Re: weasel Pc

[Brent Harding <bharding@doorpi.net>]

Well, don't think the modern bios usually provides the functionality of the
realweasel because it's mostly something one would use on servers, not on
client machines. I think there's some servers that support some remote bios
changing features, rebooting, and other stuff.
At 01:48 PM 3/16/02 +0100, you wrote:
>Cheryl Homiak <chomiak@chartermi.net> writes:
>
>> wondered if anybody had any experience with or knowledge of this product.
>
>Yeah, I use it at work. See below.
>
>> I thought I read a while back that a blind person had put this in his
>> computer and was able to use it for reading what comes up in the
>> bios before boot and, if I understood correctly, he could then also
>> make changes with sighted help.
>
>NO! Without sighted help! Thats the key. Only thing you need is a second
>PC, or a VT100 terminal capable notetaker or such. At work I simply
>use my main workstation. I have ttyS1 connected to the realweasel and
>use Minicom as terminal emulator. It works perfectly, as long
>as the BIOS isnt of the very new kind with graphics display. But
>bios wasnt the main motivation for me. Linux installation is very simple
>with this card. In  fact, as I said, I use it at work for installing
>Linux PCs. Get a new PC, open it, put the realweasel in, boot up,
>install debian, make sure IP adress and SSH works, power down, remove the
>weasel, close PC again, and fire it up... Then I do everything over the net.
>
>> but I'm not sure about this. there's apparently both an ISA and a
>> PCI version.
>
>?? Really. You seen a PCI version there! I have to buy it, now!
>
>> Not saying I'd rush out and buy one or that i necessarily want to
>> give up one of my slots to this (except temporarily when need
>> arises), but it is frustrating not to be able to check bios settings
>> without sighted help. Any input on this, especially if anybody has
>> had firsthand experience, would be appreciated.  TIA.
>I can only say, it eased my work very much. And the product is real fun,
>can go up to 240000bps if I remember right. Has a little internal menu for
remote
>control. Say, you could reboot the PC via a escape sequence if you had
>one little cable connected. That basicly would allow you to connect the
realweeasel
>to a modem and therefore a phone and remote control a server somewhere. Its
>really a nice thing. When I play with it, I started to ask myself: "And why
>dont do modern BIOSes just do that for you?"
>
>
>-- 
>CYa,
>  Mario
>
>
>
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