limited" capability even with Vista 32, and that doesn't even include the capability to install apps. Now how long has Vista been out?

  105. Your solution is simple by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Will a 32-bit Xp Home/Pro setup in VMWare work with a 64-bit host? I thought it would. If so, just do that, and viola, you can tell apple to screw themselves.

  106. Posting Concerns by lymond01 · · Score: 1

    I also posted about my concerns on the Apple iPhone discussion forums, but my post was quickly removed.

    Dear Apple,

    WTF?!! My PC rox with 64 l33tn355 and ur iphone is teh suxx0r! Can't u do anything right?! U b3tt3r not delete this cuz people n33d 2 no!

    Regards,

    A Concerned Windows XP 64-bit User

    (Yes yes...I'm sure the post to the Apple forums was nothing like this. I've just spent too much time on MMORPG boards with disgruntled people and I'm familiar with how "concerns" are expressed there...)

  107. Use it and Love It by deep_creek · · Score: 1

    I'm running XP 64 and I absolutely love it! I've been using it for about 2-years now. Used to take 40 minutes to decrypt/rip/burn a DVD, now it only takes 20. All my old and new programs/drivers work (with the exception of some really old logitech hardware). Now thet I've tasted it, tested it, used it... never going back to 32-bit OS.

  108. Re:No, Joke AC. Neo1973 out next month. by Goaway · · Score: 1

    And that's why you don't let nerds name products.

  109. FUD or ignorance? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    > You forgot to mention that 64bits instructions (in general terms) can require twice
    > the amount of bytes in program code.

    Exactly how do you figure that? 64bit code is usually somewhere around 20% larger in my tests. Pointers are larger but never twice as large, plus you have more alignment padding.

  110. User dupe? by Jerry+Smith · · Score: 1

    Perhaps because there's already a http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID= 1019793&tstart=0forum discussing it? And answering too?

    --
    All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain. Time to die.
  111. Yes.....but... by Donniedarkness · · Score: 1

    It's a phone. It shouldn't REQUIRE a PC to begin with. Sure, it's a given that you should have to have a PC to send your music collection to the phone, but to even USE the phone? No, this is unacceptable. A phone should not require a computer to use functions that don't involve a computer.

    --
    Earn a % of cash back from Newegg, Tiger Direct, Walmart.com, and more: http://www.mrrebates.com?refid=458505
    1. Re:Yes.....but... by nurb432 · · Score: 1

      Welcome to 2007...

      --
      ---- Booth was a patriot ----
    2. Re:Yes.....but... by juiceCake · · Score: 1

      Agreed. It's absurd to have to use software to activate a phone service. Utterly, and completely absurd. Is this actually true?

  112. Re:The Zune doesn't work on 64 bit windows, either by Just+Some+Guy · · Score: 1

    You BOUGHT a Zune! Bwa ha ha ha

    ...and Vista64. I thought those were mutually exclusive, like having a Volkswagen and a Metallica CD to play in it. I mean, you're into computers enough to know what a 64-bit OS is and to go out of your way to buy one, and then you buy a Zune?

    On the other hand, that's very convenient for gathering statistics. Find four more people just like him and you can account for every copy of Vista64 and every Zune sold. Instead of paying for expensive focus groups, you can just ask Kneht, Bob, Tom, Cletus, and Randy what they liked about them.

    --
    Dewey, what part of this looks like authorities should be involved?
  113. Re:The Zune doesn't work on 64 bit windows, either by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    My Zune works fine on 64 bit Vista.

    That's funny. It doesn't seem to work with anything else.
  114. YES, Sim Is Accessible by johnpaul191 · · Score: 2, Informative

    you have to use a paperclip or pin to release it, but it pops right out.
    http://www.powerbookmedic.com/iphone/simcard.html

    an interesting thing i saw posts say that once the iPhone is activated (through iTunes), you can pop out the sim card and all the non-AT&T based stuff still works. the web browsing, email etc will revert to WiFi.

    that makes me think that maybe the computer is only needed for activation, syncing songs and future software updates. if that's true you could probably find somebody else's computer and use it to setup the phone till this is sorted out.

    the fact that the phone requires no in store activation makes me wonder if you will be able to buy them at other Apple retailers in the future?

  115. Re:iPhone? What about all Palms by oDDmON+oUT · · Score: 1

    Installing is possible on a Tungsten, of course with Vista Home it was "Allow? Deny? - Allow? Deny?" for every freakin' file added *and* the Palm Desktop help file was in .chm, so it wouldn't display with the hh.exe download.

    Which leads me to say, the more I support Windows, the more I love my Mac. :P

    --
    Some days it's just not worth
    chewing through my restraints.
  116. Re:The Adams factor by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    with a sign on the door saying 'Beware of the Leopard'... ;-) Crikey, how many OSX versions have you been holding that joke in???

    What? It also conquers time and space?! This can't be a coincidence...

    Instead of the Apple logo on bootup, can I get "Don't Panic"?

    "OSX Leopard: It's Prefect."
  117. Apple's wierd approach to 64 bit support. by Animats · · Score: 1

    Apple's lack of support for 64-bit machines is embarrassing. After all, their PowerPC line was 64-bit, so all their own software should have been 64-bit compatible. Then they went to 32-bit IA-32 architecture for their own machines, even though 64-bit Intel CPUs were available. It was late in the IA-32 life cycle to do that. Now they're not supporting 64-bit hardware under either MacOS X or Windows, let alone Linux. That's kind of retro.

    Users shouldn't need a computer to use an iPhone, anyway. The thing has an Internet connection of its own, after all.

    1. Re:Apple's wierd approach to 64 bit support. by Mistah+Blue · · Score: 1

      What kind of rubbish are you talking about? The Intel Macs which are at Core2 Duo are 64-bit machines. The original Core Duo Macs are most likely 32-bit machines. In any event, when Leopard releases, Apple will be 64-bit across the line for currently shipping machines. You're obviously not involved in the software/hardware manufacturing busines. Trying to move from 32-bit to 64-bit is not a trivial matter, and takes several versions to complete. Even when you're done, you'll have customers running legacy 32-bit you have to deal with.

    2. Re:Apple's wierd approach to 64 bit support. by Animats · · Score: 1

      Apple didn't have any legacy IA-32 machines when they switched from PowerPC. They could have gone directly to 64-bit. They might have had to use some AMD CPUs, though.

  118. compatibility layer by cyber-dragon.net · · Score: 1

    maybe you should talk to microsoft about their 32 bit app support?
    it is the extra DRM in 64 bit MS OSs that trip up compatibility. Proper 64 bit os like Linux does not have this issue.

  119. Requirements omit to mention Windows 3.1 by Scrameustache · · Score: 5, Informative

    Come on, who'd buy a first-gen iPod without checking to see if it would work with their XP box? Or a Newton without checking to see if it could data transfer with Windows 3.1? That's a poor and downright misleading comparison. The listed product requirements mention XP and Vista, but didn't (and at the time of writing still don't) mention anything about incompatibility with 64-bit versions. So they list the ones they support, and don't list the ones they don't support?

    What a shocker.

    The official name of the 64 bit product is Windows XP Professional x64 Edition.
    That name is not listed on the iPhone page, don't expect it to be supported.
    --

    You can't take the sky from me...

    1. Re:Requirements omit to mention Windows 3.1 by aliquis · · Score: 1

      Arguing for the sake of it are we?

    2. Re:Requirements omit to mention Windows 3.1 by Phoobarnvaz · · Score: 1

      The official name of the 64 bit product is Windows XP Professional x64 Edition.
      That name is not listed on the iPhone page, don't expect it to be supported.


      Of course...there is an easy answer around this. Download VMware Player (get the setup files over at http://www.easyvmx.com/) or the demo of VMware Workstation...install the 32-bit version of XP into the software & keep the image on the hard drive in case you need it.

      --
      Don't worry about the world coming to an end today. It's already tomorrow in Australia. - Charles M. Schulz
    3. Re:Requirements omit to mention Windows 3.1 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's posts like this that make me understand why so many people hate Apple fanboys.

      What if the packaging for the iPhone simply stated support for Windows? Would the parent's logic hold?

      Of course not.

    4. Re:Requirements omit to mention Windows 3.1 by Sandbags · · Score: 1

      As an employee of a product hardware and software vendor who's product supports more than 20 operating systems (Windows, , mac, novel, sco, solaris, BSD, linux, as400, aix, hp/ux, and on, and on, and on...) on our own product documentation we list only the specific systems and versions that are supported. For all the 64bit OS we do support (which still excludes Windows) we list the OS once as it's proper name, and a second time with the name appended with the manufacturer's trademark name indicating the 64bit version. We do not wist any OS with 64 bit support under a general heading.

      Regularly we have customers buy our product and expect that simply becasue we say "Windows 2003 Server Standard" and "Windows 2003 Server Enterprise" that we also support the 64 bit versions, or in some cases the SBS or Web Edition of these servers. They are not itemized as supported, and as far as Microsoft's licensing is concerned, are completely independent products and their licenses are not interchangeable.

      Even Microsoft's own KB articles list specifically anytime 64bit is included, and when it's not listed, it means it's not included or supported by that article.

      Besides, what DOES work with 64bit edition??? For just about ANYTHING I buy for my 2003 64bit server as well as my XP x64 edition system I have to do extensive research to determine driver compatibility. I regularly call manufacturers and have to ask if it's supported as their documentation is sometimes unclear or incomplete. Also, why were you not already aware that iTunes itself does not support 64bit edition. That fact has been clearly documented in many articles wight here on ./.

      --
      There is no contest in life for which the unprepared have the advantage.
  120. honestly... by um...+Lucas · · Score: 1

    This and so many other things are the reasons why I told everyone I know to avoid the thing for a little bit...

    Especially for someone running a not-so-mainstream OS (sorry, 64-bit windows isn't a "standard" OS as of the moment), I'd have waited and let someone else take the plunge for me... Actually, we should all thank you, as someone had to do it for us, and who better than a slashdotter? :)

    I went and checked it out yesterday, and while it was pretty cool, i'm wont be terribly impressed until more real world reviews come through.

    My current gripes; the onscreen keyboard is much less intuitive than an actual built in keyboard... I only gave it a few minutes of trying, but i couldn't get the thing to recognize much of what i was writing - maybe i have finger that are too big for it? I admit, I dial while driving, and even send text messages while doing so... however, with any regular phone or a treo, i can do so without taking my eyes off the road... not so with the iphone. Woe to car insurance companies whose drivers buy these things!

    Also, i'd like to see how the nice shiny display holds up after a few months of real world use, in and out of pockets, rubbed against keys, etc. How about a few drops from a desk, or clattering down to the concrete; my blackberry has done so many times, and the silver outline around the face place is now gone, but it's still just as functional as the day i bought it.

    Next, what will real world experiences with the battery be like? It's soldered in place, so should there be a problem, it's not a DIY job to replace the thing.

    And lastly, since the gadget is ostensibly for internet centric folks, i was more than a little disappointed that at the apple store, I could not find a unit on display that was connected to the EDGE network, they all ran from the store's wifi. Given that that's been an issue in the news recently, not allowing people to get a real world handle on how it will operate in the "real world" doesn't seem right.

    And then there's software issues...

    So yes, i'm glad i didnt rush out to buy a 1.0 product. And my friends that have gone to check them out have come back and agreed they they too will be waiting a while before buying the new gadget.

  121. iTunes, not iPhone by Pinky3 · · Score: 1

    Apple clearly listed iTunes as a requirment for the iPhone. The original poster does not have a supported iTunes on his 64-bit Windows system. Apple doesn't have a supported iTunes for 64-bit Windows. http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=301 301

    He should have known he didn't meet the requirements, since he didn't have a supported iTunes installed. This is a well known issue with iTunes, not a surprise that suddenly appeared on June 29. The Apple article was created April 7, 2005.

  122. Sorry if this has already been said... by mcpkaaos · · Score: 1

    Grab a copy of VMWare Workstation, install XP and iTunes into a new image and activate your iPhone. Or do the same, but with Linux and WINE and see how far you can get installing iTunes that way (I've never tried, so ymmv). Although this may not be the most ideal solution, it will get the job done.

    --
    It goes from God, to Jerry, to me.
  123. Microsoft *is* pushing harder. by Myria · · Score: 1

    You can't get the "Designed for Windows" logo or the WHQL driver signature anymore without running on Win64. In the WHQL case, that means a 64-bit driver.

