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> Text-only BIOS setup was the norm for a long time Long-time Thinkpad users scoff at that ... while the figure of a duck suddenly enters their minds.. (Yes:

> Text-only BIOS setup was the norm for a long time Long-time Thinkpad users scoff at that ... while the figure of a duck suddenly enters their minds.. (Yes: I clearly remember my pre-USB thinkpad having a graphical BIOS with windows, icons, and a duck-shaped mouse cursor).

userbinator 3y ago
For those who haven't seen it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTaNi6uL41s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTaNi6uL41s BIOSes of the time were all written in highly-optimised Asm, and I suspect those little "easter eggs" they added were because the programmers knew they had enough space left over to put some more fun stuff in. There was also AMI WinBIOS that provided a GUI, but I remember it being much less featureful than other BIOSes of the time with a TUI and didn't like mobos that used it, so in that case they may have sacrificed functionality for appearance.
- doublerabbit 3y ago
  A 90's TUI that will forever be more productive than Windows 11.
  - pjmlp 3y ago
    As someone with experience in Turbo Vision and Clipper, I don't miss them, beyond some nostalgia from simpler times.
- ojbyrne 3y ago
  Somebody missed the memo: https://bwiggs.com/notebook/queens-duck/ https://bwiggs.com/notebook/queens-duck/
  - mzmzmzm 3y ago
    Is there also a term for when you present mangagers or clients with an array of options and intentionally degrade the ones that in your opinion would come out worse? Asking as a graphic who would never ask someone to pick the best of three pitches while alreading harboring a strong preference.
- dsm9000 3y ago
  I miss Openboot firmware that was on SunOS servers and workstations. It was IIRC mostly written in FORTH and we could write forth snippets at the serial console to make mods / query the pre boot environment. I also found the SGI boot firmware similarly functional. Both allowed changing boot settings and allowed to boot from network without any trouble at all. Graphical BIOS that came with the x86 systems was such a downgrade for us especially since you could not interact over serial/remotely with a simple terminal connection. IMHO

userbinator 3y ago

For those who haven't seen it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTaNi6uL41s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTaNi6uL41s BIOSes of the time were all written in highly-optimised Asm, and I suspect those little "easter eggs" they added were because the programmers knew they had enough space left over to put some more fun stuff in. There was also AMI WinBIOS that provided a GUI, but I remember it being much less featureful than other BIOSes of the time with a TUI and didn't like mobos that used it, so in that case they may have sacrificed functionality for appearance.

doublerabbit 3y ago
A 90's TUI that will forever be more productive than Windows 11.
- pjmlp 3y ago
  As someone with experience in Turbo Vision and Clipper, I don't miss them, beyond some nostalgia from simpler times.
ojbyrne 3y ago
Somebody missed the memo: https://bwiggs.com/notebook/queens-duck/ https://bwiggs.com/notebook/queens-duck/
- mzmzmzm 3y ago
  Is there also a term for when you present mangagers or clients with an array of options and intentionally degrade the ones that in your opinion would come out worse? Asking as a graphic who would never ask someone to pick the best of three pitches while alreading harboring a strong preference.
dsm9000 3y ago
I miss Openboot firmware that was on SunOS servers and workstations. It was IIRC mostly written in FORTH and we could write forth snippets at the serial console to make mods / query the pre boot environment. I also found the SGI boot firmware similarly functional. Both allowed changing boot settings and allowed to boot from network without any trouble at all. Graphical BIOS that came with the x86 systems was such a downgrade for us especially since you could not interact over serial/remotely with a simple terminal connection. IMHO