There are no 128 bit capable processors available. Microsoft is building for a market that hasn’t even started yet. They’ve barely transitioned to 64 bit! Windows 7 is the first Windows OS that has a truly viable 64 bit market. Manufacturers have had a few years to develop 64 bit drivers, and consequently, it is far more likely that you can install Windows 7 x64 now than you could install Windows XP x64. Add to that that almost every new computer ships with a 64 bit processor, and you have yourself one viable market. Software developers also now have mature SDK’s, and have had a few years to transition to 64 bit computing.

Microsoft has finally shipped Windows 7, with a much shorter timeframe than Windows Vista did. I suspect that they are going to try to maintain such an active pace, shipping software every 18-24 months or so, rather than the 5 years it took for Vista. There is no way that either the hardware market or the software market will be remotely ready for 128 bit computing in 2 years. Yes, they may make it ‘functional’, like XP x64 was ‘functional’, but it will not truly be 128 bit. I suspect that Windows 9 will be as 128 bit mature as Windows Vista was 64 bit mature. Don’t expect true 128 bit computing till Windows 10.