Date: Thu, 06 Aug 2009 08:35:40 +0200 From: Mark Stapper <stark@mapper.nl> To: Mel Flynn <mel.flynn+fbsd.questions@mailing.thruhere.net> Cc: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Subject: Re: kernel designations terminology confusion -- amd64 used for into quad core Message-ID: <4A7A79BC.1030600@mapper.nl> In-Reply-To: <200908050654.26375.mel.flynn%2Bfbsd.questions@mailing.thruhere.net> References: <200908051414.49468.david@vizion2000.net> <20090805132755.GA21963@falcon.midgard.homeip.net> <200908050654.26375.mel.flynn%2Bfbsd.questions@mailing.thruhere.net>
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[-- Attachment #1 --] Mel Flynn wrote: > On Wednesday 05 August 2009 05:27:55 Erik Trulsson wrote: > > >> The amd64 architecture is called that because it was AMD who invented and >> created it and was for a while the only one using it and since AMD named >> the architecture AMD64 that was the name FreeBSD used too. Later Intel >> also started using it (while using their own name(s) for it), but FreeBSD >> has stuck with the name amd64. >> > > This isn't completely correct. There is actually an ia64 architecture, before > Intel was ready to give up the "who dictates the PC 64bit architecture" > battle. There's a handful of CPU's who use that instruction set, but later > Intel switched to supporting AMD's instruction set and thus the PC 64 bit > architecture now is amd64. > > It'll be fun to see people asking in a few years why Oracle processors are > called "sparc64"... > Now I come to think of it, isn't it strange apple(or IBM) never joined in the whole 64-bits naming race spactacle. No one ever calls a PowerPC 970 processor a PowerPC-64, or a IBM64 or anything like it... Nor have I ever heard the term RISC64. Too bad we won't have to worry about that anymore, since PowerPC is dead and Mac Pro's are now amd64(or Intel 64 or x86-64 whichever would be the "correct" term ;-) ) [-- Attachment #2 --] -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.4.9 (MingW32) Comment: Using GnuPG with Mozilla - http://enigmail.mozdev.org/ iEYEARECAAYFAkp6eb8ACgkQN9xNqOOVnWDJKwCgjH4rK+zROQk5qAke2GQTc/0E g0EAn1hGVXde5NkIvg/5VB9yLLoMcVwY =0ecg -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
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