Difference between a 32-bit and 64-bit CPU

The two main categories of processors are 32-bit and 64-bit. The type of processor a computer has not only affects it's overall performance, but it can also dictate what type of software it uses.

32-bit processor

The 32-bit processor was the primary processor used in all computers until the early 1990s. Intel Pentium processors and early AMD processors were 32-bit processors. The Operating System and software on a computer with a 32-bit processor is also 32-bit based, in that they work with data units that are 32 bits wide. Windows 95, 98, and XP are all 32-bit operating systems that were common on computers with 32-bit processors.

64-bit processor

The 64-bit computer has been around 1961 when IBM created the IBM 7030 Stretch supercomputer. However, it was not put into use in home computers until the early 2000s. Microsoft released a 64-bit version of Windows XP to be used on computers with a 64-bit processor. Windows Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8 also come in 64-bit versions. Other software has been developed that is designed to run on a 64-bit computer, which are 64-bit based as well, in that they work with data units that are 64 bits wide.

Differences between a 32-bit and 64-bit CPU

The main difference between 32-bit processors and 64-bit processors is the speed they operate. 64-bit processors can come in dual core, quad core, and six core versions for home computing (with eight core versions coming soon). Multiple cores allow for increase processing power and faster computer operation. Software programs that require many calculations to function operate faster on the multi-core 64-bit processors, for the most part. It is important to note that 64-bit computers can still use 32-bit based software programs, even when the Windows operating system is a 64-bit version.

Another big difference between 32-bit processors and 64-bit processors is the maximum amount of memory (RAM) that is supported. 32-bit computers support a maximum of 3-4GB of memory, whereas a 64-bit computer can support memory amounts over 4 GB. This is important for software programs that are used for graphical design, engineering design or video editing, where many calculations are performed to render images, drawings, and video footage.

One thing to note is that 3D graphic programs and games do not benefit much, if at all, from switching to a 64-bit computer, unless the program is a 64-bit program. A 32-bit processor is adequate for any program written for a 32-bit processor. In the case of computer games, you'll get a lot more performance by upgrading the video card instead of getting a 64-bit processor.

In the end, 64-bit processors are becoming more and more commonplace in home computers. Most manufacturers build computers with 64-bit processors due to cheaper prices and because more users are now using 64-bit operating systems and programs. Computer parts retailers are offering fewer and fewer 32-bit processors and soon may not offer any at all.

Where two Oceans meet but doesn't mix

GOLF OF ALASKA

The Gulf of Alaska is an arm of the Pacific Ocean defined by the curve of the southern coast of Alaska, stretching from the Alaska Peninsula and Kodiak Island in the west to the Alexander Archipelago in the east, where Glacier Bay and the Inside Passage are found.
The entire shoreline of the Gulf is a rugged combination of forest, mountain, and a number of tidewater glaciers. Alaska's largest glaciers, the Malaspina Glacier and Bering Glacier spill out onto the coastal plain along the Gulf of Alaska. The coast is also heavily indented, with Cook Inlet and Prince William Sound the two largest connected bodies of water, but also including Yakutat Bay and Cross Sound. Lituya Bay is the site of the largest recorded tsunami in history and is a popular sheltered anchorage for fishing boats.

Ecology

The Gulf of Alaska is considered a Class I, highly productive ecosystem (more than 300 grams of carbon per square meter per year).

Many deep water corals can be found in the Gulf of Alaska. Primnoa pacifica has contributed to the location being labeled as Habitat Areas of Particular Concern. P. pacifica is typically a deep water coral normally found between 150 metres (490 ft) and 900 metres (3,000 ft) here.

Meteorology

The Gulf is a great generator of storms. In addition to dumping vast quantities of snow and ice on southern Alaska, resulting in some of the largest concentrations south of the Arctic Circle, many of the storms move south along the coasts of British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, and as far south as Southern California (primarily during El Nino events). Much of the seasonal rainfall and snowfall in the Pacific Northwest and Southwestern United States comes from the Gulf of Alaska.

