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Opinions are split on whether or not 64-bit is worth bothering with yet. It’s an even bigger question mark on netbooks, where the 32-bit Atom reigns supreme. However, more netbook models are appearing with VIA, AMD, and even Intel’s low-voltage non-Atom CPUs. And that means someone is going to put out 64-bit OS builds aimed at those systems.

Why not start with the new kid on the block, Google’s Chrome OS?

Developer Teo En Ming has compiled the Chromium source code and released a 64-bit version which you can download from his web page.

This seems a bit strange to me. After all, Chrome OS is basically a bootable web browser – and surfing web sites isn’t something that generally requires the added muscle of 64-bit processing. It certainly doesn’t require 4GB+ of memory, either.

But hey, if you’re in the select group of users who can actually run this on your netbook – why not go for it? You can run it from a flash drive after all, so there’s no real risk involved.

Chromium OS 64-bit .VMDK file: [download]

Use WinImage to write the virtual disk to a physical SD Card or USB Flash Drive