Linux finally kills off the 486
Torvalds flushes ancient x86 silicon down the kernel loo
The Linux kernel is finally putting the 486 processor out of its misery, ending decades of backward compatibility that even Microsoft ditched with Windows XP back in 2001.
Stimulus and stockpiling drive gains, but hangover looms
China’s top foundry, SMIC has seen its quarterly net profit more than double to $188 million, thanks to a mix of Beijing’s largesse and geopolitical panic buying.
Trump scraps Biden’s AI chip export rule
Nvidia happy for now
The Trump administration has torched the Biden-era “AI Diffusion Rule” just days before it was set to take effect on 15 May. The rule, described by a Commerce Department official as “overly complex, bureaucratic, and would stymie American innovation,” carved up the globe into chip access tiers.
Broadcom strong-arms VMware users
Licence holders told to uninstall updates or face audits, lawsuits
The ever-so-popular Broadcom has attempted to make itself even more popular with its VMWare perpetual license holders by firing off cease-and-desist letters demanding they yank any updates installed after their support contracts expired even if they paid for the software in full.
Apple gives iPhone ten years to live
Will be replaced by tech that Apple can’t do
Fruity Cargo Cult Apple's senior vice president of services, Eddy Cue, warned that the iPhone could be obsolete in a decade and will be replaced by something that Jobs’ Mob is light years behind its competition.