Most people know I am a

Most people know I am a 64-bit fan boy.  I see very little reason to run 32-bit.  I do admit there are some reasons, such as FireSTB, but at the same time anything that isn’t 64-bit compatible at this point I don’t want on my HTPC.

There are three basic reasons for lack of 64-bit support: 1- free drivers that can’t afford the signing cost w/ 64-bit Windows; 2- legacy code that was written w/ a 32-bit only compiler that would require significant work to rewrite on a modern compiler; 3- lazy developers who either don’t bother to learn best practices for Windows or dislike Windows so take an idealistic attitude and use cross-platform support as an excuse for neglecting best practices.

I can sympathize with not wanting to afford code signing, I’m guilty of it myself for a few kernel-mode drivers I never made public due to SPC costs.  But otherwise if it isn’t 64-bit compatible I don’t care if I’m running 32-bit Windows or how cool it is–it has no place on a system I care about stability on it.