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>Additionally, the excellent Intel C compiler focuses on their own processors

This is a new and creative use of the word "excellent" to mean Intel are so dishonest they have been caught out using their compiler as malware delivery to make /your/ compiled binary test for an Intel cpu when being run by /your/ customer and if it finds your executable binary being run on a competitor, eg amd, makes the code run every slow path despite the optimised code running fast on that cpu.

Wildly dishonest. Malware delivery mechanism are somewhat more traditional uses of the English language to describe the Intel compiler.

You cannot trust Intel. They've earned that reputation all by themselves.



Malware? Are we just redefining words when we don’t like something?

> malware (n)

> software that is specifically designed to disrupt, damage, or gain unauthorized access to a computer system.

How is a dispatch system (which GCC supports) malware? Yes, Intel “cripples” AMD by requiring an Intel processor, but it’s not malware.


It's sneaky, it behaves badly and counter to the user's interests, and because it's a compiler, it propagates that bad behavior (though not in a self-reproducing viral fashion). It's fairly mild on the scale of malware—I'd rank it slightly less bad than adware, but roughly on par with AV software that deletes any tools it deems to be for piracy purposes.


I call stealing your customers cpu cycles without permission for marketing purposes malware. If you don't that's ok. We can disagree.


I literally posted the definition of malware. Where is it gaining unauthorized access?


It says 'or'.

If it disrupts, that fits the definition you gave.

Or do you think a trojan that deletes your boot sector isn't malware?


Your definition isn't the only reasonable way to define the term, and you seem to be parsing it incorrectly anyways.


Seems pretty disruptive to my layman eyes to force code to run slower on a competitors hardware.


Oh for sure. I’m quibbling over the use of the word “malware”




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