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Date:      Wed, 12 Jan 2000 17:07:04 +0000
From:      Mike Bristow <mike@urgle.com>
To:        Mike Smith <msmith@freebsd.org>
Cc:        R Joseph Wright <rjoseph@nwlink.com>, freebsd-stable@FreeBSD.ORG
Subject:   Re: fbsdboot.exe can't load elf kernels
Message-ID:  <20000112170704.A5073@lindt.urgle.com>
In-Reply-To: <200001121646.IAA02338@mass.cdrom.com>; from msmith@freebsd.org on Wed, Jan 12, 2000 at 08:46:28AM -0800
References:  <20000112144430.A4818@lindt.urgle.com> <200001121646.IAA02338@mass.cdrom.com>

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On Wed, Jan 12, 2000 at 08:46:28AM -0800, Mike Smith wrote:
> > On Tue, Jan 11, 2000 at 07:29:23PM -0800, R Joseph Wright wrote:
> > > Which brings up the question that keeps nagging at me:  How possible is
> > > it to create a pc bios that is geared towards BSD/linux?  This would
> > > include its own lightweight repair shell.  Couldn't this solve a lot of
> > > problems with pc hardware, to have a unix-oriented bios? 
> > 
> > About the only thing that I really miss, going from `real' unix to 
> > pc unix is the ability to do _anything_ with a serial console.
> > 
> > A bios that can do it's thang over the serial port exists.  But it's
> > not very common.
> 
> www.realweasel.com

It's a very clever hack.  I admire them for it.   Doesn't stop it
being an 'orrible hack.

[ for those that haven't seen them, a board that looks to the BIOS like
  a MGA adapter but can throw the data out of the serial port instead ]

I still maintain that the /right/ solution is for the BIOS to have
a ``while booting shovel data out COM1 and accept data from COM1 as if
it were my keyboard'' option.  

I've seen them on (I think) NCR boxes. 

-- 
Mike Bristow, Geek At Large	         ``Beware of Invisible Cows''


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