Intel to artificially cripple chips then ask you to pay for them to be brought back to spec
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http://www.crunchgear.com/2010/09/19/intel-selling-scratch-off-upgrade-cars-to-unlock-processor-power/[^] Wow.
cheers, Chris Maunder The Code Project | Co-founder Microsoft C++ MVP
i would never write an application which could expose or hide features based on information found in the license file. never. never ever.
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http://www.crunchgear.com/2010/09/19/intel-selling-scratch-off-upgrade-cars-to-unlock-processor-power/[^] Wow.
cheers, Chris Maunder The Code Project | Co-founder Microsoft C++ MVP
It's only what software companies have been doing for years, with Lite/Standard/Enterprise etc editions. It's based on sound marketing experience, whereby you get the customer to tell you how much they can afford, and then the product they buy is "automatically" priced to their ability to pay. See http://www.microsoft.com/sqlserver/2008/en/us/pricing.aspx[^] Standard is just the "full product" with some functionality disabled. So why is Datacenter more than 7 times as expensive? Because they can sell it for that. If they priced Datacenter at Standard price, they lose that extra revenue. If they priced Standard at Datacenter price, they lose sales, and so revenue. The product variations are there to maximise revenue, nothing more. The automobile industry is going that way too. Audi are introducing cars with all the wiring and motors for electric seats, and those are "enabled" at the dealer for a fee.
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http://www.crunchgear.com/2010/09/19/intel-selling-scratch-off-upgrade-cars-to-unlock-processor-power/[^] Wow.
cheers, Chris Maunder The Code Project | Co-founder Microsoft C++ MVP
If my brother still worked at Intel, I'd swear that would have him written all over it. He's the ultimate used car salesman...
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http://www.crunchgear.com/2010/09/19/intel-selling-scratch-off-upgrade-cars-to-unlock-processor-power/[^] Wow.
cheers, Chris Maunder The Code Project | Co-founder Microsoft C++ MVP
Wow... few years later... Now releasing Intel Core i12, redeem your coupon to make your 1 year old Core i7 processor, the new Core i12. :omg: This is ridiculous.
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I am not surprised. It's probably cheaper to produce one chip and sell an unlock than it is to produce two, as well as providing a way to onsell without having to ship anything. Modern commerce is not based on selling items based on the cost of manufacture plus a profit, but on selling something for as much of a margin as possible. I've heard of other consumer products where the basic model is essentially the deluxe model without the control panel to use the deluxe features, which are still on the circuit board.
Christian Graus Driven to the arms of OSX by Vista. Read my blog to find out how I've worked around bugs in Microsoft tools and frameworks.
Christian Graus wrote:
I've heard of other consumer products where the basic model is essentially the deluxe model without the control panel to use the deluxe features, which are still on the circuit board.
This is only true for things that you buy, Christian. You'd be real surprised to find out what a macBook can really do.
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Wow that is kind of like the undercoating car salesmen try to get you to buy!! Last new car I bought I passed on the undercoating and when I got the new vehicle home I climbed underneath and guess what I found? Black goopy stuff sprayed all over the underside of the chassis.
The car hasn't been in an accident and you are seeing cadmium yellow primer. It just used to be a yellow car and we gave it a paint job. :~
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i would never write an application which could expose or hide features based on information found in the license file. never. never ever.
Then you'd be firmly in the minority. It's been accepted practice in the software world for decades not surprising that Intel is simply taking a page from software. I just installed Windows server 2008 for testing and the CD contained *every* version of windows server 2008 and the license key only unlocks the version it's for which you choose upon installation.
“If you want to build a ship, don't drum up people together to collect wood and don't assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea” - Antoine de Saint-Exupery
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Wow... few years later... Now releasing Intel Core i12, redeem your coupon to make your 1 year old Core i7 processor, the new Core i12. :omg: This is ridiculous.
I don't see why it is ridiculous. As CG said earlier, lots of other bits of hardware do this, why not computers? My dishwasher has all the control circuitry of the 'deluxe' model, but only the fascia and cabling of a lower spec model. My DVD player is multi-region capable and is only soft-locked to a region on purchase (most DVD players seem to work like this). Why should computer hardware be the exception?
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i would never write an application which could expose or hide features based on information found in the license file. never. never ever.
Why? I've got an application slated for it's first release next year. There are 6 planned versions, all based on different licenses. Doing it this way is economical for me and it allows my customers to upgrade to more complex features if they need them, without having to reinstall (which in many cases has to involve corporate IT departments). Is there a downside I'm not aware of? Cheers, Drew.
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Then you'd be firmly in the minority. It's been accepted practice in the software world for decades not surprising that Intel is simply taking a page from software. I just installed Windows server 2008 for testing and the CD contained *every* version of windows server 2008 and the license key only unlocks the version it's for which you choose upon installation.
