Could Intel Have Fixed Spectre & Meltdown Bugs Earlier?

Researchers and industry experts reflect on Spectre and Meltdown and warn that microarchitecture side-channel vulnerabilities will persist as chip designs grow more complex; they note improved vendor-researcher collaboration since 2016, highlight recent side-channel techniques (Hertzbleed, Platypus, Zenbleed), and flag GPUs and confidential computing as emerging high-risk areas requiring more scrutiny and mitigation.