https://perfwiki.github.io/main/top-down-analysis/

Even more interestingly, the Knights Landing series had a PCIe coprocessor version, which ran a stripped-down Linux kernel, and you could SSH onto it. One of my friends got one for free at a conference, and I really wish I'd picked one up!

You don’t live in an area where mosquitoes are a problem, do you? They can get so bad that you simply don’t want to go outside because you’ll have multiple biting you at any given moment. So yes, there is a benefit to consumers spraying for mosquitoes: those consumers can now enjoy their yards! A treatment of Bifenthrin every few months, and the mosquito problem is greatly reduced.

I don’t disagree with the point of your comment, though.

Regarding the sub-$5k car: it depends on your definition of "decent used car." Most people are unwilling to accept a used vehicle with a slightly broken interior or other minor issues. Just today, I was looking for comparative prices for a 2003 F-150 that I've got, and I found multiple in the $2-3k range in my area that are in good condition (running motor, A/C works, non-necessary repairs required). And that's a pickup truck: if you want a coupe or sedan, there are even more options below $3,000. You just need to be willing to accept some flaws: right now I've got several tabs open of good "A-to-B" cars with under 200k miles.

I have been locked out of my account, though. There was a week during which I got locked out, and had to re-authenticate with 2FA to get into my account, once a day. However, they eventually stopped doing that after enough support tickets rolled in, and Ripcord has been rippin' along ever since.

Part of that, I think, was lack of parallelism in applications: in order to fully take advantage of those cores, you need to have a nearly-embarrassingly-parallel problem. Otherwise, you're not going to get the performance that you'd expect (but you'll get power efficiency!).

The fact of the matter is, that's not "all anybody wants."

I think we can simply imagine a common scenario: some employee working for Company X, developing a compiler suite, and adding necessary optimizations for Company X's processors. Meanwhile, Company Y's processors don't get as much focus (perhaps due to the employee not knowing about Company Y's CPUIDs, supported optimizations for different models, etc.). Thus, Company Y's processors don't run as quickly with this particular library.

Why does this have to be malicious intent? Surely it's not surprising to you that Company X's software executes quicker on Company X's processors: I should hope that it does! The same would hold true if Company Y were to develop a compiler; unique features of their processors (and perhaps not Company X's) should be used to their fullest extent.