[PLUG] AMD64, Java, and Flash.

Carlos Konstanski ckonstanski at pippiandcarlos.com
Sun Nov 5 19:54:43 UTC 2006


> All signs point to 'yes'.  Why's everyone gotta run a 64-bit distro on
> their under-2GB-RAM desktops, anyway?
>
> furrfu,
>  Aaron

Perhaps the reason is because linux is all about choice.  "Because I
can" is a valid reason to run any version of linux on anything, any time.

I'm running java and flash on an amd64, and it works great.  I do employ
32-bit binary builds of java, flash and firefox, but that's only because
Sun and Adobe haven't stepped up with x86_64 builds of their products
yet.  So for me to say that java and flash work great on my amd64 is
analagous to saying that 32-bit emulation in a 64-bit OS works great on
an amd64.  If java and flash are going to run as 32-bit binaries anyway,
why limit yourself on the other 99.99% of your distro?

A year ago, it was hard to get packages like PHP, ruby and mozilla to
work well on amd64.  These issues, and may others, have long since been
resolved.  The only laggards left are the proprietary software vendors
and OpenOffice.  The day when all packages have a 64-bit build will come
sooner if more amd64 boards get sold.  Those who choose early adoption
will have a few minor struggles, but we'll manage.  Those who choose to
wait will have 32-bit boxes that run swell.  There's room in the linux
world for both camps.  Choice is our great weapon against proprietary
software.  Let us support one another in making choices.  We have enough
people trying to limit our options.

Back to the actual topic of this thread: which netinst disk to use?
Both will work for java and flash development, though the 32-bit one
will take less effort to get working than the 64-bit one.  The choice is
entirely yours, lucky fellow.

Carlos Konstanski



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