    --
    "Screw Sun, cross-platform will never work. Let's move on and steal the Java language." - Visual J++ Product Manager
    1. Re:Microsoft *is* pushing harder. by Jesus_666 · · Score: 1

      WHQL was the name of that mandatory nag screen you have to click away every time you install a driver, right? After all, I've never encountered a driver that was actually certified...

      --
      USE HOT GRITS WITH STATUE OF NATALIE PORTMAN (NAKED AND PETRIFIED)
  124. I'm really not trying to be a troll here, but... by Franklin+Brauner · · Score: 1

    ...would someone please explain to me why a Windows user would join the rush to buy an Apple branded iPhone? I can understand the Apple faithful -- they're already brainwashed. Waiting in line overnight to buy a PRODUCT on opening day is a little absurd, considering the state of the world. It's downright satire for a Windows user to be doing it. How humiliating! Don't we have better things to do as a society? This makes me want to go out and join a Fight Club!

  125. Must be difficult to support windows drivers... by nxsty · · Score: 1

    ...since there is so many versions. If you don't care about the 9x versions and NT4, which people actually still use, or the obscure versions like fundamentals, embedded, tablet PC, itanium etc. you'll have to support:

    Windows 2000
    Windows 2000 64 bit
    Windows XP
    Windows XP 64 bit (Which is actually a 64 bit windows 2003 relabeled as XP.)
    Windows MCE
    Windows 2003
    Windows 2003 64 bit
    Windows Vista
    Windows Vista 64 bit

    And it gets even worse due to the fact that each windows have several different versions (home, pro, premium etc.) which you have to make sure your driver works with. So the manufactures just chooses to support what most people use. I know other hardware that claims to support windows XP but doesn't work under windows XP 64 bit.

  126. Pedantic if not downright false by Dogtanian · · Score: 3, Insightful

    The official name of the 64 bit product is Windows XP Professional x64 Edition. That name is not listed on the iPhone page, don't expect it to be supported. At my most charitable I'd consider that downright pedantic, though more likely it's simply false. Are you honestly claiming that "Windows XP Professional x64 Edition" isn't being sold as a particular version of "Windows XP Professsional"?

    You can argue the toss about the actual code base, but if it's being sold as XP Professsional, that's all that is relevant. I guess you'd use the same argument against any product being sold as "Windows XP comptatible" that didn't work with 32-bit Home or Pro because, hey, they're sold as "Windows XP Home" (etc.) not "Windows XP".
    --
    "Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).
    1. Re:Pedantic if not downright false by sumdumass · · Score: 1

      I don't think this is the concept at all. There was windows 3.1 and 3.11 windows for workgroups. Now think about that, windows 3.1 and 3.11 aren't the same version of windows. And there was software there just wouldn't work with 3.1 but would with 3.11 windows for work groups.

      So the confusion isn't necessarily new. If anything, it is Microsoft not learning from previous mistakes.

    2. Re:Pedantic if not downright false by vux984 · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Are you honestly claiming that "Windows XP Professional x64 Edition" isn't being sold as a particular version of "Windows XP Professsional"?

      x64 isn't like the difference between Home, Pro, and MCE. Or between Home Premium, Business, Ultimate, etc.

      x64 isn't a feature set its an architecture.

      Suppose I released a Microsoft Office plug in, and just listed 'any edition of Microsoft Office 2003 or later' as the requirement. Would you really expect it to work with "Microsoft Office 2004: Mac" without a specific mention of the Mac platform? Of course not.

      I concede a lot of consumers don't really know what x64 is. (Hell, a LOT of IT nerds don't really know what x64 is. In fact, I know almost nobody who actually needs or really benefits from an x64 desktop OS. 64-bit Linux users *included*. )

    3. Re:Pedantic if not downright false by Dogtanian · · Score: 2, Insightful

      x64 isn't like the difference between Home, Pro, and MCE. Or between Home Premium, Business, Ultimate, etc. x64 isn't a feature set its an architecture. That as may be- and I acknowledged this, whilst making clear that this wasn't my point. It's sold as "Windows XP Professional x64 edition". That strongly implies that it's a subset/variant of "Windows XP Professional", which *is* listed.

      Suppose I released a Microsoft Office plug in, and just listed 'any edition of Microsoft Office 2003 or later' as the requirement. Would you really expect it to work with "Microsoft Office 2004: Mac" without a specific mention of the Mac platform? Of course not. I probably wouldn't, but I think a lot of people would, and I wouldn't blame them for that.
      --
      "Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).
    4. Re:Pedantic if not downright false by vux984 · · Score: 1

      It's sold as "Windows XP Professional x64 edition". That strongly implies that it's a subset/variant of "Windows XP Professional", which *is* listed.

      It is a variant. But its a platform variant not a feature variant. What else should they call it? It *IS* windows XP profressional after all. If MS had released an Itanium edition, or a G5 edition you wouldn't automatically assume it would work, right? Same thing here.

      I probably wouldn't, but I think a lot of people would, and I wouldn't blame them for that.

      I agree I don't really blame people for being confused about x32 vs x64 especially as they can run on the same chips and x64 is largely backwards compatible. I also agree that Apple should probably have a disclaimer "no it doesn't work with x64 windows yet". Its a confusing situation they are used to coping with what with concurrently supporting PPC and Intel CPUs right now. They could be handling this better.

      BUT, in the case of x64, I think if you are running x64 you sort of take it on yourself to know what you are getting into and to do proper diligence. x64 edition is not a mainstream platform/OS marketed to Joe Consumer, so Joe Consumer really shouldn't have it. And if he does, then he went out of his way to get it, and he should be aware of what he's gotten himself into, and should take some ownership over the issue of trying to ascertain compatibility when buying new hardware/software.

    5. Re:Pedantic if not downright false by aaronmarks · · Score: 1

      I concede a lot of consumers don't really know what x64 is. (Hell, a LOT of IT nerds don't really know what x64 is. In fact, I know almost nobody who actually needs or really benefits from an x64 desktop OS. 64-bit Linux users *included*. )

      It is useful to anybody who needs greater than or equal to 4096MB of RAM!!!

      64-bit compatibility should be an afterthought at this point, and I think that it is completely false advertising to not say Windows Vista 32-bit explicitly. 64-bit Windows Vista is becoming more of a standard in high end workstations(/gaming rigs) that have 4GB+ of RAM. If a product does not say 32-bit only, then 64-bit is implied because Microsoft has now dropped the x64 marker from the 64-bit versions of Vista; you either buy 32-bit edition or 64-bit edition.

    6. Re:Pedantic if not downright false by Saville · · Score: 2, Informative

      iPhone requirements as of today:

      Windows system requirements
      * PC with USB 2.0 port
      * Windows Vista Home Premium, Business, Enterprise, or Ultimate Edition; or Windows XP Home or Professional with Service Pack 2 or later
      * iTunes 7.3 or later

      It does not specify 32bit. There is no indication Vista Ultimate needs to Vista Ultimate 32bit.

      MS is really pushing 64bit. You can't get a 32bit driver WHQL certified anymore unless there is a 64bit version. This is so people don't need to worry about 32bit or 64bit, the customer just needs to read "requires Vista" and the IHV just needs to print "requires Vista". Nice and simple. Apple is writing "requires Vista" and then behaving differently than the rest of the Windows ecosystem. While this is shameful for any company, it's extra shameful for one that prides itself on just working.

      Who needs 64bit? Today, all Vista users that are gamers. Company of Heroes (for non gamers out there it's a RTS set in ww2 that is a Games For Windows game and it won a ton of Game of the Year 2006 awards-It's a pretty big fully windows designed game, not just some weird exception to the rule nobody plays that I've found.) will actually run out of Virtual Address space and crash in Vista when CoH worked fine on the exact same system using XP drivers! The user can either figure out how to boot into 3 gig mode in Vista32, or just use Vista 64.

      CoH was released in September 2006 and is bumping into the 32bit Virtual Address space limitations! (A 32bit PC can only see 4 gigabytes, generally 2 gigabytes is for the OS and each application gets 2gigabytes. In 64bit mode the 32bit application gets a full 4 gigabytes of VA space.) What is going to happen with all the new games released this coming Autumn? They're obviously going to use more memory than year old games.

      Every new computer should have a 64bit OS now.

    7. Re:Pedantic if not downright false by dabraun · · Score: 1

      The difference is that virtually all 32-bit windows software works on 64-bit windows (more true for Vista x64 than for XP 64). The only exception at this point is software that requires custom drivers (ala iPhone) - which is rare and consumers are not likely to understand this distinction. Most hardware makers have provided 64-bit drivers at this point (the overall issue of current Vista driver quality aside). Even my Suunto watch has x64 drivers that work on both Vista x64 and XP 64. This is a T6, *not* a SPOT watch which you would expect to have drivers.

      In the time when there was only XP vs. XP 64-bit I could understand if something didn't work on x64 and the company selling the software failed to make that distinction. The number of people using XP 64 was/is very small, and it's a hard product to find even if you want it. For Vista this simply isn't true - plenty of machines are sold with Vista x64 and the rate is only increasing. Rumor has it that Windows 7 will be x64 only - and even if this doesn't come to fruition it is a sign that the mainstream version is shifting and there is an expectation that "all software works on the x64 version".

      Apple has their own motives here, perhaps they'd like to help derail x64 windows. It's all about what's reasonable given what customers have today and expect to have in the future - sure, the iPhone doesn't need to work on IA64 windows, or windows server for that matter, but x64 is becoming far too mainstream for them to ignore it by mistake.

    8. Re:Pedantic if not downright false by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      Due to job requirements I run XP Pro x64. trust me. If you run the 64 bit windows version, you are aware of the differences between XP and XP64 and if something does not explicitly say x64, you know its a crap shoot.

      To be honest, though, WOW works pretty well, the only REAL major issues are things that integrate into the shell extensively (icon customizers, shell extensions, etc) or things that rely on the regular windows XP 16 bit subsystem. regular XP runs 32 bit with a 16 bit emulation layer (WOW, or windows on windows) the WOW layer for x64 is the 32 bit emulation layer, and there is no 16 bit layer.

      That said, unless this beast integrates into the shell or has some legacy 16 bit code, I'm not relaly sure what would keep in from running under WOW on XPx64.

    9. Re:Pedantic if not downright false by vux984 · · Score: 1

      You can't get a 32bit driver WHQL certified anymore unless there is a 64bit version.

      Most of the 3rd party hardware I own still isn't WHQL certified. If the drivers aren't bundled with windows I pretty much expect to hit "continue anyway" at least once.

      Who needs 64bit? Today, all Vista users that are gamers.

      Most gamers aren't even convinced they need Vista, nevermind Vista x64.

      Company of Heroes (for non gamers out there it's a RTS set in ww2 that is a Games For Windows game and it won a ton of Game of the Year 2006 awards-It's a pretty big fully windows designed game, not just some weird exception to the rule nobody plays that I've found.)

      Good point. It also runs just fine on Windows 98 though, which suggests that Vista x64 is hardly a requirement.

      will actually run out of Virtual Address space and crash in Vista when CoH worked fine on the exact same system using XP drivers!

      As I said, it also works fine on Windows 98. That its crashing on Vista x32 while it runs on x64 is not an indication that we all need x64, but rather that there is a bug somewhere that needs to be addressed.

      Frankly, I've heard FAR more complaints about games in x64 than x32. Granted that's really primarily a result of the x64 driver situation, but the reason is irrelevant -- gamers by and large are better off on x32. Actually... they are still better off on XP right now.

      Every new computer should have a 64bit OS now.

      Why? Seriously. Why? Why do we need to shift an OS/platform whose only advantage is support for more RAM than 99% of users have, when even 99% of new computers still ship with 2GB or LESS? We need IPv6 a hell of a lot more than we need x64.

      MS might be able to use its market power and sheer brute force to make us move to x64 (and that's really a 'bad thing'), but we don't need it yet. Not by a long shot.