“If you want to build a ship, don't drum up people together to collect wood and don't assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea” - Antoine de Saint-Exupery
sometimes i'm too dry :suss:
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sometimes i'm too dry :suss:
Damn, no you weren't, I was too stupid. :doh:
“If you want to build a ship, don't drum up people together to collect wood and don't assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea” - Antoine de Saint-Exupery
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Damn, no you weren't, I was too stupid. :doh:
“If you want to build a ship, don't drum up people together to collect wood and don't assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea” - Antoine de Saint-Exupery
Yes but it was still comical :)
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http://www.crunchgear.com/2010/09/19/intel-selling-scratch-off-upgrade-cars-to-unlock-processor-power/[^] Wow.
cheers, Chris Maunder The Code Project | Co-founder Microsoft C++ MVP
Didn't IBM used to do something like this?
If the post was helpful, please vote, eh! Current activities: Playing Star Craft II. Don't bother me, eh? Now and forever, defiant to the end. What is Multiple Sclerosis[^]?
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http://www.crunchgear.com/2010/09/19/intel-selling-scratch-off-upgrade-cars-to-unlock-processor-power/[^] Wow.
cheers, Chris Maunder The Code Project | Co-founder Microsoft C++ MVP
In the 1980's, hard disk storage for ICL mainframes came in two sizes - to upgrade to the larger size, they sent out an engineer to remove a screw which physically prevented the read/write heads from accessing 50% of the disk platter surfaces!
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I don't see why it is ridiculous. As CG said earlier, lots of other bits of hardware do this, why not computers? My dishwasher has all the control circuitry of the 'deluxe' model, but only the fascia and cabling of a lower spec model. My DVD player is multi-region capable and is only soft-locked to a region on purchase (most DVD players seem to work like this). Why should computer hardware be the exception?
Kyudos wrote:
My dishwasher has all the control circuitry of the 'deluxe' model, but only the fascia and cabling of a lower spec model.
Well, but they don't offer you a option to pay 50 bucks and make it deluxe model, right ?
Kyudos wrote:
My DVD player is multi-region capable and is only soft-locked to a region on purchase (most DVD players seem to work like this).
That is ridiculous too, so are the carrier locked cell phones... If you didnt pay for something, you dont get those things, fine. but this is like making you fool... kind of... you already own the thing, you just dont know, so now pay extra to have those things which you already have since last year... (I didn't down vote you)
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I am not surprised. It's probably cheaper to produce one chip and sell an unlock than it is to produce two, as well as providing a way to onsell without having to ship anything. Modern commerce is not based on selling items based on the cost of manufacture plus a profit, but on selling something for as much of a margin as possible. I've heard of other consumer products where the basic model is essentially the deluxe model without the control panel to use the deluxe features, which are still on the circuit board.
Christian Graus Driven to the arms of OSX by Vista. Read my blog to find out how I've worked around bugs in Microsoft tools and frameworks.
Intel's always done it that way, segmenting by features enabled in microcode as well as by speed binning. The only difference is that if after the fact you discover you needed a feature only in the $260 model instead the equally clocked $250 model you don't have to buy and install a new chip to add it.
3x12=36 2x12=24 1x12=12 0x12=18
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Then you'd be firmly in the minority. It's been accepted practice in the software world for decades not surprising that Intel is simply taking a page from software. I just installed Windows server 2008 for testing and the CD contained *every* version of windows server 2008 and the license key only unlocks the version it's for which you choose upon installation.
“If you want to build a ship, don't drum up people together to collect wood and don't assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea” - Antoine de Saint-Exupery
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I read that last week somewhere (engadget?) and the thing that crossed my mind was that it is a software update to changet the chipspec. Now, if intel have confirmed that the Master Keys to HDCP have been discovered, how long will it be before someone manages to find a way round this.
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That was my first thought, though I'm guessing the keys would be different for each model and by the time they're discovered or leaked, if that was to happen, the chip would be outdated anyway?
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That is how the old IBM Mainframe Disk Packs used to work. You'd start to get short on space, call your friendly neighbourhood Sales Rep, he would quote you an enormous figure to double the size, you would agree (you had no choice). Roughly a week later an engineer would come along and spend three hours or so changing your disk pack. Except that he didn't. He flipped a switch, job done! The rest of the time wasn't wasted though as he would do a general service/tidy around. For the feminists out there, I repeated 'he' in that because in over 5 years I never saw a female IBM engineer. There may have been some but I never met any. [Edit] Just seen that Distind recognizes this trick as well. [/Edit]
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He flipped a switch, job done!
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I don't see why it is ridiculous. As CG said earlier, lots of other bits of hardware do this, why not computers? My dishwasher has all the control circuitry of the 'deluxe' model, but only the fascia and cabling of a lower spec model. My DVD player is multi-region capable and is only soft-locked to a region on purchase (most DVD players seem to work like this). Why should computer hardware be the exception?
It should, because that stuff tends to break down at the most inconvenient times. When this happens, I don't want to be at the mercy of all kinds off different licensing servers / hotlines or whatever procedures they have. For this I gave a DVD the John Simmons treatment after their 'activation' promptly failed when I needed it and at that time the hotline was cold as ice. And I will not buy anything from then again as long as they insist on such inconvenient procedures.
A while ago he asked me what he should have printed on my business cards. I said 'Wizard'. I read books which nobody else understand. Then I do something which nobody understands. After that the computer does something which nobody understands. When asked, I say things about the results which nobody understand. But everybody expects miracles from me on a regular basis. Looks to me like the classical definition of a wizard.