AMD is not waiting for Microsoft. They've got their hands full trying to get their hardware mass-producable and reliable. Once they succeed, their product will go out the door with or without an OS there to utilize it. I'm sure they're working with Microsoft to help ensure that there *is* one waiting, but the hardware has to be the first product "over the wall". It's completely naive to believe that AMD is going to stop their production lines waiting for a piece of software.
Thankfully, AMD is playing it smarter than Intel seems to be, making 32-bit compatibility a priority so that their new architecture can be used to transition over to the 64-bit world. They're minimizing their risk at the same time as taking a bold step forward. They've certainly come a long way from "Overdrive" chips.
Slashdot Mirror
AMD is not waiting for Microsoft. They've got their hands full trying to get their hardware mass-producable and reliable. Once they succeed, their product will go out the door with or without an OS there to utilize it. I'm sure they're working with Microsoft to help ensure that there *is* one waiting, but the hardware has to be the first product "over the wall". It's completely naive to believe that AMD is going to stop their production lines waiting for a piece of software.
Thankfully, AMD is playing it smarter than Intel seems to be, making 32-bit compatibility a priority so that their new architecture can be used to transition over to the 64-bit world. They're minimizing their risk at the same time as taking a bold step forward. They've certainly come a long way from "Overdrive" chips.