> > I know that some members of this list are also familiar with DOS and
> > various versions of Windows operating systems. I am presently doing a
> > computer course which does not take much account of Mac-speak. Mostly I
> > can translate the terms, but I am stuck on BIOS. What do Mac folk call
> > the Basic Input/Output System?
> >
> > My apologies if this betrays how much I need to do that course :-)
>
> Other people have responded well, especially with regard to old macs.
> However, starting with the G3 machines (I think) more of the startup
> functions were left to the operating system. To allow for this, a new
> layer was added, called "open firmware." This seems to me to be the
> closest analog to a x86 BIOS. The machines with this layer are called
> "new world" as opposed to "old world" machines. I'm almost certain
> that all G? *books are new world, and older ppc ones are old world.
> Nubus macs, I believe, are not called old world, but are similar.
Actually, Open FIrmware predates the G3 machines -- virtually all PCI
Power Macs and all PowerBooks (except the 1400, 2300 and 5300) have it
in some form. It is actually a FORTH interpreter created to help control
and bootstrap system devices based on the Sun boot monitor. If you
configure your system in a certain manner, you can even get to an OF
prompt and send the FORTH interpreter commands, but this is an excellent
way to louse up your computer if you don't know what you're doing.
See
http://www.netbsd.org/Ports/macppc/faq.html#ofw
The difference between Old World and New World is indeed in the ROMs --
Old World Macs carry a lot of ROM code for many tasks, including screen
updates, device control, etc. The downside is that this is difficult to
upgrade, of course, especially for bigger and better OS ideas. New World
moves the "ROM" out of the real ROM, leaving a much smaller bootstrapper
in its place, and puts it on the hard disk where it can be changed. If
you look in a 9.1 System Folder, you will see a ROM file there (obviously
it's not ROM but it stands in for similar functions Old World Macs did
have in ROM).
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