On Sat, Aug 08, 2026 at 07:49:20AM -0700, ron minnich wrote: > "It turns out that you can break SMM ? the secure, ultra privileged > execution environment running invisibly in the background of every x86 CPU
For those who don't want to read a greybeard yelling at the kids to get off the lawn, now is the time to type the delete command (or if you're into that sort of thing, point to your cave painting and say 'ugh,' sorry icon and click). If you're still reading, you've been fairly warned and disagreements will likely be ignored, but I just have to vent my spleen here. I simply cannot fathom why people still use that steaming pile of garbage. The x86 was a disgustingly ugly architecture from day one, and it has aged like a jug of milk sitting in the Texas sun. No one with any engineering taste would have chosen it over the 68000 or the z8000 or pretty much anything else available. For that matter, any of us could have designed a nicer machine with a 6809 and a handful of TTL for a MMU than that thing that "legitimized" something, though I still haven't figured out what. That so many happily accepted SMM without taking it as a sign to run away as far and as fast as possible, I can only attribute to brain damage. Several of you have heard me say that I've been a Windows-free zone for a while and intend to become an x86-free zone. But I'm rapidly closing in on the conclusion that the only sane course of action is to put a CPU architecture of my own into an FPGA and become a computing hermit. BLS ------------------------------------------ 9fans: 9fans Permalink: https://9fans.topicbox.com/groups/9fans/T496d301e510c8cf1-M3051da913d670527751726f6 Delivery options: https://9fans.topicbox.com/groups/9fans/subscription
