[LinuxBIOS] Suggestions for LinuxBIOS v3

[Vlad]

--- Peter Stuge <stuge-linuxbios at cdy.org> wrote:
> > I've heard about a Google SoC project to get some sort of CMOS
> > setup like interface after it is booted
> 
> Yes. This project will primarily be for the new generation
> LinuxBIOS,
> v3, which is still in it's early stages of development, although it
> is hoped to soon run on real hardware. :)
> 
> This also means that the board is pretty much clean, and we would
> love to hear your ideas.

I think the most important feature that is lacking in LinuxBIOS is a
configurable boot order. This isn't a limitation of LinuxBIOS itself,
but rather of the bootloader that is flashed to the ROM. 

It would be nice if FILO or GRUB2 or a Linux/userspace boot app would
allow the user to specify the order and then remember it for
subsequent reboots. Here's how I imagine it to work:

While loading, LinuxBIOS listens for a keyboard input (ie. Esc key).
If it detects the pressed key at any point, it passes a flag to its
direct payload (the flashed bootloader) indicating that the bootloader
should allow the user to change the order in which devices are probed.
While the bootloader is preparing, it should also listen for they key
until the decision to go with a particular device has been made.

The bootloader should then be able to record this new order in the
CMOS. The recording should preferably be done without any LinuxBIOS
code being executed (LinuxBIOS is out of the picture by now).

Some nice touches to the above scenario would be:

1) Bootsplash in both LinuxBIOS and bootloader, with a message along
the lines of "Press the Esc key to change boot options".

2) An X.org utility for changing boot order, as opposed to an
ncurses-based one. This allows the user to use the mouse to drag and
drop devices in the list. This alone would place LinuxBIOS ahead of
proprietary BIOSes in terms of usability.

Vlad

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