This was searched for on my blog: The temptation is just too great, and so, my 64-bit-fixation not yet retired to the back of my mind, I’ll answer it directly: -

Some people think it’s a sign of idiocy to answer a question with a question. Personally I don’t. – Although I myself don’t profess to be a Christian; according to the Christian Bible, Jesus Christ himself often answered a question with a question. Look at the number of followers he has, even after 2000+ years! ( – If only Twitter were around in His day.)

So in answer I’d ask the inquirer posing the question: -

‘Why aren’t new 16-bit, 8-bit, and 4-bit computers available any more?’

Do you remember the days of DOS, when 8MBs of RAM were considered a big-deal? 16-bit-processing was the standard, and DOS, which is still in a way a large part of the framework that Windows is constructed upon, was originally a 16-bit operating system. – Nobody much programs in DOS these days. I used to write the odd batch-file in Windows 98 to freak people out at college, much to my tutor’s displeasure; particularly in view of the fact that I was on an electronics course rather than a computer course – but I think that was the last time I used it.

(‘Remember Fortran and Cobol? – That’s another subject entirely. Going back even further; machine-code: It’s still at the heart of all computing, and is the original computing language… Kind of. ‘Remember that board with one of the first 1MHz processors on it, that you could only program in machine-code? (‘Around 1977/8-time if I remember correctly. – It cost about £600GBP!) – I knew someone who had one; but I still never learned to program in machine-code, to my discredit.)

Did you know you can build your own 4-bit analogue-to-digital/D – A converter from just 4 quad 2-input TTL NAND-gate chips? – Those were the days; eh?

Why does this person want a 32-bit new computer anyway? Do I hear “I have old peripheral hardware that won’t operate in a 64-bit environment.”?

- Run 32-bit XP Pro in a virtual machine inside 64-bit Windows 7. – That’s one way round it. – See this article. ( It was quite astounding to find out that I wrote that article as long ago as 25th June: It seems like only a couple of weeks ago!) – Better still; get new hardware, whatever.

It sounds like our enquirer needs something like an Atari, maybe? : That was actually a very good computer for its time.

Joking and sarcastic quips aside, though; progress rules: Technology moves ever onwards.

On that note I am, actually, looking forwards to the first 128-bit commercially-available operating system’s release. A few supercomputers are already using a 128-bit operating-system; so I very much doubt that it’ll stay in the ultra-geek-world only for that much longer.

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