vlc drawback ??

[id10x]

Hi i have been using vlc for years now but just last night i was looking at preferences
when i saw some futures that can make hardware changes to the cpu such as
disable lots of major cpu functions like SSE2 and FPU that can harm the processor
if put in the wrong hands . also there was a warning to use at user own risk or something
and i ask why ? why vlc do this? what interest dose a 10 mb player have in accessing
and changing cpu functions ? that may render the cpu useless ..

power computer users have special tools to oc their cpus or adjust them . they dont
need a media player to do that . and nobs like my self would get scared just looking
at options like that fearing someone or something may hit the wrong buttons by mistake .

to be true i have lots of fear now of such program and not willing to risk my new
pc over it .. i uninstalled it yesterday . with a big why on my face . why do we need
such functions ?

[Force Flow]

uh, no. Where are you hearing this information? VLC does no such thing.

When you see the phrase "use at your own risk" with software, that simply means that *if* in the rare instance there are problems with the software, the software developers are not liable (such as the software doesn't function properly or as intended).

As for using tools to adjust for overclocking, that either happens in the BIOS or yes, there are specialized tools available which you can download and install. But, if you don't download and install them, you have nothing to worry about.

Why do overclocking programs exist? For hardware enthusiasts who want to tweak their hardware and see how much beyond the stock speeds and specs they can go.

For an average user such as yourself, it's not something you have to get into or mess with or even worry about unless you're interested in doing so.


[edit]: I found your post on the VLC forums: http://forum.videolan.org/viewtopic.php?f=7&p=227139

As those members mentioned, no such options exist in VLC to disable instruction sets in the CPU. They're saying VLC has the option to not take advantage of those CPU instruction sets, but those instruction sets would remain very much active in your CPU.

[id10x]

yes i know now thanks its just they didnt reply at the start so i asked here

[kilgoretrout]

I've never seen any software license that doesn't include an express disclaimer of any and all warranties and that includes commercial software like MS Windows and commercial Unix as well as all free or open source software like linux or BSD. In laymen's terms an express disclaimer of warranties means "use at your own risk". Warranty disclaimers are pretty much boilerplate in software licenses.

[id10x]

no not at license . its at that option screen right above the tab were it says change cpu settings
use with extreme caution . so that made me scared actually because i didnt know
what are these functions for . specially if they were used by the wrong person .
i dont want to come back home to find that my cpu has lost half of its functions .
just because one of my family kids messed with vlc .

[juppy]

Originally Posted by id10x no not at license . its at that option screen right above the tab were it says change cpu settings use with extreme caution

Ah, finally found what you were talking about. Yeah, it's like Force Flow said; you can just choose for vlc NOT to use those functions of your processor. It doesn't *physically* disable the feature inside the processor though....just in vlc's playback ability, thus slowing your movie playback down somewhat most likely. Other programs would still be able to use those processor features however.

[id10x]

well learning is the way . thanks