> 
> Lord Isildur writes:
>  > 
>  > I consider SRM to be the way to go, and i think instead the convoluted
>  > hacks that things like MILO had to go through are the rsult of using the
>  > ARC/ALphaBIOS _instead_ of using SRM. Now that Compaq has released SRMs
>  > for so many more models and eliminated the need to buy the developer kit,
>  > i see no reason to consider ARC anymore _at all_. It was a cheap second
> 
> 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.
> 
> 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.

Er, no.  API are sending FreeBSD Labs a UP2000 which is similarly 
described.  We didn't actually realise it was AlphaBIOS only, but if 
anyone were keen enough to hack on the MILO code to achieve a worthwhile 
goal, this machine would be available for that purpose.

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

There are licensed components inside SRM that prevent this from 
happening; we've been down this path with Dompaq already.  However, there
does seem to be some fairly strong interest inside the organisation for 
the production of an SRM replacement that would be open-sourced.

-- 
\\ Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. \\  Mike Smith
\\ Tell him he should learn how to fish himself,  \\  msmith@freebsd.org
\\ and he'll hate you for a lifetime.             \\  msmith@cdrom.com