What makes switching between 64 and 32 bit programs seamless?

[supanatral]

I'm currently setting up a microsoft windows 2003 server 64bit and I've had such a problem with it. When I install a 32bit application that happens to have a website included to administrate it, it shuts down my webserver since the webserver is running in 64bit. I can change it to 32bit, but then my email server doesn't work since it's 64bit.

Now, I understand the complications that microsoft has so this is not meant to insult microsoft, but I'm absolutly baffled how my MacBook Pro can be so seamless with it so that I don't even know if its running 64bit, 32 bit or powerpc. How does Apple make it run so smooth?

 

[ElDiabloConCaca]

When you ask "How does Apple make it run so smooth?" do you want us to dive into all the techno-jargon associated with writing 32-bit versus 64-bit computer code, or do you want a simple answer like, "because that's the software that Apple tries to supply to their users -- seamless and out-of-the-way"?

Hehe... seriously, a ton of programming goes into making the transition seamless to the end-user.

 

[supanatral]

Another quesion. if I install a program that is 32bit on my mac, is there a way for me to be able to tell if its 32bit or 64bit?