Yet I still have regular conversations explaining "there is no way our customers are running on hardware that doesn't support this, where would they even be getting the hardware from, 2008?". I have a set of requirements in front of me requiring software to run on not only all Intel 64-bit chips, but also all Intel 32-bit chips.

This is how total control of a platform always starts. Google starts with Android and just does digital signing for applications through their store. Until they achieve control of the platform, then suddenly you can't load your own applications without them signing it either.

Secure Boot is just a technology for those that need it, until Microsoft decides it's mandatory for everyone.

When the government decides not to issue certificates to websites they don't like.

Isn't eIDAS the same technology stack that would put the government in total control of what websites you can view & what ones you can't?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qualified_website_authenticati...

People focus on AVX entirely too much, it is stuff like POPCNT that matters more. Which as you pointed out, is part of SSE4.2