From owner-freebsd-hackers Sun Nov 9 00:04:58 1997 Return-Path: Received: (from root@localhost) by hub.freebsd.org (8.8.7/8.8.7) id AAA22408 for hackers-outgoing; Sun, 9 Nov 1997 00:04:58 -0800 (PST) (envelope-from owner-freebsd-hackers) Received: from smtp04.primenet.com (smtp04.primenet.com [206.165.5.85]) by hub.freebsd.org (8.8.7/8.8.7) with ESMTP id AAA22402 for ; Sun, 9 Nov 1997 00:04:54 -0800 (PST) (envelope-from tlambert@usr06.primenet.com) Received: (from daemon@localhost) by smtp04.primenet.com (8.8.7/8.8.7) id BAA08577; Sun, 9 Nov 1997 01:04:53 -0700 (MST) Received: from usr06.primenet.com(206.165.6.206) via SMTP by smtp04.primenet.com, id smtpd008570; Sun Nov 9 01:04:50 1997 Received: (from tlambert@localhost) by usr06.primenet.com (8.8.5/8.8.5) id BAA17700; Sun, 9 Nov 1997 01:04:47 -0700 (MST) From: Terry Lambert Message-Id: <199711090804.BAA17700@usr06.primenet.com> Subject: Re: x86 gods; advice? Suggestions? To: mike@smith.net.au (Mike Smith) Date: Sun, 9 Nov 1997 08:04:47 +0000 (GMT) Cc: wghhicks@ix.netcom.com, mini@d198-232.uoregon.edu, mike@smith.net.au, hackers@FreeBSD.ORG In-Reply-To: <199711081106.VAA01053@word.smith.net.au> from "Mike Smith" at Nov 8, 97 09:36:46 pm X-Mailer: ELM [version 2.4 PL23] Content-Type: text Sender: owner-freebsd-hackers@FreeBSD.ORG X-Loop: FreeBSD.org Precedence: bulk > > Well, in the bad old days, I would probably have reached for Forth. > > There is some precedent for this approach over at Sun... > > OpenBoot is big and expensive. And it doesn't lock you into x86 to run the BIOS on video cards... where's the fun in that? If you go that route, pretty soon, you have people switching to other processors every time a bug is revealed, and people start writing ActiveX components and viruses and network program stack overflow using programs and using guest accounts on ISP's with machines using Pentium processors to mount denial of service attacks. People are not supposed to switch to other processors... they are supposed to live with the bugs because they have no alternatives. And if that argment doesn't sway you, what about software availability? Do you realize that a DEC Alpha or Motorola PowerPC simply *can't* run *any* of the most popular viruses you can get for DOS machines? Terry Lambert terry@lambert.org --- Any opinions in this posting are my own and not those of my present or previous employers.