Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!prls!pyramid!amiga!jimm
From: jimm@amiga.UUCP (Jim Mackraz)
Newsgroups: net.micro.amiga
Subject: Re: KickStart disks vs. ROM kernel
Message-ID: <1261@amiga.amiga.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 5-Jun-86 13:47:48 EDT
Article-I.D.: amiga.1261
Posted: Thu Jun  5 13:47:48 1986
Date-Received: Sat, 7-Jun-86 00:20:47 EDT
References: <18@uw-atm.UUCP>
Reply-To: jimm@homer.UUCP (Jim Mackraz)
Organization: Commodore-Amiga Inc., 983 University Ave #D, Los Gatos CA 95030
Lines: 20
Keywords: KickStart ROM

In article <18@uw-atm.UUCP> james@uw-atm.UUCP (James M Synge) writes:
>
>  There has been some debate about whether the kernel should remain on the
>current KickStart disk, or be placed in ROM (as the name ROM Kernel implies).
>
>  I would like to suggest a different solution: EEPROMs (Electrically
>Erasable, Programmable Read Only Memory).  These would have the advantage of
>high speed start (no more waiting for those blasted KickStart disks to be
>read), along with the flexibility to make updates.
>
>  If C-A had a new release, they would ship a disk which contained a program
>which changed the EEPROMs. To protect against accident change (or worms in
>posted code), there could be an electrically resetable switch on the back of
>the machine which enabled erasing and writing of the EEPROM.  After you
>started the updating program, you would be prompted to press the button, and
>when the program was done, it would reset the switch.
>

I think the idea of going to ROMS would be to *decrease* costs.
Maybe software should be put on little rom cartridges .. :-)