The number of systems running on the 64-bit version of Windows appears set to be tipping over into the majority soon. Windows Communications Manager Brandon LeBlanc, in a blog entry last week wrote that "As of June 2010, we see that 46 percent of all PCs worldwide running Windows 7 are running a 64-bit edition of Windows 7."

One obvious reason for going 64-bit would be the plummeting prices of memory, and the fact that architecture limits mean that 32-bit version of Windows can only access below 4GB--often a lot less. Of course, Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) is also helping the push by mandating that OEMs develop 64-bit versions of their drivers.

Not everyone is impressed by LeBlanc's insinuation that the use of 64-bit Windows will bring about greater performance though. Woody Leonhard of InfoWorld for one, noted that people are going for 64-bit Windows because the negligible price difference between a system with 2GB and 4GB means that they are inclined to favor the latter system. And that would be a 64-bit system, of course.

The bigger issue though, has to do with how many of the popular software are still 32-bit at the moment. The list goes on, but it includes the Google Chrome browser, and even "a reliable 64-bit version of Office 2010."

Still, Leonhard was prepared to concede that 64-bit does bring better security. This is primarily due to the fact that current techniques to defeat ASLR (Address space layout randomization) leverage the relatively smaller amount of memory that 32-bit programs have available.

For more on this story:
- check out this article at InfoWorld
- check out this article at Ars Technica
- check out this article at Windows Team Blog

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