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64-bit kernel

MacFixIt Answers

MacFixIt Answers is a feature in which we answer questions e-mailed from our readers. This week we have questions on missing "new message" chimes in Mail, installing iPhoto from another computer, Time Machine drives not being recognized despite being formatted properly, and how to set a system to boot to the 64-bit kernel by default.

Question: New message chimes in Mail

MacFixIt reader "Robert" asks:

I have an iMac that is 2 years old. When I purchased it I was running Leopard 10.5.8 I have since upgraded to Snow Leopard 10.6.4 I … Read more

64-bit kernel now default on Apple's Mac Pro

While the phrase "640KB RAM ought to be enough for anybody" was falsely attributed to Bill Gates, it definitely outlines a way many of us think about the computing limits we're faced with. At the time this was purportedly said, computers were just transitioning to 16-bit architectures with the Intel 8088 processor (the one used in some of the first PCs), which broke through the 64-byte memory limit of the older architecture.

In the past few years Macs and other PCs have been in a similar transition with 64-bit capable processors (starting with Apple's G5), but … Read more