Microsoft Plans New Apps Optimized for Faster Processor

Microsoft's stance is great news for AMD, which originally pushed the extended 64-bit concept. Ironically, Intel's x64 sales will probably benefit more than AMD's, though Intel would be happier if the 64-bit wave had moved toward its struggling Itanium platform.

Surprisingly, other applications vendors have been slow to develop software that takes advantage of the x64 platform. This is odd because x64 hardware has enjoyed much popularity at both server- and desktop-levels over the past two years. But now that Microsoft is on board, we can hope that software developers will follow suit, and we'll finally see a surge in applications that can tap into the extended 64-bit architecture's massive potential.