    10. Re:Pedantic if not downright false by nacturation · · Score: 1

      Suppose I released a Microsoft Office plug in, and just listed 'any edition of Microsoft Office 2003 or later' as the requirement. Would you really expect it to work with "Microsoft Office 2004: Mac" without a specific mention of the Mac platform? Of course not. I'm guessing the majority of people would look at the requirements and think: any edition? Mac edition... check! 2003 or later? 2004... check! And if you didn't provide refunds when it failed to work, I suppose you can always argue with Visa/MC/Amex about the finer points of software requirements when you start getting chargebacks.
      --
      Want to improve your Karma? Instead of "Post Anonymously", try the "Post Humously" option.
    11. Re:Pedantic if not downright false by RMingin · · Score: 2, Informative

      Actually, thanks to some ancient badness, x64 OSes are needed by anyone requiring more than 2-3GB of RAM!!11!one All of your PCI devices take a bite out of that 4GB space long before it gets matched to your physical RAM. It's a corner case, but if you have two GeForce 7950 GX2s, that's 2GB of address space gone. Throw in another PCI device or two and you won't even get 2GB of usable physical memory without x64. It's time. Anyone claiming x64 is unneeded just hasn't paid attention to all the little details.

      --
      The preceding comment is my own, and in no way construes an opinon of the Emperor of Mankind.
    12. Re:Pedantic if not downright false by Pyrion · · Score: 1

      People might as well go for it though, seeing as RAM is so gosh-darned cheap right now.

      A year ago I wouldn't have considered running more than two gigs of RAM in any given application, seeing as 32-bit memory-mapped I/O would've limited me to 2.8GB anyways. Now I'm running 4GB on Vista x64 and loving it, no software compatibility issues stemming from x64 whatsoever.

      A bit of googling can resolve that whole "can't use unsigned drivers in Vista x64" thing as well.

      Now you say a bug needs to be addressed in COH to make it run right on Vista x86. As I understand it, it isn't a bug with the software, it's simply running into a limitation of 32-bit computing. Memory-mapped I/O starts at the top and works its way down, but as it can only operate within 4GB of address space, it leaves you with about 2.8GB of total addressable memory (pagefile settings have no effect here, once you hit ~2.8GB, you run out of addresses, period) and 2GB per process (naturally leaving you with ~800MB once a process has filled up its 2GB space assuming the inevitable out-of-memory crash hasn't yet occurred). Attempting to exceed those limits is what's causing the crashing.

      If COH ultimately ended up requiring more than 4GB of memory, then it would crash in the same manner on Vista x64 if it's not compiled as a 64-bit application. Again, it's a limitation of memory addresses, not the process itself.

      --
      "There is much pleasure to be gained from useless knowledge." - Bertrand Russell.
    13. Re:Pedantic if not downright false by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      but if it's being sold as XP Professsional, that's all that is relevant

      Go here and click on Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional English North America CD w/SP2. Adding the item to your cart gives you the product name: "Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional". This is not the 64-bit version.

      Moral of the story: If you buy Windows XP Professional from Microsoft, you are not getting a separate and distinct product that runs in 64-bit mode on your processor. For that, you would need to buy Windows XP Professional x64 Edition.

      Not yet convinced? Visit here to see that "Windows XP Professional" and "Windows XP Professional x64 Edition" are different editions of Windows XP. A nice table illustrates the point.

      If a product you buy says it is supported under Windows XP Professional, you cannot assume it is supported under Windows XP Professional x64 Edition. They are different products and they have different names.

    14. Re:Pedantic if not downright false by vux984 · · Score: 1

      Now I'm running 4GB on Vista x64 and loving it,

      There is a difference between "not having any issues with" and "actually benefitting from".

      My RAM usage rarely cracks 1.5GB. Would having 4GB and x64 make my life measurably better? Of course not. It wouldn't make it worse... but that's hardly a reason to upgrade!

      Get 4GB with x64! It won't make life worse! And hey, 1% of you might actually benefit!!

      A bit of googling can resolve that whole "can't use unsigned drivers in Vista x64" thing as well.

      I was pointing out that Microsofts whole WHQL certification push is a bit of a farce given how many drivers aren't certified.

      Now you say a bug needs to be addressed in COH to make it run right on Vista x86. As I understand it, it isn't a bug with the software, it's simply running into a limitation of 32-bit computing.

      Except that it also runs on Windows 98, ME, 2000, and XP (x32).

      If it was running into a "limitation of 32-bit computing" that was insurmountable, then really, it should only be supported under XP x64 and Vista x64. Clearly that is not the case.

      If its crashing under Vista x32 then there is either a bug in Vista or a bug in CoH. But there is clearly not some 'fundamental limitation of 32-bit computing' at issue here if Win98 and Win2000 are supported platforms.

    15. Re:Pedantic if not downright false by Dogtanian · · Score: 1

      It is a variant. But its a platform variant not a feature variant. What else should they call it? It *IS* windows XP profressional after all. If MS had released an Itanium edition, or a G5 edition you wouldn't automatically assume it would work, right? Same thing here. If there were notable versions of Windows for other platforms, it would be reasonable to point out which one something ran on. I wouldn't assume that it would work, but I *would* hope that manufacturers would point it out.
      --
      "Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).
    16. Re:Pedantic if not downright false by Pyrion · · Score: 1
      Actually, it's pretty much exactly as previously described.

      From the Company of Heroes DX10 FAQ:

      Running at very high resolutions and anti aliasing settings

      Due to the limited address space of Vista 32 if trying to run at very high resolutions and/or anti aliasing settings the driver may consume so much virtual address space the application crashes. Running with -novsync for performance testing will disable triple buffering to recover a tiny bit of memory, but the best solution is to run Vista 32 set to give applications three gigabytes of virtual address space or to just run Vista 64 which gives all 32bit applications a full four gigabytes.
      --
      "There is much pleasure to be gained from useless knowledge." - Bertrand Russell.
    17. Re:Pedantic if not downright false by Pyrion · · Score: 1
      And even better, on page 1 of that same thread, from one of the devs:

      If you want to change your system settings to enable three gigabyte mode you're completely on your own.

      Personally I looked up how to do this and tried it on my Vista machine. And broke it. I had to go through a Vista recovery process to make it work again. This is not a change for casual users, or even experienced users, to risk doing. Just use Vista 64 instead and get a full four gigabytes.

      The reason MS does not ship Vista like this is there may be some bad drivers out there that make assumptions that the kernel has two gigabytes and the applications get the other two. Vista 64 is definitely the way to go.
      --
      "There is much pleasure to be gained from useless knowledge." - Bertrand Russell.
    18. Re:Pedantic if not downright false by Lars+T. · · Score: 1

      The official name of the 64 bit product is Windows XP Professional x64 Edition. That name is not listed on the iPhone page, don't expect it to be supported. At my most charitable I'd consider that downright pedantic, though more likely it's simply false. Are you honestly claiming that "Windows XP Professional x64 Edition" isn't being sold as a particular version of "Windows XP Professsional"?

      You can argue the toss about the actual code base, but if it's being sold as XP Professsional, that's all that is relevant. I guess you'd use the same argument against any product being sold as "Windows XP comptatible" that didn't work with 32-bit Home or Pro because, hey, they're sold as "Windows XP Home" (etc.) not "Windows XP". Well, what do you see when you visit the Windows XP Home Page? Yup , you see a list of "Windows XP Editions":
      Home Edition
      Professional Edition
      Media Center Edition
      Tablet PC Edition
      Professional x64 Edition
      Did you notice something? Now go click the link to "Professional Edition" - do you see a mention of the 64 bit version there?

      IOW: blame Microsoft.

      --

      Lars T.

      To the guy who modded me down from perfect to terrible Karma - Apple haters still suck

    19. Re:Pedantic if not downright false by Dekortage · · Score: 1

      Suppose I released a Microsoft Office plug in, and just listed 'any edition of Microsoft Office 2003 or later' as the requirement. Would you really expect it to work with "Microsoft Office 2004: Mac" without a specific mention of the Mac platform? Of course not.
      I probably wouldn't, but I think a lot of people would, and I wouldn't blame them for that.

      This the kind of thing Mac users have run into for decades. Most know -- or at least learn very quickly -- that you can't just walk into any old store that has a "software" department and expect to find Mac-compatible products. MAYBE some of the hardware is Mac-compatible (USB devices like printers, memory sticks, webcams, etc.) but software? "Rotsa ruck," as Scooby would say.

      As has been amply noted elsewhere, Windows x64 is not exactly "mainstream". iTunes will undoubtably be 64-bit compatible in future (and very near, too), but Apple probably focused on other stuff first (like changing the landscape of the mobile phone industry).

      --
      $nice = $webHosting + $domainNames + $sslCerts
    20. Re:Pedantic if not downright false by rizzo420 · · Score: 1

      your arrogance proves nothing. but apple doesn't change anything by architecture. they show versions by operating system type (mac and windows). the only hardware mentioned is USB 2.0.

      next time read the links posted before making stupid comments like that.

      --
      please me, have no regrets.
    21. Re:Pedantic if not downright false by that+this+is+not+und · · Score: 1

      This the kind of thing Mac users have run into for decades. Most know -- or at least learn very quickly -- that you can't just walk into any old store that has a "software" department and expect to find Mac-compatible products.

      There's usually at least a short half-aisle of 'Mac' software at any store with three or four aisles of Windows software.

      I remember standing in line at the checkout at a CompUSA (which at the time was a LICENSED Apple DEALER) with a small boy and his mom behind me. The boy was crying and having a fit, the mom was saying 'No that program won't run on our Mac.'

      Apple Computer: Making Small Boys Cry.

    22. Re:Pedantic if not downright false by Ravnen · · Score: 1

      Microsoft has now dropped the x64 marker from the 64-bit versions of Vista; you either buy 32-bit edition or 64-bit edition.
      Actually you just buy Vista, and the licence can be used for either the x86 or the x64 port (except Starter, which is a low-cost version for developing countries, and unless I'm mistaken is x86-only). Ultimate comes with media for both architectures, but the other versions only come with media for one architecture or the other. If you want media for the other architecture in these cases, you have to request it from Microsoft, and pay a nominal fee to cover postage and packing.
    23. Re:Pedantic if not downright false by SenorCitizen · · Score: 1

      Actually you just buy Vista, and the licence can be used for either the x86 or the x64 port (except Starter, which is a low-cost version for developing countries, and unless I'm mistaken is x86-only).

      Do you know if this applies to OEM licenses as well, or just retail versions? I *might* get an OEM Vista the next time I build a new system, but I'm not paying the retail prices, that's for sure...

    24. Re:Pedantic if not downright false by Pollardito · · Score: 1

      Who needs 64bit? Today, all Vista users that are gamers.

      so like 5 people on the entire Earth? who the hell puts Vista on their game-playing machine when the driver support is so abysmal? i totally agree with your larger point (that they should say they support "32bit only" and that they should really be supporting both with a new product), but making it sound like 64-bit Vista is a product that a lot of people actually use is disingenuous
    25. Re:Pedantic if not downright false by malsdavis · · Score: 1
      From Grandparent post:

      You can argue the toss about the actual code base, but if it's being sold as XP Professsional, that's all that is relevant.


      As the post you replied to stated, technical implication issues are beside the point. The iPhone "says on the box" that it works with Windows XP and Vista when actually it doesn't work with 2 common versions of these products.

      The XP x64 version has been out for over 2 years now so they can hardly blame the OS's immaturity either.
    26. Re:Pedantic if not downright false by Ravnen · · Score: 1

      Sorry, I don't know. I found a page on microsoft.com, but it doesn't include any mention of OEM versus retail.

    27. Re:Pedantic if not downright false by Dogtanian · · Score: 1

      This is a pedant's argument, reliant on some literal interpretation of the structure of MS's website. The name they chose suggests that the "x64 Edition" is a variant of XP. That was my point; actually, that's the only point I ever made, in spite of attempts by some to make out otherwise. See also here.

      --
      "Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).
    28. Re:Pedantic if not downright false by afidel · · Score: 1

      My RAM usage rarely cracks 1.5GB. Would having 4GB and x64 make my life measurably better? Of course not. It wouldn't make it worse... but that's hardly a reason to upgrade!

      If your programs are using 1.5GB of ram then heck yeah moving to 4GB would improve things, the OS would have more than 500MB of ram to play with for cache! A good rule of thumb is for nice performance give the box 2x the working set size in ram. This is true regardless of which modern OS you run, they all rely on the same computer science principals. Some OS's might handle certain edge cases better, such as high load or low ram, but for best performance they are all fairly similar. Of course moving to x64 might mean that you really need 6GB of ram as your working set size might increase with the move to x64.

      --
      There are 4 boxes to use in the defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, ammo. Use in that order. Starting now.
    29. Re:Pedantic if not downright false by croddy · · Score: 1

      While we're on the topic of pedantry, what clueless fucking marketroid decided to call this architecture "x64"??

