From owner-freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG Mon Jun 18 10:32:25 2007 Return-Path: X-Original-To: questions@freebsd.org Delivered-To: freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG Received: from mx1.freebsd.org (mx1.freebsd.org [69.147.83.52]) by hub.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 83C7D16A400 for ; Mon, 18 Jun 2007 10:32:25 +0000 (UTC) (envelope-from perrin@apotheon.com) Received: from host222.ipowerweb.com (host222.ipowerweb.com [66.235.210.10]) by mx1.freebsd.org (Postfix) with SMTP id 64E0613C45E for ; Mon, 18 Jun 2007 10:32:25 +0000 (UTC) (envelope-from perrin@apotheon.com) Received: (qmail 31343 invoked from network); 18 Jun 2007 10:28:29 -0000 Received: from unknown (HELO demeter.hydra) (24.9.123.251) by host222.ipowerweb.com with SMTP; 18 Jun 2007 10:28:29 -0000 Received: from demeter.hydra (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by demeter.hydra (8.13.6/8.13.6) with ESMTP id l5IAWN2O037912 for ; Mon, 18 Jun 2007 04:32:24 -0600 (MDT) (envelope-from perrin@apotheon.com) Received: (from ren@localhost) by demeter.hydra (8.13.6/8.13.6/Submit) id l5IAWN0t037911 for questions@freebsd.org; Mon, 18 Jun 2007 04:32:23 -0600 (MDT) (envelope-from perrin@apotheon.com) X-Authentication-Warning: demeter.hydra: ren set sender to perrin@apotheon.com using -f Date: Mon, 18 Jun 2007 04:32:23 -0600 From: Chad Perrin To: questions@freebsd.org Message-ID: <20070618103223.GB37851@demeter.hydra> Mail-Followup-To: questions@freebsd.org References: <64c038660706171939s6651c3a0vd0e52b2e25c5069d@mail.gmail.com> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Disposition: inline In-Reply-To: User-Agent: Mutt/1.4.2.2i Cc: Subject: Re: FreeBSD and Robotics X-BeenThere: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.5 Precedence: list List-Id: User questions List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , X-List-Received-Date: Mon, 18 Jun 2007 10:32:25 -0000 On Sun, Jun 17, 2007 at 10:38:54PM -0700, Ted Mittelstaedt wrote: > > There's another issue and that is POST on standard PC hardware. POST > takes too long. For example the auto industry has agreed on a standard > time that a car engine computer must be fully operational, it is very > short, no more than something like 2 seconds or so. Enough so that when > you turn the key and the engine starts cranking, that the engine computer > has completely booted and is running by the second crank. > > That is why you probably will never see standard computer hardware used > in the operating room of a hospital to control patient life support, for > example. If for example during an operation the computer controlling an > artificial heart suddenly dies, the staff simply unplugs the lines from > the computer and plug them into another computer which then is switched on > and within a second has come fully ready, and operating. You could not > wait the 30-60 seconds that POST on a regular PC would take to complete. If it's taking 30-60 seconds just for your system to POST, there's something desperately wrong. My laptop gets all the way to a login prompt in that range. I think you mean "boot", not "POST" -- where "POST" stands for "Power On, Self-Test" and refers to that brief period at the beginning of booting before the boot manager is loaded. You know, the part where there's a screen that says "IBM" or "AMI" or something like that. -- CCD CopyWrite Chad Perrin [ http://ccd.apotheon.org ] John W. Russell: "People point. Sometimes that's just easier. They also use words. Sometimes that's just easier. For the same reasons that pointing has not made words obsolete, there will always be command lines."