User:SvH/ DesktopBIOS

This is my idea-page for LinuxBIOS on Desktop-computers

I think that the usecases can be very different between a BIOS for a cluster with 1000 nodes and for a single desktop computer. Because of this, i will try to make these differences clear, and think about possibilities for LinuxBios to improve. You are free to edit this page if you have an account for this wiki.

As Linuxbios is today, it is mostly made for the "Configure once use a thousand times on the same hardware". This approach is good for vendors, which deliver servernodes or thinclients to a single customer. No hardwarechanges needs consideration, because the delivered system won't change in the livetime. Because all hardware is well known, LinuxBios can be made very lean and tight fitting. This is one thing, why LinuxBios has the advantage of a very short time to boot an operatingsystem (about 3 seconds are possible for a nongraphical boot).

LinuxBios on a desktop

In my opinion LinuxBios must go another way, to get popular on the normal desktop computer (and fix some flaws of propritary Bios'es on the way).

The user expects the Bios to be present and configurable all the time.

• No operatingsystem or bootdisk should be needed to change settings in the Bios. This can be an option.
• A graphical screen should indicate, that LinuxBios is installed on this computer. (splashscreen)
• Bootoptions should be displayed, from which can be chosen at the start with the cursor keys. (A waittime is needed for this approach)
  • One of the options must be Bios setup
• If no Monitor is detected, all output (including a text version of the bootoptions) must be sent to the first serial port.