    30. Re:Pedantic if not downright false by Lars+T. · · Score: 1

      This is a pedant's argument, reliant on some literal interpretation of the structure of MS's website. The name they chose suggests that the "x64 Edition" is a variant of XP. Just like "Windows XP Tablet PC Edition" is a variant of Windows XP that is also not mentioned on the iPhone system requirements.
      --

      Lars T.

      To the guy who modded me down from perfect to terrible Karma - Apple haters still suck

    31. Re:Pedantic if not downright false by Dogtanian · · Score: 1

      Just like "Windows XP Tablet PC Edition" is a variant of Windows XP that is also not mentioned on the iPhone system requirements. Indeed.

      I just realised that what I said above was incorrect, BTW. What I meant to say was

      This is a pedant's argument, reliant on some literal interpretation of the structure of MS's website. The name they chose suggests that the "x64 Edition" is a variant of XP Professional. So I wouldn't say that Apple were claiming compatibility with the Tablet PC Edition anyway, if only because its name doesn't imply a relationship to any specific version of XP on sale, just the "Windows XP" family. If Apple had claimed generic "Windows XP" compatibility, this would be different, but they didn't.
      --
      "Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).
    32. Re:Pedantic if not downright false by SenorCitizen · · Score: 1

      Sorry, I don't know. I found a page on microsoft.com, but it doesn't include any mention of OEM versus retail.

      I found a page linking to that page that says only retail licenses apply. :(

      If you bought Windows Vista Home Basic, Home Premium, or Business as a retail, packaged product, and you would like a DVD of 64-bit software media to install on your PC [...]
  127. Use a virtual machine by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    He could use a virtual machine to solve his problem. Yeah it's lame, but it *is* a solution. He could download the free version of vmware and install the 32 bit version of xp on it to run the iPhone software. There is no need to downgrade the OS.

  128. You don't pay Microsoft to sign the driver. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    The drivers can be signed by any valid certificate authority. Microsoft doesn't even run one, so you couldn't pay Microsoft to sign the driver if you wanted to. Most developers buy a verisign certificate and sign their own code, drivers, patches, etc, it's a one time cost.

    1. Re:You don't pay Microsoft to sign the driver. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Perhaps he means WHQL.

    2. Re:You don't pay Microsoft to sign the driver. by Tacvek · · Score: 1

      On my computer, Microsoft has 2 valid root certificates. The only requirement for being a CA is a valid root certificate capable of signing other certificates. The two certificates "Microsoft Root Authority" and "Microsoft Root Certificate Authority" are both set by default to be considered valid for all purposes. So Microsoft can issue certificates if they want to.

      --
      Stylish sheet to fix many problems in Slashdot's D3: https://gist.github.com/801524
    3. Re:You don't pay Microsoft to sign the driver. by Kalriath · · Score: 1

      Actually, there is an extra signature necessary - the certificate needs to be signed by WHQL - Windows Hardware Quality Labs - to be considered a valid, signed, driver.

      --
      For a site about things like basic rights, Slashdot users sure do like to censor "dissent".
  129. Technical technicalities, techincally by Scrameustache · · Score: 1

    Are you honestly claiming that "Windows XP Professional x64 Edition" isn't being sold as a particular version of "Windows XP Professsional"? I'm actually saying that when you're reading a particular product's requirements you should make sure that the actual product name is actually listed.
    --

    You can't take the sky from me...

    1. Re:Technical technicalities, techincally by Dogtanian · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Are you honestly claiming that "Windows XP Professional x64 Edition" isn't being sold as a particular version of "Windows XP Professsional"? I'm actually saying that when you're reading a particular product's requirements you should make sure that the actual product name is actually listed. Yes, but your argument only holds water if "Windows XP Professional x64 Edition" can't reasonably be considered a version of "Windows XP Professsional".

      MS's naming/marketing clearly implies that it *is* being sold as such (regardless of the actual underpinnings), so it's disingenuous to suggest that Apple didn't imply compatibility when they listed "Windows XP Professional" without qualifying that in any way.
      --
      "Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).
    2. Re:Technical technicalities, techincally by pionzypher · · Score: 1

      Look, we can argue semantics all day. The fact of the matter though is that there are significant differences between Windows XP Professional and Windows XP Professional x64 edition. Significant enough that little (and not so little) incompatibilities in drivers and userspace apps exist. This is known to those who've used x64 for a minimal amount of time.

      XP x64 IS a flavor of XP, the 64 bit flavor.
      x64 XP != XP 32 bit.

      They are not the same. They should be treated as such.

      Ultimately it's Apples responsibility to try to support x64. But by listing "Windows XP Professional" as supported does not infer that the 64 bit edition is supported.

      my $.02

      --
      I'll believe in corporations having personhood when Texas executes one... - advocate_one
    3. Re:Technical technicalities, techincally by Kalriath · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Give it up. If you're against Apple, you'll be modded Troll into oblivion, and getting anyone to agree with you is downright impossible. Apple can do no Evil, you know? The Great Jobs Will Save Us.

      Slashdot's web server has a portable Steve Jobs Reality Distortion Field Generator, I tell you.

      --
      For a site about things like basic rights, Slashdot users sure do like to censor "dissent".
    4. Re:Technical technicalities, techincally by Dogtanian · · Score: 1

      Give it up. Never! :-)

      If you're against Apple I'm not, I just think they should have mentioned the x64 incompatibility.

      you'll be modded Troll into oblivion, and getting anyone to agree with you is downright impossible. Oddly, I've only had one negative mod, and it was the weasel downmod, "overrated".
      --
      "Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).
    5. Re:Technical technicalities, techincally by Dogtanian · · Score: 1

      Look, we can argue semantics all day. Significant enough that little (and not so little) incompatibilities in drivers and userspace apps exist. This is known to those who've used x64 for a minimal amount of time. Arguably so, but Apple should still have mentioned the incompatibility. And, as I mentioned in another post, Apple felt moved to point out the x64 incompatibility on a different requirements list, so obviously they do consider it worthy of mention.

      Ultimately it's Apples responsibility to try to support x64. But by listing "Windows XP Professional" as supported does not infer that the 64 bit edition is supported. I don't have a problem with them not supporting the 64-bit Windows. But I still disagree that "Windows XP Professional" somehow doesn't include "variants", or at least products marketed as such.
      --
      "Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).
    6. Re:Technical technicalities, techincally by that+this+is+not+und · · Score: 1

      Usually it's just on apple.slashdot.org

      Which is where this topic is located.

      But I can remember the not that distant future when even more of us hardcore geeks hated Apple Computer than do so now. And actually, the hatred by some of Apple softened when Apple was taken over by NeXT. The only problem was, when NeXT took over Apple, they didn't shuck off the deadweight known as 'The legacy Apple Employees.' So they carry a lot of that old deadweight from the non-multitasking 'single mouse button is a hard-fast-philosophical' era. You know, the guys they should have fired from Apple when it was finally recognized that they couldn't write a coherent modern OS and had to adopt NeXT Step instead.

    7. Re:Technical technicalities, techincally by Scrameustache · · Score: 1

      Are you honestly claiming that "Windows XP Professional x64 Edition" isn't being sold as a particular version of "Windows XP Professsional"? I'm actually saying that when you're reading a particular product's requirements you should make sure that the actual product name is actually listed. Yes, but your argument only holds water if "Windows XP Professional x64 Edition" can't reasonably be considered a version of "Windows XP Professsional".

      MS's naming/marketing clearly implies that it *is* being sold as such (regardless of the actual underpinnings), so it's disingenuous to suggest that Apple Yes, it IS disingenuous to blame Apple for Microsoft's convoluted OS marketing schemes. Shame on you.
      --

      You can't take the sky from me...

    8. Re:Technical technicalities, techincally by Dogtanian · · Score: 1

      Yes, it IS disingenuous to blame Apple for Microsoft's convoluted OS marketing schemes. Shame on you. Pathetic strawman. I didn't "blame" Apple for Microsoft's "convoluted" (your words) marketing scheme. It's not that complicated and if it were, all Apple had to do was to say "not compatible with 64-bit versions of Windows".

      Which they did elsewhere, just not in the document in question.
      --
      "Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).
    9. Re:Technical technicalities, techincally by Scrameustache · · Score: 1

      Pathetic strawman. Despicable tinman.

      Learn your lesson already: Buyer beware. Read the product requirements carefully and don't expect one product listed to mean that products with similar but technically different names are implied.
      Especially if, as you say, it's written elsewhere that it's not supported. Duh.
      --

      You can't take the sky from me...

    10. Re:Technical technicalities, techincally by Dogtanian · · Score: 1

      Pathetic strawman. Despicable tinman. Okay... were you trying to be funny, or did you genuinely not know straw man is? Let me explain; you attempted to distort what I'd said just so you could argue "against" it.

      Learn your lesson already: Buyer beware. Read the product requirements carefully and don't expect one product listed to mean that products with similar but technically different names are implied. What constitutes a "technically different name"?

      Especially if, as you say, it's written elsewhere that it's not supported. Duh. Then that implies that the original list of requirements was incomplete (since it's mentioned in the other one). But Apple didn't say that it was an incomplete list.
      --
      "Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).
    11. Re:Technical technicalities, techincally by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      In your view, do they have the right to claim "XP Pro" if they only support XP Pro on x64 and not x86? How small does a group of users need to be before they can be defrauded with impunity?

      Apple is still naming a number of Windows versions in the iPhone specs without admitting that (with the sole exception of XP Home) x64 builds of all of them are available and are not (yet?) supported.

    12. Re:Technical technicalities, techincally by Scrameustache · · Score: 1

      What constitutes a "technically different name"? Wow.
      --

      You can't take the sky from me...

    13. Re:Technical technicalities, techincally by Dogtanian · · Score: 1

      What constitutes a "technically different name"? Wow. Seriously, the only concrete meaning I can think of for that expression is a name that contains *any* differences whatsoever, regardless of how minor. Otherwise, the word "technically" really means nothing in this context...
      --
      "Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).
  130. Take it back by dokhebi · · Score: 1

    Send a load and clear message to Apple: take your iPhone back to the store where you purchased it and ask for your money back.

    Just my $0.02 worth.

    1. Re:Take it back by pecosdave · · Score: 1

      Sending a load to Apple may get you in a lot of trouble. I mean this guy got a big fine for it. (no not This Guy)

      --
      The preceding post was not a Slashvertisement.
  131. Wow! by greylingrover · · Score: 0

    This is not deliberately meant as flame-bait, but honestly, I've never seen so many people whining about how they just despise this company (they can't write WIndows software, they're arrogant, they don't "just work") and how they are so upset that they can't run an iPhone on their 64-bit WIn box. Why would you possibly want to own an iPhone if Apple is so horrible? Why even waste the keystrokes bitching about it? Weren't you over all the iPhone hype before it even came out, or are you secretly jealous that you didn't stand in line to get one?

    I'm digging MY iPhone - it runs great on my partially 64-bit Mac OS and I'm thrilled that I've not been forced to run XP for any of my music or communications gadgets. (okay, that last part was probably flame-bait - haha).

    --
    --- Shoo-be-doo-be-do-wop-say-what-yeah!
  132. It DOES run 32-bit applications. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The reason it doesn't work is because the iPod Driver is a piece of shit (and not signed). That's it. That's the only reason it doesn't work.
    iTunes works on Windows XP 64bit, I have been using it for over a year on my development workstation.

  133. Re:Pot to Kettle -- Yer Black! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Vista x64 and XP x64 are DIFFERENT products than Vista and XP. they are ALWAYS listed differently, with x64 being EXPLICITLY mentioned. ALWAYS. so NO, they are not listed as supported.
    why is that so hard for the haters to admit ? because hatin' is so fun huh ?

  134. Solution is easy. by xerxesVII · · Score: 0, Troll

    Just drop another 600 on another computer and use your iPhone with that, Daddy Warbucks.

    Jesus I'm cranky today.

    --
    "We shall grapple with the ineffable, and see if we may not eff it after all." - Douglas Adams
  135. Unless you want to unload a DLL. by Myria · · Score: 1

    In 10.5, Carbon was not ported to 64-bit. Its sole alternative, Cocoa, requires Objective C. DLLs using Objective C cannot be unloaded, period.

