64-bit Linux

[ch32]

I can't seem to find a reply button on any of the threads I've looked
at on this, so here's yet another thread.

So, there's been a lot of push in the hardware community for 64-bit
processing. It's hard to find a good server computer that isn't 64-bit
nowadays, and the newest desktops are all 64-bit.

Because of this push towards 64-bit computing, the major Linux distros
have all started pushing towards more 64-bit compatibility. Fedora has
all but officially made x86_64 it's primary platform for it's latest
releases. For most users this means that they don't really have to run
any 32-bit apps at all (for linux, this means less crap to install,
because as soon as you get one 32-bit app, you've got 50+ 32-bit
library dependencies that go along with it).

I've been using Google Wave for about 24-hours now, and have
immediately noticed that I can't install Google Gears in Firefox 3.5.5
(the latest released version) 64-bit on Fedora 11.

What gives?

Not only should the latest Firefox be a priority, but 64-bit
compilation should be a major priority for any new software.

I was able to install the 32-bit plugin, but not sure if it works. I
did this by going to http://nielspeen.com/blog/2009/02/google-gears-64-bit/
and installing an older version for 64-bit, then updating. However,
when I try to install this at http://gears.google.com/, I get an error
saying it won't install in Firefox:

"Google Gears" could not be installed because it is not compatible
with your Firefox build type (Linux_x86_64-gcc3). Please contact the
author of this item about the problem.

[Lachlan Musicman]

Note that it's not just you nor is it just 64 bit users. A cursory
glance at this list would have shown you that everyone is having
problems with firefox and no one at google is answering. Two things
are puzzling - why there hasn't been more in the news regards this
(/., reddit, digg etc) and what have the gears devs moved to? Android?
Chrome? We are all in teh dark.

cheers
L.

--
"evil begets stupidity. An organization that wins by exercising power
starts to lose the ability to win by doing better work. And it's not
fun for a smart person to work in a place where the best ideas aren't
the ones that win."

Paul Graham