[mdlug] [Fwd: Re: [opensuse] 64 bit vrs 32 bit advantages speedetc.]

[Adam Tauno Williams]

> >  From a neutral perspective Intel wants to sell there chips.  BUT they 
> > know how to make their CPU's run faster. 
> True.  But releasing a compiler with a deliberately
> constructed sabotage (not using ANY vector operations
> if a non-Intel chip is discovered, even though there
> is a manufacturer-independant way of detecting the
> presence of SSE, SSE2 and SSE3 capabilities) is
> highly remeniscent of Microsoft doing a deliberate
> search for DR-DOS (which was actually MORE stable
> than MS-DOS) and issuing warning messages to
> scare the consumer.

Ah, the rush to conspiracy.  Perhaps (a) it is a bug, or (b) a
disagreement over the spec, or (c) they've encountered SSE/SSE2/SSE3
implementations that don't work as reported so they err on the side of
paranoia [not necessarily a bad thing given the complexity of a modern
CPU and not knowing what the application will be used for (say, maybe,
airliner navigation)].  I don't think anyone who has been involved in
the development of complex applications will have any problem believing
in (c);  everyone else will accuse them of foul play.  And if it is (a)
or (b) it may take a v-e-r-y long time to resolve; understandably so.

-- 
Adam Tauno Williams, Network & Systems Administrator
Consultant - http://www.whitemiceconsulting.com
Developer - http://www.opengroupware.org