    --
    "Screw Sun, cross-platform will never work. Let's move on and steal the Java language." - Visual J++ Product Manager
    1. Re:Unless you want to unload a DLL. by Bishop923 · · Score: 3, Interesting

      In 10.5, Carbon was not ported to 64-bit.

      Uh no... The only part of Carbon that wasn't ported to 64bit are the GUI layers of HIToolbox.

      http://www.carbondev.com/site/?page=64-bit+Carbon

    2. Re:Unless you want to unload a DLL. by Brett+Johnson · · Score: 2, Informative

      Unloading bundles containing Objective-C was enabled in Mac OS X 10.4.7, and presumably works in 10.5 as well.
      [Although the new Obj-C garbage collection mechanisms could throw a wrench into the works...]
      There are some restrictions, most of them obvious (don't unload a class that is a superclass of instanciated objects,
      or that is attached to a Key-Value Binding, etc.)

      From the Release Notes:

      Mac OS X Tiger Release Notes
      Objective-C Runtime ...

      Unloading bundle libraries

      Bundle libraries containing Objective-C code may now be unloaded. However, there are some restrictions on the bundle's contents and on the behavior of the unloader. These caveats include:

      * An unloadable bundle must not define a category on a class that will exist after the bundle is unloaded.
      * A class in an unloadable bundle must not pose as any class that will exist after the bundle is unloaded.
      * A class in an unloadable bundle must not be the superclass of any class that will exist after the bundle is unloaded.
      * No instances of any class defined in an unloadable bundle can exist when the bundle is unloaded. In particular, autoreleased instances of unloaded classes will behave incorrectly when the autorelease pool is popped.
      * Foundation's Key-Value Coding and Key-Value Observing may not behave correctly when used with classes that are then unloaded.

      objc_unloadModules() remains unimplemented. Use the NSBundle, CFBundle, or dyld APIs to unload bundle libraries.

    3. Re:Unless you want to unload a DLL. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      blather, period.

      Why did you put a period after the period?

      Was a period not enough?

      .

    4. Re:Unless you want to unload a DLL. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      *phew!* Thank goodness no one uses those!

  136. For what? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Servers? Sure. I don't think anyone's going to be hooking up their iPhone to their servers, though.

    For the desktop? Linux? More mainstream? You dream. Or perhaps hallucinate is a better term.

    1. Re:For what? by dkf · · Score: 1

      For the desktop? Linux? More mainstream? You dream. Than 64-bit Windows? Yes. Win64 is really not common at all, and there are quite a few Linux desktops about, even though far fewer than the number of Win32 desktops. (In my office room at work, we're about split 3 ways between Windows, Linux and OSX desktops/laptops. Nobody has Win64.)

      FYI, porting Win32 code to Win64 is not in general a trivial operation, especially if the code was never ported to any other 64-bit platform before, so most application vendors won't have bothered as there's not much market and it's hard. Curiously, Linux supports 64-bit far better; that's mostly because it went through the pain much longer ago, and there was already existing expertise from even further back (some commercial Unixes have supported 64-bit systems since the early '90s, and most of that experience was transferable.) Windows developers (who are mostly not Unix developers; hardly anyone does both) mostly don't have the right sort of experience to deal with that sort of thing straight off, so they've got to learn and that takes (a lot of) time. Which is why you won't see loads of people switching to Win64; not enough people need it yet, even with Vista's chunkiness.
      --
      "Little does he know, but there is no 'I' in 'Idiot'!"
    2. Re:For what? by RightSaidFred99 · · Score: 1

      Porting Win32 code to Win64 code is a trivial operation in the vast majority of cases. You just go "durr...generate 64-bit. ok, me done". It's not hard. Poorly written code will be exactly as difficult to port as it would be in Linux, and your assertion that "Linux supports 64-bit far better" is simply uninformed fanboism with no basis in reality.

  137. Reverse engineering their driver by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If they want to go this route, let's reverse engineer their driver to source, then compile it for Win64. Linux people would love to have that so they can make their own iPhone software. Double loss for Apple.

    And it's all legal too, since compatibility is a specific exemption to the DMCA.

  138. Re:Quicktime Alternative Apple Quicktime by Ash-Fox · · Score: 1

    If you must play Quicktime Files, don't install Apple Quicktime! Try Quicktime Alternative instead.
    I'm not sure which is worse, QuickTime or Windows Media Player. Not much of a choice really.
    --
    Change is certain; progress is not obligatory.
  139. Not confined to Apple by DietCoke · · Score: 0

    A *lot* of devices and apps aren't supported in XP 64-bit. Apple's not the only one.

    1. Re:Not confined to Apple by Dogtanian · · Score: 1

      A *lot* of devices and apps aren't supported in XP 64-bit. Apple's not the only one. That wasn't the issue; the issue was that Apple didn't mention it in the page that was originally linked to.
      --
      "Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).
    2. Re:Not confined to Apple by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Why would Apple list incompatible operating systems under a list of compatible operating systems? Your wishes notwithstanding, the product requirements listing is complete. Since you continue to believe otherwise, I suggest a refresher course in reading comprehension. Or maybe a call to Microsoft's corporate offices to tell them to use completely different names for different operating systems. That is, you might get more traction if these were not the names Microsoft came up with on its own to call its various operating systems.

    3. Re:Not confined to Apple by Dogtanian · · Score: 1

      Why would Apple list incompatible operating systems under a list of compatible operating systems? Your wishes notwithstanding, What wishes? I'm not planning on buying an iPhone, never was, and don't run a 64-bit version of Windows. I couldn't care less if Apple do or don't release 64-bit drivers for the iPhone.

      the product requirements listing is complete. No, it's not. The name chosen, "Windows XP Professional x64 Edition" implies that it is a variant of Windows XP Professional. Regardless of what the underpinnings are, that's how it's marketed, and so it's a version of Windows XP Professional, whatever that means.

      If Apple don't mention exclusions, then it's not complete.

      Oh, and Apple *did* specifically state that 64-bit versions weren't compatible elsewhere. Why would they do that if it's as cut-and-dried as you suggest?

      Since you continue to believe otherwise, I suggest a refresher course in reading comprehension. Tarting up a substance-free cheap insult as a snotty intellectual put down doesn't change what it is. Just call me a moron, or insult my parentage or sexuality, or whatever- it's the level your "wit" operates at, regardless of what you'd like to think.

      Or maybe a call to Microsoft's corporate offices to tell them to use completely different names for different operating systems. Wasn't a problem for me, but if you want to call them, be my guest.

      That is, you might get more traction if these were not the names Microsoft came up with on its own to call its various operating systems. Yep. MS chose a name for the x64 edition that basically states that it's a variant of the standard "Windows XP Professional". That was my point. Yours was...?
      --
      "Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).
  140. Dude, Sometimes "cutting edge(?)" bites you by JohnnyGTO · · Score: 1

    on the ass. I know I run Gentoo :-)
    Gotta go there's new files to emerge!

    --
    Si vis pacem, para bellum! For evil to succeed good men need only do nothing!
  141. Google SMS by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Even $40 phones generally support text messaging these days.
    You can get directions through Google SMS.
    http://www.google.com/intl/en_us/mobile/sms/

  142. PAE works extremely poorly by Sycraft-fu · · Score: 2, Insightful

    More or less it is a throwback to the old EMS/XMS days. What happens is an app will map a certain section of its virtual address space for high memory access. It'll then page around to get at the data it needs. This is inefficient, and requires special support on the app level. 64-bit removes and and all problems with that. There's simply more memory available and programs and the OS use it as they see fit.

    What I don't understand is why anyone wants to hate on 64-bit. Processors are 64-bit now, that's just how it is. They are not going to revert to 32-bit, there's no reason. Thus it is perfectly feasible to run a 64-bit OS (I'm doing so right now). Pointing to old technologies like PAE is silly. It's a hack, always was, and there's no reason to use it when you've got something better.

    It's also not hard to support. If you do a quick search, you discover that almost all hardware these days has 64-bit drivers. It's really not a big deal to do if they were written properly in the first place. Thus there's no reason to hate on it or say "Why do you use it? That's stupid." Like it or not, it is where things are going. OS-X will be 64-bit soon enough (Leopard is supposed to have full 64-bit support), and the next generation of Windows will be 64-bit only. The idea is to avoid the problems we had back in the 16-32 bit days when there was hardware but no software and have everything up to date by the time normal systems start needing it.

    1. Re:PAE works extremely poorly by jimicus · · Score: 1

      It's also not hard to do it right.

      Solaris has been 64-bit for years. Yet it supports apps compiled for old 32-bit versions of solaris out of the box - indeed, you wouldn't even know you were running a 32-bit application without explicitly checking.

    2. Re:PAE works extremely poorly by SanityInAnarchy · · Score: 1

      OS-X will be 64-bit soon enough

      Isn't it already? They seem to think so.

      --
      Don't thank God, thank a doctor!
    3. Re:PAE works extremely poorly by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes, 10.4.x has had 64-bit abilities for a while. The big change in 10.5 will be most of the OS will be 64-bit, instead of the more piecemeal approach found in 10.4.

      It's similar to the 680x0 to PPC transition, where the initial release simply ported the most necessary bits to the new architecture, and with subsequent releases go after smaller and smaller targets of the OS. The nice thing about 10.5 is the 2 year development window gave them enough time to port huge swathes, instead of a constant stream of releases like before.

  143. Narrow-mindedness by kaaona · · Score: 1

    A dozen times a day I'm reminded that there's no 64-bit Flash plug-in for Firefox -- two years after the last 32-bits-only processor was sold. That's at least as aggravating as an IE-only web site.

    1. Re:Narrow-mindedness by movdqa · · Score: 1

      The current approach is to use the 32-bit version of flash to support the 64-bit version of Firefox. The work to do this hasn't been done for Firefox Windows x64 yet.

  144. Re:Pot to Kettle -- Yer Black! by Dogtanian · · Score: 1

    Vista x64 and XP x64 are DIFFERENT products than Vista and XP. they are ALWAYS listed differently, with x64 being EXPLICITLY mentioned. They've got the same name with a "special edition"-type bit tacked on. It's perfectly reasonable to assume that they're variants of their 32-bit siblings, and most people would agree that they're being sold as such. Regardless of what the underlying product is.

    why is that so hard for the haters to admit ? because hatin' is so fun huh ? Yeah, it's all about haters.... Grow up- not everyone here shares your adolescent mentality.
    --
    "Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).
  145. Sooo.... by Farrside · · Score: 1

    Microsoft is a disused lavatory with no lights?

    1. Re:Sooo.... by bjprice · · Score: 1

      Yes. Yes, it is.

      --
      v4sw6HPU$hw5ln6pr5$ck4ma8u7LMO$w2m6l7DL$i2e3t4MWb9AHKMRTen5a29s0r1p-5.88/-8.36g5CST
    2. Re:Sooo.... by Tacvek · · Score: 1

      Microsoft is a disused lavatory with no lights? Yes, no lights but it has Windows.
      --
      Stylish sheet to fix many problems in Slashdot's D3: https://gist.github.com/801524
  146. In other news... by csoto · · Score: 1

    Duke Nukem Forever doesn't really run all that better in XP-64...

    --
    There exists no way of exchanging information without making judgments. --Bene Gesserit Axiom
    1. Re:In other news... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I just keep wondering why do they have to delete his post in the forum? Very very lame apple. All of these cult worshippers of apple make me sick. btw, these steve job's worshipper thrive on slashdot quite well by, not (at least directly) dissing linux, or/and kissing linux user's ass, so they can bash ms to spread their mac cult.

  147. Re:It's not my Zune! It's a false one! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    "They also know enough about 64-bit Windows to know that precious little software actually runs on 64-bit Windows, simply because it's not a consumer operating system."

    Wrong. Most 32-bit software actually runs just fine on Windows x64. I realize it's fun to hate Microsoft and all, but can we at least act like we know what we're talking about before posting? I mean, seriously, this is common knowledge. Where you actually have a point, though, is that HARDWARE is often difficult to get running on Windows x64. The driver model makes that difficult, so companies have to put extra effort into making their devices run with it. In that respect, you're right, the guy doesn't have a lot of wiggle room to complain.

    It is not because Windows 64-bit is a 'database server' or a 'non-consumer' OS. It's because the hardware's different and Microsoft fiddled with their driver signing agreement. That's it, no need to write fiction.

  148. Re:Why do I need a computer to run my phone anyway by NeMon'ess · · Score: 1

    Except the phone is a computer. It can surf to Weird Al's website and there are free mp3s there. As a computer, it ought to be capable of downloading them, and adding them to its library. If it can't, then the second generation should.

