RingCentral for 32-bit Windows

SomeGuy

Newer software... grumble grumble... but I was just asked to join a video meeting using "RingCentral" video conferencing rather than the usual Zoom or Microsoft Teams, only to be asked to download a bloated 200mb file that then it complained it needed "64-bit Windows". People seem to forget 32-bit Windows 10 is a thing, a tad more common than they might think, and supported by Microsoft as long as 64-bit Windows 10.

After digging around, I found a link to an older RingCentral client:

https://downloads.ringcentral.com/glip/rc/GlipForWindows32
File name: RingCentral Classic-20.4.30-ia32.exe

Posting it here, because Google was being really stubborn about showing me this. The link is RingCentral's own site.

As of today, it worked fine for me and I was able to connect. Obviously it is not exactly the same as their newer version. That "Glip" name is apparently just an older code name for the software.

Works under Windows 10 32-bit, I don't know about Windows 8 or 7. Probably not XP, although I did have Zoom running under XP.

BlueSun

With 11, Microsoft is pretty much killing 32 bit Windows. So whenever 10 goes out of support, that too will be the end of support for 32 bit. So it only makes sense for software vendors to begin the process of discontinuing 32 bit only versions of their software.

SomeGuy

It doesn't change the fact that is a jerkfaced thing to do.

BlueSun

Not really. 64 bit CPUs have been around for like 21ish years (Longer if you count the non x86 ones), and widely adopted for at least 10-15 years. x64 Windows seemed to become the dominate flavor around the 7 era. So it's been a long damn while of people running 64 bit Windows. Plenty of time for people to upgrade (they even use the same key, so no extra money is even required) and it's perfectly reasonable to expect software vendors to support native x64 rather than rely on a compatibility layer that will probably eventually go away, especially now that the 32 bit version has been discontinued in favor of 64 bit only. So I don't see it as a jerkfaced thing to do at all.

Sure you could offer both a 32 bit and 64 bit version of your app to cover a wider range of potential users, but then you're also doubling your efforts, support, and development costs by maintaining two versions. Not something a lot of companies are keen on doing.