Dieter wrote:
<SNIP>
The VGA-to-Ethernet-X11 card could include an X11 client similar to
xterm(1). This might end up being a lot of code to put into firmware
but it should be possible. Anyone disagree? The card's VGA BIOS
routines would have to translate VGA BIOS calls into X11.
Although I did not consider this, it does look like a good idea.
However, the PC spec limits the video BIOS to 64 KiB of system RAM
address space. So, you couldn't have a lot of code.
So, this might mean another MCU would be required to run the actual X
client code.
We need for the VGA-to-Ethernet-X11 card to provide the computer's
firmware with whatever it actually needs for a console. I think that
is a "VGA text interface", but maybe there is some braindead bios out
there that requires a framebuffer to draw graphics in?
I would hope that a BIOS would access the frame buffer using only the
VGA BIOS routines. It is possible to draw graphics with VGA BIOS calls,
but I don't think that most BIOSes use those. There are also CGA BIOS
calls for graphics that draw little blocks which are larger than pixels.
Ugh. To be safe, I guess we need to provide those.
ARMs have become more powerful over the years so although the 7 isn't
nearly as powerful as a Pentium, it could probably run X.
Some early X terminals used a 68k. They run fast enough (except for
playing an mpeg), the problem is having enough memory.
No, firmware needs to be on the other type of flash memory (NOR) that
can address individual bytes like SRAM.
So there isn't a byte addressable NOR flash device that is user
pluggable/unpluggable ?
AFAIK, they all come in the same packages as SRAM (Static RAM) chips.
--
James Tyrer
Linux (mostly) From Scratch
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