    The iPhone is one step closer to convergence. In a few years it should be possible to buy a phone that works as a computer the way sub-notebooks work as computers by themselves.

  149. No, it uses LLP64 by Myria · · Score: 1

    Longs are 32-bit in Win64. Only long longs are 64-bit. This means that long's size is different between x86-64 Windows and x86-64 Linux.

    --
    "Screw Sun, cross-platform will never work. Let's move on and steal the Java language." - Visual J++ Product Manager
  150. Win2003 64 = XP 64 by Myria · · Score: 1

    Windows Srv 2003 64-bit


    XP 64 is a non-server build of 2003. It calls itself NT 5.2, and its service pack 2 installer is literally the same .exe file as 2003 64's.
    --
    "Screw Sun, cross-platform will never work. Let's move on and steal the Java language." - Visual J++ Product Manager
  151. This is a Win64 problem not an iPhone problem by pestilence669 · · Score: 1

    The entire catalog of Apple's software runs of 32 & 64 bit versions of OS X (PowerPC *AND* Intel), and sometimes on Win32 as well. Win64? Most of Microsoft's own software hardly works on that piece of shit. It's not even being promoted and for good reason: It's not ready.

    Microsoft breaks compatibility when jumping to wider memory addressing. It's part of their marketing by force initiative. If you can make older applications work, but really poorly, you will encourage customers to purchase new versions. This is the very Microsoft definition of upgrade (everything).

    Everyone that's used a 64-bit release of Windows will tell you that driver and software support is atrocious. If they don't, they didn't do much else than run Internet Explorer in 16-color VGA mode. Before Vista, 64-bit Windows was impossible to use on the majority of hardware and it only really ran Exchange and SQL Server (with many many many bugs).

    Is Apple to blame for not supporting the under-promoted and known to be flawed 64-bit Windows releases? Not entirely. A disclaimer would have been nice. For that, they should be seriously reprimanded and offer concessions to the four people that have gotten Win64 to work.

    If I could speculate, I believe they didn't want to cause confusion. All of those new Dell owners with 64-bit stickers on their computers have no clue they're actually running a 32-bit operating system. Who wants that support headache? ... explaining to users why their machines advertised as 64-bit computers can't actually run Microsoft's 64-bit software.

    I honestly believe that this problem affects so few people that EVERYONE it affects reads Slashdot regularly.

    1. Re:This is a Win64 problem not an iPhone problem by Stevecrox · · Score: 1

      You are talking rubbish, lets go through some of the hardware I own which works on Vista Home Premimum x64 edition, here is a list of some of the things I have that work:

      Canon i865 Driver - First supported in vista x64 but haven't been able to get to work in Xp x64

      HP Deskjet 3320 Driver - Unoffically supported since XP x64, preinstalled drivers in Vista

      "Smart" Scanner - 4 year old scanner Vista see's it as something else, XP x64 installs normal driver

      Creative Audigy SE - all creative cards have atleast basic x64 support the latest revision isn't bad

      Creative Vista IM Webcam - Just got support

      Avermedia Hybrif DVB AR16 - Had Xp x64 support since it was released

      Bluetooth USB Dongle - Sorry the labels been worn off cost £5 in Maplins x64 driver relased 2 months after xp x64

      Nvidia/Ati Graphics cards - I do notice a perfomance FPS improvement in HL2 on XP x64 compared to XP on an Nvidia

      Hercules Muse XP - Works with the XP driver

      Hercules All In Wonder 7500 - Doesnt work in XP MCE but does in XP x64

      Hrmmm I've run out of non-standard hardware what I have noticed thanks to Vista x64 is you can now generally expect a "vista compatible" sticker to mean it works with both 32bit and 64bit, before I agree you did have to check although since the end of last summer 64bit drivers existed for close to everything even if they wern't put on the installation disk.As for software? Excusing Doom 3 and Gametap both of which had installers which wouldn't let you install them on anything but XP Pro/Home, I never came accross a XP application which wouldn't install and work without issue on XP x64 from games to industry applications. Vista does suffer here it seems I've lost 16bit applications and my pre 2003 games.

      Driver support has improved your comment was true but not today

    2. Re:This is a Win64 problem not an iPhone problem by pestilence669 · · Score: 1

      While I commend you for your bravery and ability to get Vista x64 working, you don't seem to embody the "average user." For starters, you know what hardware is in your computer and what a driver is. That's not "normal." I'd assume that you deliberately selected your devices and didn't settle for some integrated video controller.

  152. not surprised by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Apple DOWNGRADED the compatability of itunes along time a gone im not surprised that they didnt make the iphone compatable

  153. Re:No, Joke AC. Neo1973 out next month. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Are you going to make the same comment every time the Neo1973 is brought up? How about we discuss the capabilities of the phone instead of hearing constant reminders that you personally don't like the name...

  154. 4GB RAM? by rexbinary · · Score: 0

    Do any of the people that I see complain daily about things not working in the 64 bit operating systems even have over 4GB of RAM installed that they need to access?

  155. Re:downgrade by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You mean downgrade from a downgrade to OSX (seeing that it is such a primitive OS).

  156. Re:This is just utter nonsense (Mac talking points by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    I think it is a raw deal. They should be able to write a 32bit application that can run under Windows x64. No one is actually asking for a 64bit application. Not being able to do this is just nonsense (a simple driver). It only shows how inferior their own software design really is (iTunes and Quicktime are two of the most poorly written applications, ever). This only seems to certify my belief that Apple probably has a group of significantly incompetent engineers.

  157. iPhone relying too much on iTunes by feranick · · Score: 1

    The iPhone pretends to run applications which are web-based. So any application which follows web standards will work with an iPhone and any PC. At the same time though the iPhone won't let you pretty much do anything (activate it, transfer music, synchronize it), without not just iTunes, but iTunes for selected OS. I find this quite disturbing, almost a joke, actually. The iPhone, the prototype of the mobile machine that does everything you need without a PC, actually is useless without a companion. My idea of true mobile device is something which does not rely AT ALL on a PC/Mac to work, that can synchronize using open standards with everything, possibly wirelessly, that can access online music stores, that can be activated from the device. Some of these features have been available on phones. Where is the revolution?

  158. THAT is copy protection. by Myria · · Score: 1

    Games not working on Win64 on their own accord is basically unheard of. It's the copy protection kernel drivers that won't work. The cracked versions typically work fine on Win64!

    Legal disclaimer: I'm not recommending that anyone crack anything.

    --
    "Screw Sun, cross-platform will never work. Let's move on and steal the Java language." - Visual J++ Product Manager
    1. Re:THAT is copy protection. by geekboy642 · · Score: 1

      I will.

      Crack all of your games. Backup your CDs. Install the no-cd patch. In short, do absolutely anything with your property that you want to.

      --
      Just another "DOJ fascist authoritarian totalitarian bootlicker" -- Zeio
    2. Re:THAT is copy protection. by MBraynard · · Score: 1
      Whell... I'm not going to get into a property rights argument with you - I don't have property, I have a license.

      But BF only works online and needs punkbuster.

  159. Re:It's not my Zune! It's a false one! by Gary+W.+Longsine · · Score: 1

    Your critique is valid. I stated the case quite poorly. Microsoft clearly intends Windows XP Professional x64 Edition to be a consumer operating system, in which light I should have said it failed. Although I think that the barriers to its widespread adoption go beyond the issues you describe, in general I agree with your assessment. I'm not particularly interested in a detailed discussion of that nuance however, so with your kind permission I'll simply retract the statement you quoted. I don't consider it to be fiction, but a proper treatment of the topic would be lengthy and not particularly stimulating. Thank you for keeping me on my toes.

    --
    If you mod me down, I shall become more powerful than you could possibly imagine.
  160. Re:Typical liberal mods by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You're not being silenced because you disagree - you're being silenced because you're injecting a discussion about Islam under a story about the iPhone software not supporting x64 Windows. The mods were wrong to mod it flamebait, it should instead be modded OFFTOPIC. Go hit the Politics section, retard.

  161. iPhones the need to down grade your OS Heheheh by The+Seventh+Sign · · Score: 1

    Well there is a problem with this. Balmer is upgrading his OS as we speak to 64 bits. we are in the later part of the transitional period but we are still paying for 32 bit OS's.
    I wonder if anyone offers a 64 bit OS in stores now I am typing on a Athlon 64 x2 and i am finding it annoying that there is running a 32 bit OS. Thats like having a Ferrari body running a pinto's engine.

    As if today i doubt there is any apps, Drivers, OS's that are optimized to run in a 64 bit computing environment. So patience is a virtue it will come in a cowboy neal day.
    T~S~S

  162. Here's The Thing... by Mizled · · Score: 2, Informative


    Half of my post was edited from Slashdot but I'll give you more info on what happened. Everyone at the AT&T store told me that the iPhone works on ALL versions of XP SP2 and Vista. They also had a paper saying it was supported and I quote "The iPhone is supported on Windows XP SP2, Windows Vista and Mac 10.x.x.x". It didn't say only XP SP2 32-bit and only Vista 32-bit. I even have a paper they made me initial to prove this. That lead me and others to assume our 64-bit systems were supported.


    Not only this my iTunes works GREAT in 64-bit Windows and my iPod Nano syncs fine to it too. Why would my iPhone be any different than those. Apple even said themselves that it is a "Wide-screen iPod".


    Luckily, I do have multiple computers with a copy of Windows XP SP2 32-bit that I could sync and activate my iPhone with. There are some people posting on the Apple forums that can't even activate their phone since their home computer is only running 64-bit Windows. There's even multiple people saying their Windows Vista 32-bit copy won't let them sync their iPhone or activate it.


    All the specs I read before hand on the iPhone all stated that it was supported under XP SP2 and Vista. How is it my fault if they can't make it specific? Don't get me wrong, I love my new phone but it would have been nice to know way before hand that this wasn't going to work on a 64-bit OS so I could have been a little more prepared.



    Also, My post on their discussion forums was not out of hand and flaming them. It simply stated I was upset and the lack of communication from Apple on the 64-bit OS as well as their representatives telling me to downgrade my computer. You don't downgrade the computer, you upgrade the software to support it. That's counter intuitive. Here's the e-mail I received from them about why my post was deleted.



    Your post was removed from the iPhone forums as it does not follow the guidelines specified in our terms of use. These areas are intended to address technical issues about Apple products. Posts that do not conform to the Apple Discussions Use Agreement are inappropriate.

    Reasons that your post was removed may include but are not limited to:
    -Speculation or Rumors
    -Discussion of Apple Policies, Procedures or Decisions
    -Off topic or non-technical posts
    -Rude or inappropriate behavior/language

    Please read our Apple Discussions Use Agreement so that you may discover what constitutes an appropriate post to our service. Section two, "Submissions," is most germane.

    Please see the Apple Discussions Use Agreement at http://discussions.apple.com/help.jspa for more information on the proper use of Apple's Discussion forums.

    Each Discussion user is required to agree to these terms before gaining posting privileges. You reserve the right to not post on Apple Discussions should you disagree with these terms.

    If you would like to send feedback to Apple about a product, please use the appropriate selection at http://www.apple.com/feedback

    Sometimes you have comments or concerns for which there is no technical response. If you need the kind of help that a troubleshooting expert can't provide, you can call Apple's Customer Relations group.


    Well, Anyway that's just my 2 cents on the whole ordeal.

    --
    Bite my shiny metal ass.
  163. Re:No, Joke AC. Neo1973 out next month. by Goaway · · Score: 1

    It's too funny a name to mock just once.

  164. Okay so they don't support it - why not? by Elbonio · · Score: 1

    Skimming through the comments, they appear to be mostly people jumping to Apples defence in saying that "they never SAID it would work on x64!" Surely the point here though is that it's pretty poor that it doesn't support a 64-bit OS and that this is a ridiculous oversight where we have what's supposed to be a "cutting edge phone" refusing to work with the cutting edge OS's of the day. Whether they advertise it or not, it's a poor show that they've not bothered to make it compatible.

    1. Re:Okay so they don't support it - why not? by dreamer-of-rules · · Score: 1

      There are at least two (2) 64-bit OS that the iPhone+iTunes is compatible with. Care to guess which two? 64-bit Windows XP is a mess. From other comments in this thread, it sounds like 64-bit Vista is too. Steve Jobs as much as said (and as a Windows administrator I agree) that running Windows is like being in Hell.

