
Intel microcode license updated to permit redistribution - rnhmjoj
https://01.org/mcu-path-license-2018
======
forkerenok
Can anyone with background in law in some of EU member states share their take
on enforceability of the DeWitt clause[0]?

I know it popped up quite a few times here, but very few commented on it in
the context of EU.

[0]:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_DeWitt](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_DeWitt)

~~~
tpxl
AFAIK EULA's are unenforcable in the EU.

Disclosure: IANAL

~~~
majewsky
IANAL. This is not legal advice.

AFAIK, in Germany a EULA is enforceable. But if you are only presented with
the EULA after having bought the product (e.g. if the software came on DVD in
a shrink-wrapped box, so you couldn't look at the EULA at the store), you're
entitled to a refund if you don't agree to the EULA.

~~~
stefan_
EULAs are enforceable, but surprising or unreasonably discriminatory clauses
are not. When it comes to contracts with private customers, judges tend to
interpret that highly restrictively.

------
moron4hire
A lawyer friend of mine one told me that his job was basically to try to see
what he could sneak past the opposition's (his sentiment, not mine) lawyers in
their contracts. He explained contracts are like a running game of tag for
lawyers. "If they don't read it, fuck 'em".

He also said that all contracts are mutable. Just strike in red whatever you
want, sign it, and send it back. If they don't object (for whatever reason,
including not expecting a non-lawyer to do such a thing and never reading your
reply), you've won this round of tag.

Then mentioning that 9/10 contract disputes get settled out of court meant the
law didn't really matter, it's just what you can convince others about.

~~~
another-cuppa
This is essentially how all business works. When I got my first job before I
went to university I was very surprised to learn that accountants always pay
invoices on the very last day of the terms rather than as soon as they can.
Since everyone else is going to pay you as late as they poassibly can, if you
pay your invoices as soon as you can you'll lose out in the long run.

The way everyone tries to get slightly more from other people than they give
back is one of the things I dislike most about humans. I wish we had a system
that punished such behaviour rather than rewarding it.

~~~
ams6110
It's often not that they're really trying to screw the vendor, but that their
cash flow doesn't allow immediate payment.

A lot of commercial invoices have payment terms like "2/10, net 30" meaning
you can take a 2% discount if you pay within 10 days. The cost of not taking
this deal is an effective 35% annualized interest rate, so it's a big
incentive to pay early, assuming your cash flow allows it.

~~~
sbarre
I used to do this as a freelancer..

Some clients would insist on 45 or 60-day terms for my invoices, and as a
self-employed individual (who at the time couldn't afford to be picky about my
contracts), this really sucked.

Then someone suggested to me I put a clause offering a 2% discount if they
paid within 15 days.

I definitely remember some of my clients taking me up on that and paying
quickly, and it was a big help..

~~~
chrisbennet
I remember the first time I discovered what “30day net” meant. “What? You’re
going to borrow my money for 30days???”

I’m a consultant and I charge $N for 30 net and 25% off if payed in 10. (25%
is not a typo.) Very few of my clients do the math and decide they want to
borrow my money for the full month.

------
bubblethink
The bigger news is that they've applied the license to FSP too. Great news for
coreboot.

[https://mail.coreboot.org/pipermail/coreboot/2018-August/087...](https://mail.coreboot.org/pipermail/coreboot/2018-August/087220.html)

------
Gwaih1r
I had a quick Google and couldn't find any published benchmarks yet. Does
anyone know of one so far?

~~~
nikeee
According to a German news article [0], Intel published benchmarks themselves
[1].

[0]: [https://heise.de/-4144515](https://heise.de/-4144515)

[1]: [https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/architecture-and-
tec...](https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/architecture-and-
technology/l1tf.html)

~~~
mannykannot
Intel's attempt to suppress independent benchmarking suggests that this is not
the whole story. This suspicion lingers even though it has removed the clause.

~~~
yvdriess
There exists other reasons to not allow third-party benchmarking, other than
trying to hide something. A common reason is as a way to make sure the
benchmark is done in a proper way.

I've had the experience myself, and I can imagine that when a system is
complex and hard to measure that you don't want an internet journalist running
Cinebench to become the reference benchmark for your customers.

~~~
Skunkleton
Yeah, but what if the microcode killed cinebench performance? Wouldn't that be
interesting?

~~~
Joky
The problem is still the context in which cinebench would be ran. There are so
many variable on a complex system that "the microcode killed cinebench perf"
could very well be an over simplification of "the microcode in conjunction
with this particular motherboard and this version of the kernel plus this
particular Nvidia driver lead to a bad interaction that affects cinebench
performance negatively".

------
iosDrone
Marvel Cinematic Universe?

~~~
majewsky
I would watch the hell out of the Intel MCU. The story line about the Avengers
getting in trouble for "speculative destruction" practically writes itself.

------
falcor84
Just to save others the two minutes of googling I just went through,
apparently the MCU in the title stands for "Microcontroller Unit" (and not
"Marvel Cinematic Universe" as per my original thought).

~~~
Maakuth
I think 'microcode update' is what is meant here.

