Frank Cox <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> Thanks for that write-up.  It's a truly fascinating read
> and I can now say that I know a great deal more about the
> basics of what's going on here than I knew a few minutes ago.

A lot of people are confused on what x86-64 is.  Programmatically,
it's just another memory model.

At the platform and processor itself, it's far more complex and
various between AMD and Intel.  E.g., Intel does not and cannot
implement an I/O MMU in their aging bus architecture, long story. 
The I/O MMU is also a great source of errata at the same time.  ;)

> Is there any disadvantage to this patch?

If it works as designed, no, it should be a great advantage.

> Is there any reason why it should not or can't be included
> in the mainstream kernel?

Once it's no longer experimental and is actually trusted, no, it
should go into the kernel.

> It sounds to me very much like a winning idea -- so why don't
> we see it built-in by default?

It's currently experimental.

> I'm thinking there must be a downside that I'm not aware of....

Not really.  Virtual86 is designed for Protected386.  Anything that
works under Protected386 should work in x86-64 Long Mode.


-- 
Bryan J. Smith   Professional, Technical Annoyance
[EMAIL PROTECTED]    http://thebs413.blogspot.com
--------------------------------------------------
     Fission Power:  An Inconvenient Solution
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