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Date:      Mon, 1 Jun 1998 20:10:53 +0100 (BST)
From:      Doug Rabson <dfr@nlsystems.com>
To:        Terry Lambert <tlambert@primenet.com>
Cc:        cjs@portal.ca, mike@smith.net.au, hackers@FreeBSD.ORG
Subject:   Re: AlphaBIOS documentation
Message-ID:  <Pine.BSF.3.95q.980601200744.330R-100000@herring.nlsystems.com>
In-Reply-To: <199806011819.LAA02732@usr01.primenet.com>

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On Mon, 1 Jun 1998, Terry Lambert wrote:

> > Falling back to SRM really sucks in most cases.  For some motherboards you
> > can't have both SRM and AlphaBIOS loaded at the same time so switching
> > between NT and BSD would not be a good end user experience.
> 
> 
> Switching from FreeBSD to NT is *never* a good end user experience.
> 
> 8-) 8-).

Much as I agree with you, I think this is what some people will wish to
do.

> > I don't want SRM and I don't want to run DU.  I just want the palcode.
> > Palcode != SRM.
> 
> The product manager insists on charging for the OSF PALcode.  Perhaps
> he is a mole for Microsoft.

This is not quite correct.  There is a charge for the SRM console (which
contains a copy of the OSF palcode).  Freely distributable source of OSF
palcode for several platforms is available.

> 
> One thing to consider is that some Alpha processors are now physically
> incapable of having the OSF PALcode loaded on them.

>From what I understand, they are just untested in 64bit addressing modes.
Personally, I think this is short term brain damage which will disappear
when NT supports 64bit addressing.


--
Doug Rabson				Mail:  dfr@nlsystems.com
Nonlinear Systems Ltd.			Phone: +44 181 951 1891
					Fax:   +44 181 381 1039


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