From: noemail@basdxcqvbe.com   
      
   On Sun, 12 Dec 2021 01:35:09 -0800 (PST)   
   "muta...@gmail.com"  wrote:   
      
   > Scott pointed out that the IBM PC is the exception for   
   > using a BIOS.   
   >   
   > But the existence of the BIOS allows me to boot from a   
   > USB stick as a hard disk. That is fantastic.   
   >   
   > There is a hardware device that converts RS232 into   
   > Wifi.   
   >   
   > But surely the proper solution is to put not just this but   
   > also the printer into the BIOS and abstract the hardware?   
   >   
      
   1980s - not enough processing power   
   2010s - why not ...   
      
      
   In the 1980s, you needed an additional micro-processor just to add a   
   printer buffer, or even to control disk drives, e.g., CBM 1541.  There   
   simply wasn't enough processing capacity.  The Amiga used a few   
   coprocessors to perform what a processor can do by itself nowadays.   
   WinModems (early 2000's) were an example of when x86 PCs became fast   
   enough for the x86 processor to take on additional tasks.   
      
   In the late 1990s, they used a Forth-based interpreter called   
   OpenFirmware as a BIOS replacement for many non-AT class computers.   
   So, if they can add a Forth-based interpreter, why not a PostScript   
   interpreter for a printer? ...  So, sure, why not.   
      
      
   --   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)