Re: [Linux-fbdev-devel] Generic VESA framebuffer driver and Video card BOOT?

[Pavel Machek <pavel@ucw.cz>]

Hi!

> > Its a sad fact though that we are (x86 anyway) dependant on some
> > amazingly fragile, stupid, usually binary only, legacy bloated, and
> > quite often buggy, 16-bit realmode video init code that should have
> > been put to pasture many years ago. 
> 
> Actually there is nothing wrong with the x86 BIOS from the perspective of 
> functionality and useability (or bloat for that matter). It contains all 
> the functionality we need and armed with something like the x86 emulator 
> we can use it for what we need on any platform.
> 
> Open Firmware may be a 'nicer' solution, but I guarantee that if the 
> vendors started supporting that it would be just a bug ridden as any 16-
> bit real mode BIOS code. For the Video BIOS the code always works for 
> what it is tested for. Some vendors spend more time testing the VBE BIOS 
> side of things fully (if they are smart they have licensed our VBETest 
> tools for this purpose). Unfortunatley some vendors do not test this 
> stuff thoroughly and it has problems. But the same testing issues would 
> exist whether the firmware was written as a 16-bit x86 blob or as an Open 
> Firmware blob.

Actually that 16-bit x86 blob can access any PC hardware, and that's
where the stuff gets hard.
								Pavel
-- 
People were complaining that M$ turns users into beta-testers...
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