In the background, behind all the compiling and waiting while installing Crux on my OLPC XO, I neglected to mention that I’ve been running the 64-bit version of Arch on my big zv6000 laptop for about a week now.

Since most of you are probably just wondering one thing, I’ll tell you up front: No, I don’t have Flash.

Now I can discuss without interruption. First, part of the reason I bought this computer was that I wanted a 64-bit system, just so I could see how 64-bit works and feels. Now that the novelty of speed has worn off, I can say that it’s just as satisfying and fun as straight i686 Arch Linux, and maybe more so.

I’ve mentioned elsewhere that this machine is faster than any other I own, and that’s good because most of the time it’s running an emulated machine, or cross-compiling. It’s my workhorse right now.

But all the little tweaks and preferences that I’ve come to enjoy on my slower machines are just as effective on the big one. True, I don’t notice that big a difference between, for example, autoloading modules and manually loading them — this machine is too fast for that to really have a drastic effect.

But using a lightweight window manager and keeping the installation trim is still very noticeable. I briefly ran the Ubuntu Gutsy live CD, and I plan on installing that next, but the difference is something you can feel.

Along those same lines, I’ll repeat that no, I don’t have Flash … and that’s okay with me. Flash (and Java, for that matter) are overrated in my book, so living without them doesn’t bother me one bit. Good riddance, I say. A site that needs those two things to get my attention probably doesn’t have any real content, and that’s what they’re really trying to camouflage.

Otherwise, I’ll only mention that everything is working great — no inconsistencies or botched applications. I’ve installed a few games like OpenArena, Nexuiz and UrbanTerror, and they all work fine. If I run across anything that should work but doesn’t, I’ll make a note of it here and in the appropriate location.

But from my perspective, the myth of 64-bit Linux being shortchanged is just that — a myth.