LILO

[Iain Rae]

Janina Sajka wrote:

>Tom Diehl writes:
>  
>
>>From: Tom Diehl <tdiehl at rogueind.com>
>>
>>On Sun, 19 Oct 2003, Janina Sajka wrote:
>>
>>    
>>
>>>And a sad thing it is, too, for those of us requiring eyes-free booting
>>>options.
>>>
>>>Grub may be a step forward in many ways, but it's a step backwards for
>>>the eyes-free user at this time.
>>>      
>>>
>>Why?? What will lilo do that grub will not?? Maybe there is a solution that
>>you are not aware of. OTOH maybe there is not but it does not hurt to ask.
>>    
>>
>
>I'd love to be wrong. So here goes. I sincerely hope at least some items
>on this list are just my own ignorznce of Grub.
>
>Not necessarily prioritized:
>
>1.)	The ability to play a sound to indicate the boot loader is ready
>for user actions. In System Commander these are cutsy little tunes. In
>lilo we simply drop two or three Ctrl-G's into /boot/message.
>
>	It's important to know when the window of opportunity is open.
>
>2.)	Interface to a serial device. This should run the gamut
>	from simply sending a ASCII string out the first serial port, to
>	function as a fully capable interactive interface over serial.
>
>	I know that at least some in the industry want serial ports to
>	go away forever. But, usb is not a substitute at low levels
>	during the boot process.
>
>		Let's remember that computers (before Intel) routinely
>		made bios level access available on the first serial
>		port if a monitor was not present. We need to go back to
>		that.
>

it's perfectly possible to configure grub to display to VGA or serial 
(or both, accepting input from the first to register a keystroke).

As for the rest why not signup to the grub developers mailing list and 
make your points there?