Hi, Monday, October 13, 2003, 1:43:59 PM, you wrote:
> The only thing I can't figure out (not having seen a *istD) is how can one > upload new software to it? Or any DSLR for that matter? Same way as you'd upload software to your washing machine. Devices like this use [erasable] programmable read-only memory chips, called PROMs or EPROMs. The operating system is stored on them by a process called 'PROM-blowing'. When you switch the device's power on the operating system starts to, well, operate. It's called firmware because it's considered half-way between software and hardware. Some firmware operating systems will also have some sort of loader which would let you load additional programs from an external device, such as a USB port, and then run them. As far as I know most suppliers of firmware for consumer devices don't let the consumer do any upgrades, certainly not in the way that's been discussed here. However, some do and I expect it will happen more and more, with suitable constraints to stop people wiping the entire operating system. If you know what PROM the device contains, and you know the details of the hardware interfaces, there's no reason (in theory) why you couldn't write your own little operating system to replace the one the vendor provides, then the entire device is yours to make behave as you see fit. -- Cheers, Bob mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
