From owner-freebsd-current Tue Apr 18 14:50:41 1995 Return-Path: current-owner Received: (from majordom@localhost) by freefall.cdrom.com (8.6.10/8.6.6) id OAA20124 for current-outgoing; Tue, 18 Apr 1995 14:50:41 -0700 Received: from vector.eikon.e-technik.tu-muenchen.de (vector.eikon.e-technik.tu-muenchen.de [129.187.142.36]) by freefall.cdrom.com (8.6.10/8.6.6) with ESMTP id OAA20028 for ; Tue, 18 Apr 1995 14:46:05 -0700 Received: from localhost (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by vector.eikon.e-technik.tu-muenchen.de (8.6.11/8.6.9) with SMTP id WAA00860; Tue, 18 Apr 1995 22:53:18 +0200 Message-Id: <199504182053.WAA00860@vector.eikon.e-technik.tu-muenchen.de> X-Authentication-Warning: vector.eikon.e-technik.tu-muenchen.de: Host localhost didn't use HELO protocol To: davidg@Root.COM cc: uhclem@nemesis.lonestar.org (Frank Durda IV), freebsd-current@FreeBSD.org Subject: Re: Memory init pattern In-reply-to: Your message of "Sat, 15 Apr 1995 19:33:33 +0200." <199504151733.KAA00867@corbin.Root.COM> Date: Tue, 18 Apr 1995 22:53:18 +0200 From: Julian Howard Stacey Sender: current-owner@FreeBSD.org Precedence: bulk Re. > Oops, I meant "TI"...but now that I think about it, I don't know how long > TI has been is business. ...but my point still stands about there being > systems far before '78 that used start-up memory tests, however. Texas Instruments ? rumoured to have invented the venerable 7400 series in 1974 ! Some very big companies like British Telecom, (my ex employer _way_ back) would be very upset not to able to continue running start up self tests without paying royalties, they've probably been doing start up self test since before I was born (some long time ago ;-) BT & other large `mostly-computer-consumer' firms have plenty of lawyers, but are probably not so cosily tucked into the big companies incestuous patent sharing (& screw the little guy) arragements, thus if TI push too hard, they just might disturb some powerful opposition. I don't think we need tremble too much from TI's antisocial behaviour :-) Julian S