Subject: Re: Q: Compaq, *BSD and 'Linux-only' AlphaBIOS (fwd)
To: Andrew Gallatin <gallatin@cs.duke.edu>
From: Jason Thorpe <thorpej@nas.nasa.gov>
List: port-alpha
Date: 12/03/1999 20:01:44
On Fri, 3 Dec 1999 20:58:24 -0500 (EST) 
 Andrew Gallatin <gallatin@cs.duke.edu> wrote:

 > The only problem with this argument is there are a few machines that
 > nobody ever made SRM for.  Like the XL266 and the 300XL.  They don't
 > trouble us because we don't have them.  But we don't have them because 
 > they don't run BSD.

...well, the XLs are slow, too :-)  They're roughly equivalent to the
AlphaStation 400; there's *some* chance that a 400 SRM might run on
them.  (Backup your ARC image and locate the failsafe jumper first,
though :-)

 > And then there is the new UP1000 board which claims to have AlphaBios
 > only & to support linux. 
 > (http://www.alpha-processor.com/products/up1000-board.asp) 
 > I think this might be just paperware, as I cannot find any mention of it
 > anywhere except at Alpha Processor Inc's site.

...and the Ruffian board (164UX is what Samsung called it).

 > It sure would be nice if they just open-sourced SRM.

No kidding.  However, if you then start willy-nilly porting SRM to these
currently non-SRM platforms, you have an interesting problem; who gives
out systype numbers?

        -- Jason R. Thorpe <thorpej@nas.nasa.gov>