The slow but inexorable march to 64-bit computing--the successor to familiar 32-bit x86-based technology, which has dominated the desktop world since the advent of Windows 95 almost a full decade ago--seems poised to speed up. Not only has Microsoft announced its plans to release its first 64-bit operating system for mainstream desktops, Windows XP (news - web sites) Professional X64 Edition, by the middle of this year, but also the company has delivered its initial Release Candidate (RC1) of the operating system......... ........Commercial 64-bit native applications are not yet available, so we put RC1 through its paces with several popular current (32-bit) apps--and in general we were impressed. (Owners of 64-bit PCs can download RC1 from Microsoft's Web site.) Read on at PC World.com