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Intel build a processor with X amount of L3 cache. They sell it for $400 to initial buyers but "disable" 100 MB of L3 cache without telling them. Then after 6
by netaddict 16y ago
Intel build a processor with X amount of L3 cache.
They sell it for $400 to initial buyers but "disable" 100 MB of L3 cache without telling them. Then after 6 months, just to make money of the initial buyers again of the same chip, offer this processor "upgrade" for $50. This is immoral and the initial buyers will feel cheated.
This case is not like software where programmers worked on something and then ask a price for upgrade. Intel had already made all investment and work before the purchase. Intel then already took a profit for selling the processor.
- tptacek 16y agoAdobe requires $0 to build a copy of Photoshop. Pfizer requires $0.03 to make a pill. What does vendor cost have to do with market price? The feeling customers have of being "ripped off" is irrational. If you buy a part with X L3 cache and find out later that you're a web page away from X+1M L3 cache, your vendor did you a favor.
- sjs 16y agoIntel and AMD sell chips with some bad cache or faulty cores. What they do is disable the faulty components and sell it a lesser specced CPU. When manufacturing ramps up and kinks are worked out they might have to disable working parts to be produce those lesser specced (and cheaper) CPUs. All they're doing now is including a switch that customers can pay to flip, enabling those disabled components. The only difference after this announcement is that people who may not have known about this practice now know about it, and Intel is giving people a "switch" to turn these parts on.
- techiferous 16y ago"disable" "upgrade" It's semantics. It's all in how you frame it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Framing_effect_(psychology) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Framing_effect_(psychology)