      That said, I think it's pretty unfair that it's "all or nothing" with the iPhone. No activation == no iPod, photo, wifi browsing. However, now that my iPhone is activated... gosh, it's darn pretty. :)

      --
      Everyone is entitled to his own opinions, but not his own facts.
  165. Driver? Why does it need a driver? by MasterOfGoingFaster · · Score: 1

    The real question I have is WHY? Why does the iPhone NEED a driver? My Nikon D200 plugs into any computer (W2k, XP, XP64, Linux, OS X) and just works. The apps i've written talk to the device through usb, no device driver needed. Perhaps I'm missing something here that a brighter person will point out. Could it be that Apple want's to create a poor experience in Windows, like their complete disregard for the user interface in iTunes/Win?

    I'm one of those guys who needs >4GB for CAD and FEA, so I'm running XP64 on a workstation with 16GB RAM. I have yet to see an app that won't work on XP64. I'm sure they exist, and I'm sure there's lots of drivers that don't work - I just haven't seen the problem. And I fully expected to see lots of issues. So it's much better than I'd expected.

    My iPod failed again, so I'm on my third replacement. I won't be considering an iPhone any time soon. The need to send it in for battery replacement is so stupid. Imagine being without your phone for 1 to 3 weeks while that goes on... I'm assuming that amount of time, since that's what my iPod experience has been.

    --
    Place nail here >+
  166. One word by HydroPhonic · · Score: 1

    Virtualization

  167. Not really a solution by goldcd · · Score: 1

    but VMWare (of which I am a recent convert) is ideal for this kind of annoyance.
    Seeing as I bravely installed 64-bit vista (look 64 sounded better than 32 on the install screen, OK?) I have made extensive use.
    Handy for the odd thing (currently only an old canon scanner) that doesn't have the necessary scanner. Initially installed it for iTunes when they refused to support Vista x64 (although it's still shonky as f#)

  168. Maybe Apple will support 64-bit windows by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ... when Microsoft supports WM-10 on Mac OS X. Fair trade?

  169. Re:The Zune doesn't work on 64 bit windows, either by Khyber · · Score: 1

    Huh, must be the digg moderators in control today. I'm stating pure fact yet I'm modded as a troll. What a laugh riot.

    --
    Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
  170. Re:Wahhhhh.... by Ogman · · Score: 0

    LMAO! I can't tell if that was a joke or a rant, but either way, it was funny. Mod up!

    --
    But Officer, I DID read the f**king article!
  171. Ha ha ha by pjt48108 · · Score: 2, Funny

    Anyone who would spend several hundreds of dollars on an iGadget from any company WITHOUT FIRST confirming that it is supported on their OS, is simply naive.

    Anyone who goes out of their way to get the 64-bit implementation of any Windows (in the first place), and THEN spends said fortune on a shiny iToy WITHOUT FIRST confirming support under their 64-bit Windows OS, is a chump.

    Perhaps using Macs has gotten me used to checking system requirements religiously when making software and peripheral hardware purchases. However, even when I have owned/used Windows systems, I always checked to make sure those systems were supported before shelling out a fistfull of cash.

    So, cry me a river. 'nuf said.

    --
    Mmmmmm... Bold, yet refreshing!
  172. Read The Fucking Requirements by gig · · Score: 1

    It says on the side of the iPhone box that you need Mac OS X v10.4.10 or Windows 2000 (SP4), Windows XP Home or Professional (SP2), or Windows Vista. That's the current version of Windows, the one before that in two flavors, and the one before that also, going back to Y2K.

    It also says online at apple.com:

    iTunes for Windows not currently supported on any 64-bit editions of Windows
    http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=301 301

    If you can't run iTunes on it, you can't run iPod or iPhone on it. There are 5 year-old kids who can explain the concept to you.

    Further, the 64-bit versions of Windows are a software management disaster. The fact that it is incompatible with 32-bit Windows is clearly Microsoft's fault. Every user of 64-bit Windows faces the sad realization that they are running the single most obscure PC operating system in existence, with hardly any third-party support or interest. If you are running 64-bit Windows IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO VIRTUALIZE A 32-BIT VERSION ALSO FOR COMPATIBILITY.

    So get your shit together, get a virtualizer, and see if you can't get iTunes running on your box you loser.

  173. Apple's Facist Forum Moderators by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Apple has the worst forum to go to for help. When I went there to ask a question about iTunes and XP64 it was also promptly removed. Turns out they purposley broke iTunes for 64 bit systems. I was using it just fine since I got Xp64 with only the miniplayer not working. It updates and all the sudden iTunes doesn't work on 64 bit OS.

    This happened shortly before the Vista release.

    There is no doubt in my mind that Apple is killing all support for 64 Bit operating systems to remove as many apple products from working with windows' new OS. Probably to get you to buy a Mac, which won't happen as long as MS has DirectX.

    Anyways, stick to the AMD64 forums. They tend to have great help there and nice links to 'fixes' to get stuff working on XP64 that should be in the first place. Chances are in a few months top side there will be a unofficial 'fix' to get it working with XP64 and Vista.

  174. Re:This is just utter nonsense (Mac talking points by zippthorne · · Score: 1

    Of course they do. They kept the wrong Steve. The Steve they did keep must have brought in guys like him, who are, at least, good at figuring out how to pare the requirements down to what the engineers they do have are capable of and still have a product that works well for quite a few people.

    --
    Can you be Even More Awesome?!
  175. Re:Why do I need a computer to run my phone anyway by prockcore · · Score: 1

    You don't. Just have it activated at an AT&T store like all the other phones they sell.


    You can't. The iPhone must be activated through iTunes.. you cannot do it in the store.
  176. Re:It's not my Zune! It's a false one! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Thank you for your classy response. I apologize for being a bit hostile when I posted. I really wish more people behaved as you did, here.

  177. Re:iPhone? What about all Palms by soulhuntre · · Score: 1

    My Treo 700w works perfectly with Vista.It also...

    * syncs correcty with outlook (notes included)

    * voice dials

    * can be tethered to my laptop

    * runs software that I develop myself

    * manages to COPY and PASTE

    Unlike the iPhone.

    --
    --> Fight tyranny and repression.... read /. at -1!
  178. Dissatisfied? by GPHemsley · · Score: 1

    Maybe it's time for another e-mail directly to Steve Jobs?

  179. hehe...hehe...he said homophone. by Tinman_au · · Score: 1

    and the article is about the iPhone and ...oh...never mind, damn my immature sense of humour!!

  180. MOD PARENT UP by dkf · · Score: 1

    Parent is just so right. In theory, porting to 64-bit on any platform is easy, but I've never seen it work out that way for a non-trivial program. Moreover, the compiler usually won't catch the problems for you; you've got to know how to extensively test your code too, and the ways in which things fail can be very mystifying. (Alignment mismatches are my "favourites"...)

    --
    "Little does he know, but there is no 'I' in 'Idiot'!"
  181. market mass by MrKaos · · Score: 1
    Apple is just betting on where the mass of the market is at the moment. Most people will have 32bit XP for a while so why waste energy on "64bit windows" apps until demand materialises, and Apple will probably reason "since so many other things don't work under 64 MS product why should you be suprised that this dosen't, you should have bought a Mac anyway".

    As irritating as this must be to all the MS fanbouys out there, it's intensley amusing that Apple has "organised" thier priorities the same way MS do, they know they have a product there is demand for, so will use their market power the same way the MS does.

    I'll just be happy to wait and watch this unfold over what really is an accessory, few people here will be able to take advantage of 64bit or ever use all the feature of the phone. Personally I think this one is a winner http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/smartphones/fics-linuxb ased-smartphone-213016.php but thats just me, and since it's open source based, it will probably even work with vista ;-)

    --
    My ism, it's full of beliefs.
  182. You are inaccurate, malicious and plain wrong by willyhill · · Score: 0
    Vista is "perfect" and anyone complaining is a malicious liar

    Interesting link. I liked this part:

    My firsthand experience leads me to believe that a lot of the negative "issues" buzzed about the OS on the net are just inaccurate, malicious or plain wrong. File-sharing is easy and indistinguishable from XP (minus the Aero look) once you understand how the OS is set up. DRM (or at least the effects thereof) is practically nonexistent unless you personally decide to buy protected content.

    Ironically, if you're a Linux user, you may be slightly more comfortable with Vista's new "security everywhere, access denied by default" set than the average Windows user (this is not to be interpreted as an argument for or against switching).

    Not quite the effect you were going for, eh?

    --
    The twitter monologues. Click on my homepage and be amazed.
  183. True sign it was a funny by Curialis · · Score: 1

    Is that it was moderated as insightful. You scored on so many levels.
    1. Posted a truly witty reply with clear understanding of HHGTTG
    2. Getting modded as insightful
    3. Being accused of not getting the joke
    etc, etc.. (I am tired of listing ways it is funny)

    I am still laughing...

  184. can't be disused by r00t · · Score: 1

    A disused lavatory would be clean, or perhaps dusty. Microsoft is more like an overused lavatory, being completely full of shit.

  185. DWORD is NIH crap by r00t · · Score: 1

    There is a C standard you know, and a C++ one too.

    The last big C standard was in 1999, but Microsoft still only supports the 1989 standard. Ugh, 8 years have passed! Nonetheless, even the old standard provides data types that are appropriate.

    For example, ptrdiff_t. It's a type that can hold the difference between two pointers.

    1. Re:DWORD is NIH crap by weicco · · Score: 1

      You know that Win32 API is little bit older than 1999? It wouldn't be very nice to change the API every other year.

      --
      You don't know what you don't know.
  186. My issue with all this by boolithium · · Score: 1

    I really don't give a shit that apple isn't working with microsoft. Neither company really effects me, however the continued reliance on 32 bit enviorments really pisses me off. We have spent along nursing crap hardware and software for the sake of ease of developement. People act like 64 bit systems are a new thing, despite the fact they are something like 35 years old. This is the same reason we have had cisc processors shoved down our throats. If any company should appreciate 64 bit OS's, apple should. Any company failing to support the obvious reality of technical evolution and then tells their customers to downgrade is bullshit. I believe that all these traditional companies are going to fall hopelessly behind the open source community, as more ideas on computer science are being implemented directly into linux or bsd.

  187. What is their problem? by r00t · · Score: 1

    Over here in Linux land, we aren't just running a 64-bit OS. It's normal to have 100% 64-bit apps.

    Some of us, running the less commercial Linux distributions, don't even bother to install the libraries needed by 32-bit apps. We're losing the ability to run 32-bit apps because we don't care about that old trash. It's cruft that would serve no purpose.

  188. iNconvenient by EmagGeek · · Score: 1

    Kinda makes you wonder why nobody bothers to check up on these things before sinking $600 on a device. I'd want to know that my iToy worked on my PC *before* committing..

  189. Re:It's not my Zune! It's a false one! by tjrw · · Score: 1

    "They also know enough about 64-bit Windows to know that precious little software actually runs on 64-bit Windows, simply because it's not a consumer operating system. It's designed basically as a database server OS."

    Ummm... you are joking, right??? I have XP x64 installed on one of my machines at home, and actually, there is precious little that does NOT run on it. The places where you will run into issues are
    a) No 16-bit support (Thank G*d). They killed NTVDM.EXE. Good thing too.
    b) Driver support. The breadth and maturity of driver support 64-bit is seriously lacking.

    However, neither of the above apply to the vast majority of software out there. Whether it's PhotoShop, iTunes, games, etc. etc. etc. they all work just fine on the 64-bit version of the OS. If you had said "precious little hardware", that might have been closer to the truth.

    Win XP pro x64 wasn't designed as a database server OS any more or less than XP was. 32-bit and 64-bit XP and Server share a common code base - the kernel is mostly the same.

    As has been pointed out elsewhere, retail versions of Vista support 64-bit and 32-bit installs. If you have modern hardware, it's inconceivable to me that you wouldn't install 64-bit, so I am frankly very surprised that Apple didn't provide 64-bit support. Seems really stupid to me, but whatever.

  190. Re:This is just utter nonsense (Mac talking points by that+this+is+not+und · · Score: 1

    They kept the Steve who was probably out doing coke with his friends (having probably sold it to them at a stiff markup) while the other Steve was doing the design work that made Apple Computer.

