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I think this article highlights how backwards Apple can be on things. There are really no advantages to having your browser be 64-bit (I could imagine how you

by rortian 17y ago

I think this article highlights how backwards Apple can be on things. There are really no advantages to having your browser be 64-bit (I could imagine how you could have a 4GB+ browser process but its really not the most common use case). I have really been impressed with how well Windows does 64-bit. The 32-bit layer just works. Also, Apple is always a pain about anything GPU related. Usually you have to buy through them at an absurd premium, then you are usually dealing with an older opengl version. They are not the platform to use if you are interested in having decent graphics acceleration.

silvestrov 17y ago
You're wrong. 64-bit Intel means more performance as the cpu has more registers, and 64-bit apps on Mac OS X runs in a more secure runtime environment.
- rortian 17y ago
  >64-bit Intel means more performance as the cpu has more registers Sometimes. First of all its a bummer Apple only sells Intel. AMD makes quality chips. 64-bit means better performance sometimes. Usually you take a hit because of larger pointers. LLVM can do pointer compression, it'd be interesting to know if Apple uses it widely. 64-bit really is awesome when you want to use lots of memory. Otherwise 32-bit is perfectly fine. I've been a 64-bit enthusiast for quite sometime and I can pull up plenty of Gentoo posts from back in the day advocating the wonder of registers. Not all algorithms magically improve in performance when they are available unfortunately. Also, no mention of my GPU argument? I'm sure you won't say there is more performance to be had there.
blasdel 17y ago
I'm sorry, you've got that totally backwards. The way Windows handles 64-bit is decidedly disappointing: it's a whole separate version (no upgrades!) that has two copies of everything. Apple has pulled it off beautifully: one version of the whole OS, Universal Binaries for everything, uses whatever kernel is most appropriate because it can run 64-bit processes on a 32-bit kernel, everything just works.
- rortian 17y ago
  I don't think I do. There is a certain irony in you saying everything just works, when the blog post explicitly says that hardware acceleration doesn't work for flash, and seemingly by Apple's design. You hate there being a whole separate version of the OS, far out. I think the needing universal binaries is a little silly. The fact is Windows biggest strength is its gigantic amount of software available for it and it doesn't require rebuilds all the time. Stability can be a good thing. I find Apple constantly releasing upgrades a little ridiculous. It's nice to know my PC will be able to run just about anything without need to spend $100 every 2 years.
  - NathanKP 17y ago
    It's nice to know my PC will be able to run just about anything without need to spend $100 every 2 years. Snow Leopard didn't cost anywhere near $100. I paid about $30 for it.
  - blasdel 17y ago
    That's Stasis, not Stability. Microsoft hasn't introduced a popular new native API in a decade!

by rortian 17y ago

silvestrov 17y ago

You're wrong. 64-bit Intel means more performance as the cpu has more registers, and 64-bit apps on Mac OS X runs in a more secure runtime environment.

rortian 17y ago
>64-bit Intel means more performance as the cpu has more registers Sometimes. First of all its a bummer Apple only sells Intel. AMD makes quality chips. 64-bit means better performance sometimes. Usually you take a hit because of larger pointers. LLVM can do pointer compression, it'd be interesting to know if Apple uses it widely. 64-bit really is awesome when you want to use lots of memory. Otherwise 32-bit is perfectly fine. I've been a 64-bit enthusiast for quite sometime and I can pull up plenty of Gentoo posts from back in the day advocating the wonder of registers. Not all algorithms magically improve in performance when they are available unfortunately. Also, no mention of my GPU argument? I'm sure you won't say there is more performance to be had there.

blasdel 17y ago

I'm sorry, you've got that totally backwards. The way Windows handles 64-bit is decidedly disappointing: it's a whole separate version (no upgrades!) that has two copies of everything. Apple has pulled it off beautifully: one version of the whole OS, Universal Binaries for everything, uses whatever kernel is most appropriate because it can run 64-bit processes on a 32-bit kernel, everything just works.

rortian 17y ago
I don't think I do. There is a certain irony in you saying everything just works, when the blog post explicitly says that hardware acceleration doesn't work for flash, and seemingly by Apple's design. You hate there being a whole separate version of the OS, far out. I think the needing universal binaries is a little silly. The fact is Windows biggest strength is its gigantic amount of software available for it and it doesn't require rebuilds all the time. Stability can be a good thing. I find Apple constantly releasing upgrades a little ridiculous. It's nice to know my PC will be able to run just about anything without need to spend $100 every 2 years.
- NathanKP 17y ago
  It's nice to know my PC will be able to run just about anything without need to spend $100 every 2 years. Snow Leopard didn't cost anywhere near $100. I paid about $30 for it.
- blasdel 17y ago
  That's Stasis, not Stability. Microsoft hasn't introduced a popular new native API in a decade!