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Google To Drop Chrome Support For 32-bit Linux

prisoninmate writes: Google announces that its Google Chrome web browser will no longer be available for 32-bit hardware platforms. Additionally, Google Chrome will no longer be supported on the Ubuntu 12.04 LTS (Precise Pangolin) and Debian GNU/Linux 7 (Wheezy) operating systems. Users are urged to update to the Ubuntu 14.04 LTS (Trusty Tahr) release and Debian GNU/Linux 8 (Jessie) respectively. Google will continue to support the 32-bit build configurations for those who want to build the open-source Chromium web browser on various Linux kernel-based operating systems. Reader SmartAboutThings writes, on a similar note, that: Microsoft is tolling the death knell for Internet Explorer with an announcement that it will end support for all older versions next year. Microsoft says that all versions older than the latest one will no longer be supported starting Jan. 12, 2016. After this date, Microsoft will no longer provide security updates or technical support for older Internet Explorer versions. Furthermore, Internet Explorer 11 will be the last version of Internet Explorer as Microsoft shifts its focus on its next web browser, Microsoft Edge.

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  1. Advertising advertising advertising by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Of course. A company is in the business where they get their revenues. Airlines get their revenues from flying people around. Airlines do in fact have excellent tech for figuring out demand, routes, and other things. As a matter of fact, American Airlines and its SABRE system made data processing (IT to you kids) history in the 70s.

    See, Google is an advertising company. People are under the erroneous impression that they are a tech company. Any and all tech they develop is to enhance their business - advertising. They may develop tech that initially doesn't have any advertising purpose, but eventually that is what will happen. And by advertising purpose, I mean either showing ads or collecting consumer data.

    Facebook and Yahoo! are Google's biggest competitors and they are not tech companies either.

    Anyway, calling Google a tech company is just as ridiculous as calling Amazon a tech company or Delta Airlines or JP Morgan Chase.

  2. Re:Will others follow suit? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    As a software developer who has worked for companies supporting multiple active platforms both 32-bit and 64-bit, 64 bit isn't the point. It's the massive burden of maintaining multiple build streams, tool-chains, test servers, release images, etc. for a dying platform (32-bit). 32-bit needs to die so this waste is eliminated.

    I guess if you are a software shop that doesn't develop a single application that can benefit from 64-bit, it may make sense to stick to 32, but is that really even a possibility? Memory use is -not- the only consideration. 64-bit CPU modes often bring along larger register files and advanced instructions, which alone is a good reason many applications may want to become 64-bit vs 32.