Do the Intel CPU flaws affect performance? Sorry, that's a corporate secret

[kompukare]

As Cat discovered in the AMD - Zen chitchat thread, in a further display of corporate power, hubris and arrogance, it seems that anyone who installs the latests Intel security update will have to agree to the following EULA:

3. LICENSE RESTRICTIONS. All right, title and interest in and to the Software
and associated documentation are and will remain the exclusive property of
Intel and its licensors or suppliers. Unless expressly permitted under the
Agreement, You will not, and will not allow any third party to (i) use, copy,
distribute, sell or offer to sell the Software or associated documentation;
(ii) modify, adapt, enhance, disassemble, decompile, reverse engineer, change
or create derivative works from the Software except and only to the extent as
specifically required by mandatory applicable laws or any applicable third
party license terms accompanying the Software; (iii) use or make the Software
available for the use or benefit of third parties; or (iv) use the Software on
Your products other than those that include the Intel hardware product(s),
platform(s), or software identified in the Software; or (v) publish or provide
any Software benchmark or comparison test results. You acknowledge that an
essential basis of the bargain in this Agreement is that Intel grants You no
licenses or other rights including, but not limited to, patent, copyright,
trade secret, trademark, trade name, service mark or other intellectual
property licenses or rights with respect to the Software and associated
documentation, by implication, estoppel or otherwise, except for the licenses
expressly granted above. You acknowledge there are significant uses of the
Software in its original, unmodified and uncombined form. You may not remove
any copyright notices from the Software.

Cat found that at
https://paste.ubuntu.com/p/z2F3Cj6R8Q/
But I think it was worth making a special thread about this.

Implicit in something like this are future test/review notes which say something along the lines of:

All benches were run with the latest patches, drivers, and updates except for the Intel CPUs where the performance impact of the latest security patches is top secret and we may not disclose their performance impact.

Not so much for yet another thread about the CPU flaws (which must be mostly a major headache for big datacentres), but rather because an example of corporate censorship like this sets a very dangerous precedent. And this at a time when most media outlets are already super compliant with corporate PR to say the least.

[kalniel]

it seems that anyone who installs the latests Intel security update will have to agree to the following EULA:

Is that true? I've don't remember signing EULAs for patches delivered automatically through windows update.

[peterb]

I wonder just how enforceable that would be in practice? I suspect most courts (at least in the EU) would rule that cause to be an unfair condition of a contract. I might stop companies like AMD from using it in a marketing campaign though.

And who is the "End User" in this case? It isn't defined and the therms seem to be aimed more at distributors. However it may frighten people/organisations that might be contemplating it as they wouldn't want to be the ones to fight a test case.

It is a bullying tactic though.

[kalniel]

Not sure how effective at bullying it is if you never see it This is more the sort of thing you put in a test version though, which is slightly more reasonable as you don't want to give out the wrong impression if it's not final software.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Wow,I made that post on the 21st,and then this blog reported on the same thing on the 22nd using the same pastebin:

https://perens.com/2018/08/22/new-in...ot-acceptable/

Now TPU has picked it up:

https://www.techpowerup.com/247028/i...rocode-updates

Bloody eck,I was ahead of the curve there!!

[Dashers]

And el reg now too https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/0...patch_licence/

[Lanky123]

Perhaps their next EULA will have an EULA of its own prohibiting anyone from publishing the EULA.

[Output]

Perhaps their next EULA will have an EULA of its own prohibiting anyone from publishing the EULA.

[Biscuit]

Eula-ception

[peterb]

I suppose the only inference to draw from this is that “Yes it does - and quite significantly”

And now that this has been made know, there will be loads of people doing tests to find out how much - and once it’s out there....

[Hoonigan]

And now that this has been made know, there will be loads of people doing tests to find out how much - and once it’s out there....

Hopefully someone with a vested interest in the truth, along with a bit of spare time, and plenty of Intel hardware from the last few years, can come across this and do the necessary tests.

It's only right, as consumers, that we should be aware of the damage done to a product we bought.

[kompukare]

Wow,I made that post on the 21st,and then this blog reported on the same thing on the 22nd using the same pastebin:

https://perens.com/2018/08/22/new-in...ot-acceptable/

Now TPU has picked it up:

https://www.techpowerup.com/247028/i...rocode-updates

Bloody eck,I was ahead of the curve there!!

Yes, as everyone here knows, if you want the latest news you have to follow the moose!

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

yes, as everyone here knows, if you want the latest news you have to follow the moose!

[Hoonigan]

Yes, as everyone here knows, if you want the latest news you have to follow the moose!

He doesn't need his ego inflating further.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

He doesn't need his ego inflating further.

Well not my fault the tech press didn't report it earlier LOL - I don't even get paid for it!

It was something which had been on there for a while.