  191. Re:The Zune doesn't work on 64 bit windows, either by DigiShaman · · Score: 1

    Just wait till Microsoft releases the "Z-Phone". Yup, a Zune Phone.

    *shivers*

    Yes, I'm cranking on the rumor mill...

    --
    Life is not for the lazy.
  192. The OpenJokeo won't even be a memory come 2009 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Meanwhile, iPhone will have revolutionized the market.

  193. Surry bud, that is not the consumer's problem. by jotaeleemeese · · Score: 1

    When a company has fragmented the same product so badly, any reasonable consumer should be given the benefit of the doubt if he gets confused.

    I do not need to know all the mindless bits of technobabble to know if a bloody phone with mediocre standard features (I am not talking about how it is all integrated, which can be a better than the sum of its parts) works or not in a given computer.

    And if the manufacturer knows that the product will not work with certain products, it is pure common sense to expect to be told about this explicitly and prominently, specially when it comes to such an expensive toy...

    --
    IANAL but write like a drunk one.
  194. There is no reason why iphone could not synch.... by jotaeleemeese · · Score: 1

    .... with pretty much any machine.

    If Apple were using open formats and protocols to connect the gadget in the first place (I don't know if the do, but based on past experiences my guess is they don't).

    --
    IANAL but write like a drunk one.
  195. Complete fallacy. by jotaeleemeese · · Score: 1

    Please show us where users are demanding to be inconvenienced by Apple's paranoid approach to controlling all aspects of their offerings.

    People using Linux (a small but not for that reason ignorable niche) had to wait for people to reverse engineer the mechanism by which the iPods connect to a computer all because Apple could not be arsed to use open protocols and methods.

    People do not want Apple, or any other company for that matter, to solve all the problems, but what many people want is to face artificial barriers to solve those problems themselves, not to be impeded at every corner by the manufacturer of products they have favored with their costum in spite of their shortcomings (when did the slogan "the client is right" stopped to have any value????).

    --
    IANAL but write like a drunk one.
    1. Re:Complete fallacy. by dangitman · · Score: 1

      People do not want Apple, or any other company for that matter, to solve all the problems,

      Actually, I think most people do. That's generally the defaul "consumer" attitude.

      --
      ... and then they built the supercollider.
    2. Re:Complete fallacy. by Kohath · · Score: 1

      Please show us where users are demanding to be inconvenienced by Apple's paranoid approach to controlling all aspects of their offerings.

      For this, see the lines of people in front of the Apple stores to buy iPhones.

      Also, there's no evidence of any irrational behavior from Apple. You seem to be just as confused about this as the original poster. When you don't get what you want from someone, it's not usually because of their insanity. Usually it's because you want something different than they do and they are more interested in their own goals than yours.

      People using Linux (a small but not for that reason ignorable niche)...

      Not ignorable? Lots of companies like Apple seem to be doing fine ignoring Linux users.

      Some of you guys seem to think your dollar is worth more than the Mac or Windows user's dollar. So companies should jump through extra hoops to get that dollar. The money spends the same whether it comes from a clueless Windows user or a Linux hacker. And it's easier to get more of it from the Windows user, so that's how companies optimize their input effort.

      People do not want Apple, or any other company for that matter, to solve all the problems...

      Yes, they do. Or. more importantly, they want a system that never had the problems to begin with.

  196. Yeah, great. by jotaeleemeese · · Score: 1

    Use a demo or buy an expensive version of Windows (otherwise you will not have a license for virtualization).

    The phone should really be platform neutral, and if Apple couldn't be arsed to support Linux (which should be immensely easier than Windows, given OSX's roots) they could have released documentation to let people do this themselves.

    --
    IANAL but write like a drunk one.
  197. Don't be fastidious. by jotaeleemeese · · Score: 1

    There are no 5 year olds that can explain that to you.

    There are 2 problems here, MS has segmented the product names so badly that you have who know how many flavours to contend with.

    And second, Apple should say in a more explicit manner what is not going to work well knowing that people are bound to get confussed with all the Windows Vista naming scheme.

    --
    IANAL but write like a drunk one.
  198. Re:Why do I need a computer to run my phone anyway by Phroggy · · Score: 1

    You don't. Just have it activated at an AT&T store like all the other phones they sell. Apple has been fairly clear that you can't do this. Of course you could sign up for an iTunes account and activate your phone from any computer - it's a bit unlikely that an AT&T employee will let you use one of their computers in the store for this purpose, and your local public library probably won't let you run iTunes on their computers, but if you can get someone to let you borrow their computer for a few minutes, you should be able to do it.
    --
    $x='S24;r)>63/* h@<5+oZ)32"5cz';$me='phroggy'x$];
    $x=~y+ -xz+\0-Tx+;print$_^chop$me for split'',$x;
  199. What a moron by stewbacca · · Score: 1

    What a freakin' moron. I guess he doesn't know ANYBODY in the world that has a Mac or a PC that isn't Win64 that he could, you know, borrow for 5 minutes, to log into iTunes and activate his phone?

  200. Re: You like it because it's faster pirating DVDs? by Douglas+Goodall · · Score: 1

    I was a TechNet Plus and MSDN licensee for many years. I purchased Xeon server grade equipment and tried running XP Pro 64-bit and Windows 2003 Server R2 64-bit and was in driver hell. No support for the hardware adapters in my machine. Trouble with the sound card, Sata interface hardware, Video cards... It went on and on. In the future, hardware vendors will provide 64-bit drivers but for now, the only way to get fully supported hardware seems to be by purchasing OEM machines with driver support provided by the OEM. Is the only difference in you DVD piracy scenario the OS version?

  201. Wanted : 64 bit drivers for Microsoft Mice by Your+Average+Joe · · Score: 1

    That is right, the bungled software from Microsoft is not available for the mice they make, and the ones that are supported have UNSIGNED drivers. imagine that! 64 bit windows breaks lots of legacy windows things and once that happens the whole house of cards starts to fall....

    --
    Your Average Joe
  202. How to exclude 64-bit versions? by Zixia · · Score: 1

    iPhone requirements as of today:

    Windows system requirements
    * PC with USB 2.0 port
    * Windows Vista Home Premium, Business, Enterprise, or Ultimate Edition; or Windows XP Home or Professional with Service Pack 2 or later
    * iTunes 7.3 or later

    It does not specify 32bit. There is no indication Vista Ultimate needs to Vista Ultimate 32bit.


    And how should it specify that it does not support the 64-bit Windows OS?

    Let me put it another way. I have a new item to sell to punters, and I market it. I know that it doesn't work with the 64-bit versions of Windows, so my system requirements only specify the versions of the OS it works with. I come up with this list:

    * Windows Vista Home Premium, Business, Enterprise, or Ultimate Edition; or Windows XP Home or Professional with Service Pack 2 or later

    There, that should do it. Hmm, I can't seem to specify 32-bit versions only using Microsoft's own naming conventions for their OS software. There's the rub.

    Maybe it's a problem in that XP and 64-bit XP aren't compatible enough, or maybe it's a problem in that the names indicate greater compatibility than they should, or it could just be that there is no way of specifying the 32-bit version as cleanly as the 64-bit version. If the system requirements are misleading it's not directly Apple's fault, even if a footnote could have been added to exclude 64-bit Windows versions.

  203. Quit WHINING and run a VM by StuFisch · · Score: 1

    If you're running 64-bit, you know what you're doing. NOBODY runs *only* 64-bit these days ... UNLESS it's for a specific purpose. AND if they want to connect with the rest of the world, they use VM's for the 32-bit stuff. Now, QUIT YER WHINING. Be glad you had $600 + to spend on your new toy. Otherwise, give it to me. I'll be grateful. Tell us something *INTERESTING*.

  204. Re:Why do I need a computer to run my phone anyway by Captain_Chaos · · Score: 1

    I am required to have a computer to use the phone?
    Of course not. Duh. Like any other smartphone it comes with software which you can install on your computer to do various things like synchronize it with your calendar and addressbook, etc. This software doesn't run on XP 64-bit (due to the device drivers needed to communicate with the iPhone not being certified for XP 64). But the phone works fine on its own, without installing any software anywhere. Who modded this "insightful"?
  205. "usual look and feel of Windows programs" by alispguru · · Score: 1

    Why do Apple programs "break" the usual look and feel of Windows programs?

    Just curious - what is the usual look and feel of Windows programs?

    The only user interface option they all have in common is Ctrl-Alt-Del/End Task, in my experience.

    --

    To a Lisp hacker, XML is S-expressions in drag.
  206. Re:Why do I need a computer to run my phone anyway by Captain_Chaos · · Score: 1

    I am required to have a computer to use the phone?
    Of course not. Duh. Like any other smartphone it comes with software which you can install on your computer to do various things like synchronize it with your calendar and addressbook, etc. This software doesn't run on XP 64-bit (due to the device drivers needed to communicate with the iPhone not being certified for XP 64). But the phone works fine on its own, without installing any software anywhere. Who modded this "insightful"?

    /me removes foot from mouth

    Oops, seems I was wrong. You need iTunes to activate the phone. Mea culpa, and apologies for the condescending tone...

    I agree that it's (at the very least) silly to require a PC to be able to use a cell phone. They could have easily made it so that the activation process is done on the phone itself, or offered some way of activating it by phone or something.

  207. Re:The Zune doesn't work on 64 bit windows, either by gravis777 · · Score: 1

    The 64 bit version of Farcry will not install in vista 64 bit. The 64 bit NVidia video drivers for vista do not seem to have 3D acceleration. Getting iTunes to run in XP 64 or Vista 64 is like pulling teeth. If you manage to get iTunes working, good luck getting the device to sync (iPod, iPhone, etc). They just released drivers for my scanner in vista 64 about a month ago, still no support for XP 64 bit. My webcam does not work in 64 bit versions of Windows. PowerDVD will not install in either the 32 it or 64 bit versions of Vista. No surround sound on the Audigy. But, oh, the 64 bit version of Solitaire runs oh so fast.

    No, the thought that the iPhone does not run on a 64 bit operating system does not surprise me. I got sick of stuff not working, and now dual boot. While I love my 64 bit computing, have to go back to a 32 bit version of XP to make sure stuff works.

  208. Nothing else is compatible with Windows 64-bit by Swift2001 · · Score: 1

    So why should the iPhone be? Seriously, dude. There's a 32-bit version of XP/Vista that EVERYBODY uses. 64-bit may be the coming thing, but it is very inhospitable to many long-time Windows apps. The updates are coming out in dribs and drabs.

    Why not a Linux version? Rock on, dude!

  209. 64 bit Windows is not a home OS by Ryan+Amos · · Score: 1

    Regardless of the fact that it is available, 64 bit Windows is not designed as a home user OS. It's designed as a high-performance purpose-built workstation and server OS. Driver compatability is bad with all vendors, not just Apple. Doesn't it seem a bit odd to complain about lack of driver support in an OS that basically comes with a warning label that says "Many device drivers are not supported."

  210. Try VMWare by mixmasta · · Score: 1

    Try VMWare or similar.

    --
    #6495ED - cornflower blue
  211. nobody else had trouble by r00t · · Score: 1

    It's easy to support C99 without breaking the API. Everybody else did it.

    Add some header files. Add support for new syntax. Add a compiler option to recognize new keywords, and recognize them with a double underscore prefix ("__") when that compiler option isn't used.

    There. Done. No problem.

    C99 is really nice. The thing most people love is the ability to declare variables pretty much anywhere. They no longer have to go at the top of a function. You don't have to use C++ to get this.

    The next C++ standard aligns itself with C99. Will that be ignored? Maybe it breaks something? Microsoft finally did get it's ass in gear over the variable scope in a "for" loop, so I suppose there is hope. Still, they are damn lazy.

  212. So why doesn't Microsoft support older drivers? by argent · · Score: 1

    According to Apple, Leopard will allow you to use existing 32-bit drivers and 64-bit applications in the same system with the same OS version:

    Driver compatibility.

    Because of its universal nature, with Leopard you don't need a new set of drivers -- or devices. New 64-bit applications work just fine with your existing printers, storage devices, and PCI cards. Even better, if you upgrade to new 64-bit-capable drivers, your 32-bit applications will also benefit from the increased throughput.


    Microsoft's making the problem worse in Vista, because they changed a lot of the driver APIs in Vista to support its enhanced DRM. Even if they supported 32-bit drivers in Vista existing 32-bit drivers wouldn't be DRM-friendly: even many 64-bit drivers from previous versions of Windows don't work.