Why does firefox have 64-bit releases on linux but not windows?
Why does Linux get a 64-bit release, while windows is left in the dust? I am using the 64-bit nightly, and it is FAR faster than any release in 32-bit, and I have 2GB of ram. Usually the addon compatibility thing takes minutes, when with the nightly 64-bit, I was done in a matter of seconds. also, I notice that it is faster, pages load faster, there is less lag, and it all around seems better than 32-bit in every aspect, even though it is just automatically compiled and not tweaked. so my question is: why can't they simply compile a 32-bit and a 64-bit version for windows? It does not require any extra work, and there is no reason not to at all. Most plugins have 64-bit versions for Firefox on windows, too, so that reason is not valid. so, ultimately, why can't they simply compile the non-optimized Firefox releases in 64-bit?
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I am sure there must be some good reason as I recall it as being a fairly solid decision, & seem to recall there was consideration being given to an even more radical option of stopping 64 bit Windows development entirely.
This is however not the place for discussion of development decision, either use the simple feedback option to leave a short comment, or try to find a development forum where that may consider such discussion on topic
One thing you may note is that Mozilla development is not static. The (emailing) Thunderbird project has ceased development, and although desktop browsers are still being developed there is a lot of effort now going into Mobile & Firefox OS.
Something else to mention is that Nightly may be faster than a Release regardless of whether it is a 64 bit version.
A previous thread which includes more information and some background links is
- Why firefox 64 bit for windows is not available? /questions/944092
Also note that 64 bit builds for Windows aren't tested AFAIK, but merely generated to check/verify the compilation process for compiler errors and they may stop working at any time. The regular builds are exposed to a lot of tests to make sure that everything works.
Rather than asking us mere users to take a flyer on some "nightly" version (which, presumably, will change yet again, TOMORROW night), would you please, please just issue a 64-bit version of Firefox? The problems I'm having with stuff like Java, trying to figure out how to handle both 64-bit IE and 32-bit Firefox, are driving me nuts. The fact is, a LOT of webpages insist on getting 3 or 4 advertising videos up and running, before they will respond to the next command. Pages like that are much, MUCH slower and kludgier, in Firefox, than in a complete and integrated 64-bit Windows system.