A framework for flexible processor speed control has been added. It provides methods for various drivers to control CPU power utilization by adjusting the processor speed. More details can be found in the cpufreq(4) manual page.

Although software support remains weak compared with Windows and Linux, Solaris 10 is arguably the best server OS available today for commodity servers running 32-bit or 64-bit x86 processors (sometimes called x64 processors). Many of the pieces are in place for Solaris enterprise desktops as well, though it suffers from the same end-user complexity and application limitations as does Linux.

Michael: I think HP has done a terrific job. I'd say unfortunately that there are quite a few examples of companies which haven't done a good job, Lexmark is a big example ? they haven't released any decent printer drivers, so that's a big one. nVidia and ATI have made an enormous improvement over the past two years. Intel have made a lot of improvement, after Centrino came out with no Linux support they've finally gotten around to it. AMD I think looks at it as a competitive advantage over Intel, they've been terrific.

Most top-tier hardware vendors are selling AMD64 workstation and server systems these days, including Hewlett Packard, Sun Microsystems, and, more recently, IBM. Oddly enough, most of them are shipping with 32-bit operating systems installed by default. While the AMD64 architecture can comfortably handle both 64-bit and 32-bit software -- even concurrently -- it seems a waste of its potential to disregard the best features of the architecture. While the theoretical speed advantage and expanded resources of 64-bit computing are enticing to those in need of maximum performance, the road to a perfect AMD64 desktop, workstation or server machine is long and treacherous. What operating system will you use? Is there enough 64-bit software available? In this article we'll explore some of the advantages and pitfalls of going totally 64-bit in a 32-bit world.