Sgolds, Re: Will Intel choose to enable 64-bits at first shipment, or do they want to do a little Beta first? We have not had reports from Beta sites about testing CT yet, I don't think Intel will want to release to the general public without the benefit of that feedback.
I don't see IA32E as anything more than new instructions, like SSE-x. The "beta" has been around for months, and it was called "Opteron".