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Intel desktop board BIOS update end-of-life

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Re: Intel desktop board BIOS update end-of-life

#71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Talking to my IT department, it seems the argument is that storage is only cheap in isolation. In the real world it aggregates across products, users and hierarchies. Example email: - I want bigger mailbox to handle bigger mails incoming and outgoing. Result: bigger mailbox. - Then everyone else in the company gets bigger mailboxes. Result: bigger mailbox x1000. - Also: bigger mail-server backups. - Also: bigger desk…

> - Then everyone else in the company gets bigger mailboxes. Result: bigger mailbox x1000. This doesn't have to be so. Some users have genuine reasons to require more mailbox storage. Not everyone has the same needs. And if 1000 users really need more space, then either they should be given the space they require, or they're doing something wrong that can be solved by technical means (like sending links to large file…

> This doesn't have to be so. Some users have genuine reasons to require...

Indeed. Organisations cause them all sorts of problems by not allowing exceptions to the rules.

Re: Intel desktop board BIOS update end-of-life

#72
post #58

This is why projects like coreboot are very important. Open source doesn't depend on someone's marketing itch.

It depends on maintainers though. We now kick devices out of coreboot where we suspect that the code wouldn't even boot anymore and there's nobody able to prove otherwise.

We'd certainly welcome them moving to coreboot. They might even gain a new feature or two, but there's work involved on their part (and the story usually ends at that point).

Re: Intel desktop board BIOS update end-of-life

#73
post #44

I will admit that I do not understand that move; especially so if it is a cost cutting measure. Then again I remember arguing with a VP that storage is cheap and email size limits are draconian enough already. She was not pleased. Maybe it is really just about the budget.

Storage is indeed cheap. Buying it through a service provider not so much.

But old stuff tends to be adorably small compared to new stuff. I doubt the sum total of intel’s legacy firmware update collection exceeds the capacity of a ten year old piece of spinning rust.

Re: Intel desktop board BIOS update end-of-life

#74
post #9

I can't believe this. All these years I've been recommending Intel products because of their long term support. I know these boards are legacy, but does it really cost them that much to host the files for occasional downloaders? One would have thought they'd tread carefully after so many recent PR hits, but I guess not.

Yeah, I've been buying Intel for years but just today I installed some Intel software and it asked me to join their "Computing Improvement Program." Part of the program? Send the "categories of websites you visit" back to Intel, among other things. [1]. They're really trying my patience with the semi-constant stream of Speltdown-like issues. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21563871

TBF, I'm fairly certain that only certain types of breads are affected by the speltdown issue

Re: Intel desktop board BIOS update end-of-life

#76
post #9

I can't believe this. All these years I've been recommending Intel products because of their long term support. I know these boards are legacy, but does it really cost them that much to host the files for occasional downloaders? One would have thought they'd tread carefully after so many recent PR hits, but I guess not.

If they don't reverse this decision, I very much hope they keep hashes of the driver exe's on their site. If I need to update BIOS there's no way in hell I'm trusting a link from a random stranger on the internet.

Re: Intel desktop board BIOS update end-of-life

#77

I will admit that I do not understand that move; especially so if it is a cost cutting measure. Then again I remember arguing with a VP that storage is cheap and email size limits are draconian enough already. She was not pleased. Maybe it is really just about the budget.

Its planed obsolesce. Intel wants you to buy new hardware.

Re: Intel desktop board BIOS update end-of-life

#79

I will admit that I do not understand that move; especially so if it is a cost cutting measure. Then again I remember arguing with a VP that storage is cheap and email size limits are draconian enough already. She was not pleased. Maybe it is really just about the budget.

If you routinely shred old emails, then when you eventually get hit with a lawsuit, all the incriminating emails have magically disappeared.

Re: Intel desktop board BIOS update end-of-life

#80
post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In some industries, that's not even medium-term.

what industries would these be?

Most of them in my experience. Many industrial machines have lifespans well beyond 15years. Big companies buy the state of the art and when they decide to replace the old machines they resell them to smaller companies who can't afford to buy the newest model.

I know many people on HN work in web technologies where last year's technology is already obsolete but I've worked in small hardware companies that still used industrial equipment controlled using a serial keyboard with a DIN connector and a monochrome CRT. I've seen people order parts for 20+yo industrial soldering ovens.

You can't really tell somebody with a highly expensive, perfectly functioning industrial machine that they have to buy a new one because you can't find the driver for the motherboard of the controller.

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