[cookiengineer]

> It's like computing got utterly corrupted post-2008 and there's yet to be a fix.

The ironic thing is that OP's posted article were news from 2009. Now, a decade later, we almost expect another total Intel CPU failure every year due to all the problems the architecture had while still promising sandboxed security.

But, as with all self-claimed "secure systems". If there's no audit, it cannot be seen as unsecure. Security through obscurity is pretty much the definition of how the hardware sector protects their IP these days.

And, of course, RISC V will be the solution. But honestly, I stopped believing in it years ago. As long as there's no computer system available in the same price range as the market leaders (aka Intel and AMD), you can forget about it.

[jchw]

I think the market for enthusiast machines shrinking might just help make the case for lower but still meaningful volume of RISC-V machines. That said, I do think it’s unclear how there would ever be a pathway for them to go from hobbyist machines to competing with AMD and Intel.

[yvdriess]

RISC-V has found a niche in anything embedded that needs some decent performance, especially in storage and networking. With a little imagination you can see some products there merge with other functionalities and take over larger markets, e.g. a NAS product line incorporating smart home and smart speaker functionality, evolving into 'home box' systems.

[jchw]

I would be willing to overpay a fair bit for NAS and other network equipment running open source hardware and software from the ground up. That’s an application of RISC-V I truly believe in.

Still, looking at the struggle ARM has had in spite of its ubiquity in even now fairly high performance devices, I will probably remain skeptical, for now, about such a transition. We have ARM NASes, routers, even competent servers! And yet... no real desktop towers. (At least a few exist, but I am thusfar unable to find any that are sold B2C retail or even second hand that look enticing.)