• A 64-bit version of the operating system allows you to utilize more memory space. More memory means the computer and its associated applications should run faster.
  

• The 64-bit version of the software is more expensive than the 32-bit version.

• Your computer hardware must have the capability to run a 64-bit version. If your computer has this capability, you have the option of loading either the 64-bit or 32-bit version of the operating system.
  

You may have seen "deals" recently on computers with more memory capacity: typically these are advertised as having 64-bit hardware. What you need to watch out for is this: how is the operating system configured?

1. Some of your existing hardware components may not have 64-bit drivers.

Sound cards, printers and network interface cards, to name a few, may stop running because the manufacturer has not created a 64-bit driver.

2. In Vista 64-bit, any driver that is not properly signed will not be able to enter the kernel and will fail to load.

Even though some of your hardware devices may have 64-bit drivers, if that device's manufacturer has not had Microsoft certify it, it will not be compatible with the 64-bit Microsoft Operating System.

3. Very little 64-bit software currently exists.

64-bit software only runs on a 64-bit hardware system with a 64-bit operating system. Currently, however, there is very little 64-bit software out there. Unfortunately, this situation is the classic Chicken versus Egg paradox.

One example I have run across is Palm's Desktop Software which will not run on a 64-bit platform. Therefore, you cannot sync your Palm Smartphone with your computer.

Our recommendation:

If you choose to buy a computer with 64-bit hardware, make sure it's loaded with the 32-bit software. You may, in the future, choose to upgrade to a 64-bit operating system when some of the incompatibility issues have been resolved.

• Is Blackberry Desktop Manager loaded on your Windows based computer? It should be. This piece of software is necessary to synchronize and backup your Blackberry. When you decide to get a new Blackberry, Desktop Manager can copy all your old Blackberry stuff to your new Blackberry. na.blackberry.com/eng/services/desktop/

• Is PocketMac loaded on your Apple computer? It needs to be. This piece of software is necessary to synchronize and backup your Blackberry on your Apple computer. However, be aware that this software has problems and does not work at all with Entourage 2008. It seems to work fine with Entourage 2004. http://na.blackberry.com/eng/services/desktop/mac.jsh
  

• Google Calendar Sync will synchronize your Blackberry calendar and contacts with your gmail account. Gmail accounts are free. They work on your Blackberry and with Outlook. A Gmail account should be part of everyone's computer toolkit. www.google.com/support/calendar

• If you have more than one computer, backup your Blackberry on all your computers.
  

• Do you add appointments and contacts directly on your Blackberry and your computer? Using more than one computer to add appointments and contacts will result in duplicate appointments and contacts in your Blackberry calendar and address book. We strongly advise doing a two-way sync only with one computer and doing a Blackberry-to-computer one-way sync on all other computers. A two-way sync compares the data on your Blackberry to your computer. Based on this comparison, data will be added, updated and deleted. A one-way sync replaces all the data on the target computer with the source computer data.
  

• You must assume that something can and will happen to the data on your Blackberry. Without a backup, it will be very difficult to put the pieces back together. Do something about it today!