wbmw, Re: Saying that IBM waited "1 year, 51 weeks" to introduce a system based on Itanium architecture is like saying that IBM waited "1 year, xx weeks" to give a commitment on a server based AMD product (counting from the Athlon MP launch). And that's pretty much all IBM has given: an announcement, not a product.
The need for parenthetical explanation pinpoints your sophistry. The Itanium family is 64-bit capable. As is the Opteron line. The Athlon MP, of course, is not, and that's where your comparison goes awry.
Doug