Fresh fighting reported in Central African Republic

BANGUI – Fresh fighting has broken out in the conflict-torn Central African Republic, witnesses said Saturday, as the deadline closed for candidates to register for a vote by the transitional parliament for a new interim president.
At least three people were killed in Sibut, about 160 kilometres (100 miles) north of the capital Bangui, a resident told AFP by telephone.
“I’m putting out a cry of alarm,” he said on condition of anonymity. “The (ex-rebel) Seleka movement is reigning like warlords in the city and there is no foreign force to protect us.”
The fighting, which broke out Friday in the town’s bus station and market, has forced residents indoors or prompted them to flee into the bush, the source said.
A Catholic Church source said the parish premises came under attack in Sibut. “We tried to contact (the African peacekeeping force) MISCA and (the French force) Sangaris for quick help, but so far there is no one,” he said.
MISCA told AFP that teams were on their way to the town of about 25,000 people, an important transport hub known for its market.
The religious official said fighting has also broken out in the western town of Bossemptele near the border with Cameroon.
“The parish was sacked, the priest’s car was stolen and the hospital was looted,” he said. “There were some injuries.”
International forces are trying to restore order after the former French colony plunged into sectarian fighting following a March coup in which the mainly Muslim Seleka rebel group overthrew president Francois Bozize.
Violence in the highly unstable country has not let up despite the January 11 resignation of strongman Michel Djotodia under intense regional pressure.
He had proved unable to control his forces, whose looting, killing and raping spree sparked revenge attacks from Christian militias.
The Central African Republic’s new interim president will be elected on Monday, the country’s transitional authorities announced.
The United Nations warned Thursday that bloodshed in the country could turn into genocide.

SPORT (CHAN: We won’t give Nigeria breathing space, says SA coach)

South African coach, Gordon Igesund has said that the Bafana Bafana will unleash a relentless attack against the Super Eagles in their last group A encounter, Sunday in Cape Town.
The hosts of the CAF African Nations Championship, need only a draw to scale through to the quarter-final, but Igesund said nothing short of a win will do his team good. The Eagles led by Stephen Keshi are in a must win situation after garnering only three points from two games, while South Africa and Mali have four points each.
“Why should I be scared of Nigeria? We’re not scared of anybody. We’ve just beaten Spain, I should be scared of Nigeria?” Igesund said at Bafana’s headquarters in Cape Town.
“My philosophy has always been play to win. When you start thinking about trying to play for a draw, you start doing the wrong things,” he said.
He added that Nigeria is coming into the game with one aim to win and progress, but they will not be given the chance to settle down to play.
“We know that Nigeria are going into this game with only one thing on their mind, and that’s to win the game.
“We will be offensive against them, that’s the plan, we want to go forward.
“I want to attack them down the sides, have over-lapping fullbacks and let’s ask the questions, we need to ask a lot of questions defensively and we’ll try and do that.”
He admitted that his team was under pressure.
“The only thing is that it would have been nicer not to have this kind of pressure.
“But then again that is what makes this game so exciting, the anxiety of not knowing whether you will qualify or not, because if you know it will mean nothing.”

Eto’o richest man in planet football

Samuel Eto’o admitted that he had never heard about Anzhi Makhachkala all his life, but with a 20m euro (N4.2b) a year salary, Makhachkala must be heaven and Eto’o is enjoying every bit of it.
He scored his second goal in two matches for his new club in Russia and he declared that he was very happy and comfortable in Russia.

RUSSIAN FEDERATION, Makhachkala : Cameroonian footballer of the Russian team FC Anji, Samuel Eto'o, poses with a girl as he visits a high school in the Dagestan's capital Makhachkala, on September 12, 2011.. AFP PHOTO

Nearly 10,000 fans filled the crumbling Dynamo stadium last weekend to welcome the Cameroon striker to the shores of the Caspian Sea and showed why billionaire Suleiman Kerimov an Oil and steel magnate made him the richest footballer on earth.
The goal helped Anzhi to a 2-1 victory over Volga Nizhny Novgorod and lifted them into fourth place, six points behind joint leaders Zenit St Petersburg and CSKA Moscow.
“I’ve visited Russia many times but it’s only been Moscow and Kazan,” Eto’o told a packed news conference before the match, referring to trips to Spartak Moscow and Rubin Kazan for Champions League games with former club Inter Milan.
“This is my first time in Makhachkala. I must admit I didn’t know much about this place but I have to say that I’m pleasantly surprised with what I’ve seen.”
The wealthy Makhachkala club, who also boast Brazilian left back Roberto Carlos and former Chelsea midfielder Yuri Zhirkov, last month paid around 30 million euros to surprisingly lure the four-times African Footballer of the Year from Italy.
Eto’o had already begun to pay back some of that huge investment, making a cameo appearance in last month’s league game in Rostov and scoring a late equaliser to earn a 1-1 draw.
Huge billboards picturing Eto’o greet visitors along the entire 20km dusty road from the Makhachkala airport to the capital of the Dagestan province.
Local fans do almost anything to try to catch a glimpse of their favourite players, who all live in or around Moscow and fly to Makhachkala for home games only.
The team’s open practice session had to be halted several times after dozens of teenage fans jumped over the fence and ran towards Eto’o, trying to touch or shake hands with their idol as security looked on.
One overzealous fan even started kissing his feet before being whisked away.
After changing into a business suit, Eto’o talked to the media. He said he was determined to fulfil his contract with Anzhi and was not scared of harsh Russian winters, poor pitches or outdated arenas in many cities across the country.
“I’ve played football at sub-zero temperatures many times so I’m well prepared for the Russian cold,” he said.
After team mate Roberto Carlos was racially abused at least twice in his first season in Russia, Eto’o was asked if he was prepared to tolerate racial taunts from rivals fans.
“Racism exists worldwide, not only in Russia,” said the Cameroon captain, who once tried to leave the pitch because of abuse during a league match in Spain playing for Barcelona at Real Zaragoz
“It can happen in France, Italy or Spain. Players face racist abuse in many countries, but every time I come onto the field I try to do my best for those who love football.”

