Uncorrectable freedom and security issues on x86 platforms

[Timothy Pearson]

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On 04/24/2016 09:58 PM, Marc Landolt wrote:
> UPDATE:
> 
>> staying glued to an architecture that is not only effectively single
>> source, ...
> 
> http://www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/AMD-lizenziert-erstmals-x86-Technologie-an-Dritte-3181983.html
> 
> sorry German article, if you don't mind, may I ask you your opinion
> about this?
> 
> AMD licensed first x86 technology to third parties
> 
> https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=de&sl=de&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.heise.de%2Fnewsticker%2Fmeldung%2FAMD-lizenziert-erstmals-x86-Technologie-an-Dritte-3181983.html
> 
> with kind regards
> Marc Landolt

That move was highly unexpected.  A number of people in the industry
seem certain AMD is violating their license terms with Intel by doing
this, and unfortunately it really won't be known if this is actually
allowed until Intel officially responds and / or the matter is decided
in court.  Furthermore the details on exactly *what* is being licensed
seem few and far between; it is very possible what is actually being
licensed is a much older variant of x86 for SoC use along with some of
AMD's more recent ARM technology (remember the A1200 is considered an
"Opteron" CPU).

Assuming we are actually talking about mainstream, high-performance x86,
until the legality of this move becomes clearer any chips created under
this deal may be restricted to Asian markets, which does not help those
of us in Western regions.  There is precedent for market segmentation of
x86 CPUs due to licensing issues with the UMC Green CPU; only time will
tell what this deal means in terms of x86 licensing and multiple
sourcing capabilities.

- -- 
Timothy Pearson
Raptor Engineering
+1 (415) 727-8645 (direct line)
+1 (512) 690-0200 (switchboard)
http://www.raptorengineeringinc.com
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