Thoughts on software-defined silicon

> I don't see how this could be seen as a ripoff, if Intel is clear about what you get when you purchase the processor.

Intel's customer isn't you as an individual. These things are laundered through the retail and system-builder industry, and those middlemen are under no obligation to be clear or honest about this DRM if it'll make them an extra buck.

The Apple situation just reinforces that: they *do* advertise and sell direct to end users, so they aren't going to intentionally build lemons and cut corners simply because they don't have the responsibility-laundering arrangements in place to get away with that.