SPORT (Crunchy Bafana tie: We need total concentration, Keshi declares)

After picking their first maximum points in Wednesday’s 4-2 triumph over Mozambique, Super Eagles Chief Coach, Stephen Keshi has said that his wards need a 100 % concentration and focus as they play host, South Africa in a make or mar last group game that would guarantee the winner a ticket into the quarter finals of the ongoing CHAN tournament.
After a disappointing 1-2  loss to Mali in their first game, the Eagles were again to trail 0-1 against Mozambique in the second half but they came back to beat the southern Africans who cashed in on skipper and goalkeeper, Chigozie Agbim’s floppy performance to draw level at 2 – 2 before crashing 2-4. Even as Nigerian fans in South Africa and back home castigated Agbim for his poor showing so far in the competition, Keshi came to his defence, saying that he should not be singled out for blame in a team game where some players also failed to score in front of an empty net.
”It’s a team work and we cannot single out one individual for blame, otherwise we had a situation in the game against Mozambique when a player had an empty net and yet could not slot the ball in until the opposing defender cleared it.
“I have worked with Agbim now for two years plus and if he was not good he will not be here. We must learn to understand our players and forgive errors, especially as he is the last man in the defence and his own errors are easily seen by all.
“I am happy with the boys and the character they showed in the game (against Mozambique) mostly in the second half, I know that in the first game, the players showed stage fright as most of them never played under flood lights before and there were a lot of factors that affected them against Mali.
“Before the game, I told the players to go out there and play like they do in training sessions not minding the match officials and the crowd and so that was what they did in the game and we won,”he told Brilafm.net.
Keshi also blamed the Nigerian Premier League which is on break for the players rustiness, stressing that Bafana Bafana players are fit and well conditioned because their league is in session.
“Most of the teams here have their domestic leagues on like the SPL for example; and so the players are better in shape, the condition level is great but we are just starting because we have been out for like 3 or 4 months now and so we need to remain very focus,” he said.
Also speaking on Brila FM, Free State stars of South Africa and Eagles defender, Gege Soriola gave tips on how the Eagles can beat the Bafana Bafana, stressing that even though it won’t be easy, the Eagles could triumph if they give a good fight.
“It is going to be a difficult game as South Africa will come at us but we should not relax and my message to the players is that they should keep on fighting for the ball, support each other and communicate well.
“I think if they can do exactly the same thing they did against Mozambique, I don’t see anything holding us back from getting a victory,” he said.

SPORT (FIFA contemplates Women’s Club World Cup)

Nairobi -  FIFA, world football governing body, is examining the possibility of introducing a Women’s Club World Cup.
The proposal was floated at the first meeting of the FIFA Task Force for Women’s Football which was chaired by co-opted FIFA Executive Committee member and former Australia international, Moya Dodd.
The men’s Club World Cup was founded in 2000 and the intercontinental competition has been contested every year since 2005 with European champion, Bayern Munich, overcoming home favourite, Raja Casablanca, to take the 2013 title in Morocco, FIFA said on its website.

Fifa president Joseph Blatter gestures during a press conference. AFP PHOTO

Elsewhere at the meeting, which analysed FIFA’s strategy for women’s football in the short and long term, issues of governance, development, marketing, communications and gender equality came under the microscope.
The outcome and proposals of the task force will be presented to the FIFA Committee for Women’s Football and the Women’s World Cup at its next meeting on Feb. 13.
“We are well on track after a very constructive first meeting,’’ Dodd said.
“We now need to implement our proposals and work to bring our views and ideas into reality.
“FIFA must be the engine of women’s football development and the task force will do its best to succeed in its mission.’’