[coreboot] v3 parallel port console?

Carl-Daniel Hailfinger c-d.hailfinger.devel.2006 at gmx.net
Tue Sep 16 17:13:14 CEST 2008


On 16.09.2008 08:53, Corey Osgood wrote:
> On Mon, Sep 15, 2008 at 8:14 PM, Joseph Smith <joe at settoplinux.org> wrote:
>   
>>
>> On Tue, 16 Sep 2008 01:28:40 +0200, Carl-Daniel Hailfinger
>> <c-d.hailfinger.devel.2006 at gmx.net> wrote:
>>     
>>> since the market share of machines with a serial port is shrinking
>>> rapidly and USB debug cables are not affordable at all for hobbyists, we
>>> may need to support console on parallel port.
>>> I do realize that not all machines lacking a serial port will have a
>>> parallel port, but as long as it improves our console coverage, I'm
>>> inclined to suggest parallel console support as a viable option.
>>>
>>> Parallel port console support has the advantage of being faster than
>>> serial port console, at the same time keeping the cost for a cable in
>>> the single digit dollar range.
>>>
>>> What do you think?
>>>
>>> Do we have any other devices on board which don't require interrupts to
>>> run? Floppy connector? POST cards? PC speaker (with 1-wire protocol)? Is
>>> it possible to use any of them with cheap home-built adaptors?
>>>       
>> I like this idea. I would also be nice to be able to use a parallel port
>> post (say that five times fast) card for embedded boards without a PCI
>> slot. The one I have does both, PCI and/or Parallel.
>>     
>
> The question I have is, are there really systems out there that have
> parallel and not serial? 

I believe so, but they are on the way out as well.

> I've seen/owned a few systems with serial and
> no parallel port (all OEM systems, HP and Gateway and the like), but
> none vice versa. If they exist, and there's a need for it, I'm all for
> it! As far as other options, I don't see any that aren't on their way
> out on your list, aside from PC speakers, which are being integrated
> onto the mainboard more and more often.
>   

I just checked 101 AM2+ boards and 99 of them have a floppy connector,
but only 90 have a serial port. Those 2 without floppy connector have a
serial port.

Joe, I remember you were interested in crazy hardware hacks. Would
designing a floppy->parallel port interface (or floppy->serial) fit your
bill?

Regards,
Carl-Daniel

-- 
http://www.hailfinger.org/





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