wbmw,
2. Microsoft has no reason to invest in Opteron optimizations. That was the original subject for #2, was it not? It sounds like their support will be minimal, and highly leveraged off of the work they already did for Intel.
I think you are mixing 2 subjects: SpecInt optimization and general optimization to perform well on current hardware.
Microsoft has no reason to invest in SpecInt optimizations, but I expect a competent C++ compiler and .NET Opteron engine. Microsoft wants to sell software, and has interest in Microsoft software performing well against the competition. Microsoft software is compiled using Microsoft compilers.
Microsoft has already done some of work on Opteron optimizations by working on 64 bit Opteron compiler and by taking advantage of the extra registers.
5. Windows 2003 Server is missing the .NET framework for Itanium 2. This is unfortunate, but not a barrier for entry right now.
If you are considering running any .NET code on the server (ASP.NET, ADO.NET or custom apps) it is an insurmountable barrier for entry.
Itanium's competitors will not be using .NET, and it's doubtful that Microsoft will get a 64-bit version for Opteron before Itanium.
Opteron can run .NET as is. 64-bit version will be an icing on the cake.
Joe
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