From: dwex@cbnewsj.cb.att.com (david.e.wexelblat) Subject: Re: Free software and the future of support for Diamond products Date: Mon, 21 Sep 1992 15:44:51 GMT
In article <1992Sep21.150821.9472@crd.ge.com> davidsen@crd.ge.com (bill davidsen) writes:
> In article <1992Sep20.000851.2641@cbnewsj.cb.att.com>, dwex@cbnewsj.cb.att.com (david.e.wexelblat) writes:
>
> | Unless I've missed something, a VESA compliant board supports a BIOS
> | standard, not a register-level standard. Unix, like other protected-mode
> | operating systems, does not use the BIOS at all, except during boot. So
> | there's no such thing as a VESA-compliant driver under Unix, unless
> | someone hacks the kernel to allow this to work.
>
> Youu've missed something. The kernel supports vm86 operation, and it
> is possible to drop into real mode, allow access to the i/o ports
> needed, and run the BIOS in real mode, then exit back to protected mode.
> I am not suggesting this, I'm just saying it can be done.
> --
> bill davidsen, GE Corp. R&D Center; Box 8; Schenectady NY 12345
> I admit that when I was in school I wrote COBOL. But I didn't compile.
Well. Learn something new every day. Does anyone have a code sample that
shows how this may be done?
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
David Wexelblat | dwex@mtgzfs3.att.com | Somebody get me a
AT&T Bell Laboratories | ...!att!mtgzfs3!dwex | cheeseburger!
200 Laurel Ave - 4B-421 | |
Middletown, NJ 07748 | (908) 957-5871 | --Steve Miller Band