Question: Is my PC supported under 64-bit Windows 7?

Ans: Most PCs manufactured in the past three years (i.e. after Vista's debut) are capable of running 64-bit Windows 7. The exceptions are those that ship with low-end CPUs that don't support the AMD or Intel 64-bit extensions. Examples include Intel's Atom line of low-powered CPUs and early Intel Core CPUs, like the Core Duo (not Core 2 Duo). If you're not sure what kind of CPU is in your system, or whether the CPU supports 64-bit operation, you can use the free Intel Processor Identification Utility to find out.

Question 2: What about all of my peripherals?

Those who don't know what are Peripherals: these are devices attached to a host computer but not part of it whose primary functionality are dependent upon the host, and can therefore be considered as expanding the host's capabilities, while not forming part of the system's core architecture.

Ans: As with PC support, most peripherals manufactured in the Vista era work with 64-bit Windows 7. However, legacy hardware support is a hit-or-miss proposition. Some manufacturers -> for example, vendors of network interface cards or disk storage controllers -> are more up to date than others, thanks in part to the fact that they've been supporting 64-bit computing under Windows Server since the 2002-2003 timeframe.

Devices that don't have obvious ties to the data-center (such as custom input devices, multimedia hardware, and some printers) can be harder to integrate since they were manufactured at a time when 64-bit desktops were a rarity. Your best bet is to do a Web search to see if the manufacturer has published a 64-bit device driver and, barring that, if other users have come up with a solution.

"It's a substantial improvement on the past. Even on netbooks, it's a credible release," Shuttleworth said on the October 26, 2009, during a conference call launching the Ubuntu 9.10 operating system.

Ubuntu 9.10's launch five days after Windows 7's is no coincidence. For the past several years, Ubuntu has carried the Linux community's flag in its valiant-ut-so-far-unsuccessful attempts to erode Windows' dominance in the desktop PC market. :(

Ubuntu and Linux generally continue to be hamstrung by the operating system's technically forbidding image, its smaller selection of applications and games, device compatibility issues, and the reluctance of PC makers to preinstall Linux, due to its lack of popularity and the desire to keep good relations with Microsoft.

But Shuttleworth sees three potential openings for Ubuntu and other desktop alternatives to Microsoft's OS. First, Microsoft is continuing to hawk Windows XP to netbook makers, despite the eight-year-old operating system being a "ghost" of a platform at this point, he said.

Second, Microsoft hopes PC makers will adopt the pricier Windows 7 Starter Edition over XP despite what Shuttleworth describes as "significant restrictions" on its capabilities compared with full-fledged versions of Windows 7.

Finally, Windows "remains a proprietary and relatively expensive piece of technology," Shuttleworth said. For those reasons, "I'm quite confident," he added after that.

Linux initially led the netbook market, though that was quickly cut short after Microsoft, as Shuttleworth put it, "clawed back" with Windows XP.

Today, Ubuntu supports 25 netbook models, with Dell Inc, being the biggest supporter. Most of those shipments go outside of the U.S. "I would love to have another stab at the U.S. market," Shuttleworth said.

Formerly code-named "Karmic Koala," Ubuntu 9.10 offers many improvements on driver compatibility, according to Shuttleworth.

"On printers, we use the same subsystem as Apple Inc.'s Macs, so I'm very confident that we've covered all the bases there," he said. On video cards and network cards, "there is a tremendous amount of energy being invested. The story is improving rapidly."

The most glaring hardware incompatibility with Ubuntu, he said, is Apple's iPhone.

Formerly a desktop-only distribution of Linux, Canonical is investing heavily in a server version of Ubuntu 9.10 with cloud features and Amazon EC2 and S3 compatibility.

"We want to deliver Ubuntu as an end-to-end solution," Shuttleworth said. "By 2010, there will be people developing for Ubuntu on ARM smartbooks as well as deploying it on Intel Xeon servers in the cloud."

While saying that Google Inc.'s Linux-based ChromeOS platform "doesn't threaten us, but energizes us to get the desktop right," Shuttleworth also took a subtle jab at Google's Web-first vision.

"We think the desktop still has a critical role in the cloud-oriented world," he said. "We'd rather deliver services to desktop apps directly rather than through a Web browser." Yeah !

Long live Windows Corp. & Karmic Koala !

Source: ComputerWorld