"Perhaps you remember the term “virtuous cycle” that was once bandied around as if it were one of the unalterable laws of computing. The expression, borrowed from economics, refers to the process by which improvement in one domain leads to improvement in another, which leads to improvement in the first domain.

The defining example in computing was the PC hardware/software symbiosis. A new processor would come out, then a new release of a Microsoft operating system would appear with new features that would suck up all the silicon’s new capacity, and this would lead to building faster chips, and so on. (For consumers, this was a vicious cycle because the same hardware and software upgrades were expensive.)

The reason you don’t hear about virtuous cycles anymore is because this cycle has not functioned for several years—hardware progress has greatly outstripped software advances. No better example of this can be found than the events recently unfolding in the arena of x86-based, 64-bit processors."

"The 64-bit desktop, where I have been spending most my of time, however, is a different beast. Windows x64 runs just fine and feels just like regular Windows XP. As far as I can tell, besides the operating system, only Internet Explorer comes in a 64-bit version. And even there, Microsoft bundles a 32-bit version of IE.

Now, the bad news: Other than the browser, the lack of 64-bit software for the desktop is conspicuous. Presuming that ISVs are the immensely self-interested group we think them to be, the reason there are no apps is because there is no demand. And, let’s be honest, what demand do you have for more than 4GB on your desktop?"

"The situation holds true for both Windows and Linux—the matter has nothing to do with operating systems. The one difference is that as 64-bit does emerge into greater relevance on the desktop, the open-source community is likely to deliver products first, precisely because it uses open source. A precursor of this faster response is seen in the early (compared with Windows) release of SUSE Linux.

Microsoft’s Longhorn release of Windows, which continues to slip further into the future, may reinstate the concept of a virtuous cycle by flushing all pre-64-bit processors off the company desktops. However, should it do so, it won’t be on the basis of needing the 64-bit headroom, but because it will need the processing power of the then-current chips—all of which will have the x64 technology built in. This is the likely scenario; and so the 64-bit market will arrive under cloak of other needs, not because a killer app appeared."

http://www.sdtimes.com/article/column-20050601-02.html