On Wed, Feb 15, 2006 at 07:44:01AM +1100, Daniel Carosone wrote:
> On Tue, Feb 14, 2006 at 11:33:25AM -0600, Eric Haszlakiewicz wrote:
> > eww... image in a .h file?  How do you convert a normal image file into
> > that format?  Isn't there a better way to insert the image file data in=
to
> > the kernel?
>=20
> If you want a splash screen, early, and changeable on a whim, use grub
> to load it even before the kernel.  If the kernel, on booting, could
> take over the screen without clearing the image, and paint its startup
> messages etc over the image left there by the bootloader, it seems
> like the best of both worlds.
>=20
> Assuming splash screens really get you excited.  I'm afraid they don't
> get me excited, and I'd prefer to see the probe messages. Over an
> image if need be, but I want to see them.

	Do you think most NetBSD users want to see them?  Do you think most
NetBSD users have a need to see them?
	IMO, the answer to both of those questions is no.  Displaying a splash
screen instead of probe messages certainly makes the boot process look a
lot more polished, which is nice from an end-user perspective.
	Of course, having the option (e.g. with "boot -v" ?) to see the probe
messages is necessary, and there are times when you want to show the actual
text instead of the progress bar/moving dots/waving flag/whatever:=20
e.g. when a panic() happens.
It'd be nice to show all the probe messages at that point, but at the very
least panic() needs to arrange to turn off the progress bar (using
vesafb_enable_text?) so the panic message is visible.

eric