Re: Request for review of partman-newworld
On Wednesday 07 April 2004 03:32, Colin Watson wrote:
> I've checked in partman-newworld, which wraps up the method for
> creating the special Apple_Bootstrap partition you need to boot
> newworld PowerMac systems. I've tested it somewhat, although not
> exactly with a straight-through install or all error cases because
> I'm not in a position to trash my current disk. As such, I haven't
> uploaded it to unstable yet.
>
> This was my first exposure to partman's internals, so I'd
> appreciate it if a partman expert (Anton?) could look it over for
> any glaring errors.
Aside from the technicals, I strongly believe that a note/help text
should be given to the users as to *what* exactly is a NewWorld boot
partition, and a NewWorld powermac in general. I know quite a few mac
users that would just stare at the screen at this point...
Something along the lines:
"With regard to their low-level handling of the boot process,
PowerMacs have been split into two categories, OldWorld and NewWorld.
OldWorld are Macs or Mac-clones that used programs such as quik to
boot Linux from their OpenFirmware (OF), with limited capabilities in
that. The last OldWorld Mac series was the Beige G3.
NewWorld Macs however, starting from the Blue & White G3, have had
some significant changes to their OF, offering more flexibility but
requiring new tools for booting. The new tools are namely yaboot and
miboot."
Just a suggestion, I probably forgot something but I declare this text
as GPL so feel free to add/modify...
Konstantinos
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