Rich Freeman on 7 Jul 2011 06:15:42 -0700


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Re: [PLUG] [plug-announce] Wednesday, Jul 6, 2011: From POST to xhost - The Linux Boot Process, presented by Rich Freeman (7pm at USP)


Thanks to all who attended.  Here is a link to my slides:

https://docs.google.com/present/view?id=dkkx9dh_6d26244dd

I found a copy of the IBM PC/XT Technical Reference Manual at:
http://www.retroarchive.org/dos/docs/

As mentioned during the talk this is a goldmine of information about
how PCs work.  Of course, this is highly dated, but much of how a
modern PC works is tied up in legacy support for the original PC, and
the original PC was much simpler and thus easier to understand.  I
learned quite a bit about assembly language and interrupt handlers/etc
just studying the BIOS listing.

The manual also includes the x86 instruction set (opcodes and all),
and probably a bazillion things I've long since forgotten.

A talk on upstart or systemd would probably be a great topic for the future.

It was a pleasure meeting all of you!

Rich


On Tue, Jul 5, 2011 at 9:13 PM, Paul L. Snyder <plsnyder@drexel.edu> wrote:
> _____. .__________________________________________________________________.
> | ._. | | .______________________________________________________________. |
> | |_| |_|_|___.                                                   _____  | |
> |___| |_____. |   The Philadelphia Area Linux Users Group        | ._. | | |
> ___|_|_| |_| |   (PLUG) cordially invites you to our next   .___| |_|_|_| |
> | ._____| |___|       meeting, Wednesday, July 6, 2011       | ._| |_______|
> | | | |_| |         at The University of the Sciences in     | |_|_|_| |___.
> | | |_____|              Philadelphia, Pennsylvania          |_______| |_. |
> | |______________________________________________________________| | | |_| |
> |__________________________________________________________________| |_____|
>
>  This month, PLUG Central welcomes Rich Freeman, who will be giving a
>  talk on the Linux boot process.
>
>  Most people take for granted that when they flip the switch they will
>  be greeted by the operating system of their choosing, but few take the
>  time to understand how this happens.  This talk will give a high-level
>  overview of the PC boot process, particularly for Linux-based systems.
>  Particular attention will be given to the historical evolution of the
>  boot process, and how its modular design lends itself to great
>  flexibility.  Both newbies and seasoned veterans should find something
>  to interest them.
>
>  The meeting will take place on Wednesday, July 6, from 7-9pm at
>
>          University of the Sciences in Philadelphia (USP)
>          Griffith Hall C
>          600 South 43rd Street
>          Philadelphia, PA 19104-4495
>
>  USP is located in University City.  Driving directions are
>  available at <http://www.phillylinux.org/locations/usp.html>, or
>  <http://www.usip.edu/directions/>, both of which have an aerial
>  view of the campus buildings.  USP is also easily accessible by
>  public transportation.
>
>  There will be an open Question & Answer session at 7PM, prior to
>  the main presentation at 8PM.  This is an open meeting; all are
>  welcome and encouraged to attend.
>
>  Usually, a number of members get together after the meeting at a
>  nearby restaurant for food and perhaps a beer or two.  Come join
>  the camaraderie!
> _______________________________________________
> plug-announce mailing list
> plug-announce@lists.phillylinux.org
> http://lists.netisland.net/mailman/listinfo/plug-announce
> ___________________________________________________________________________
> Philadelphia Linux Users Group         --        http://www.phillylinux.org
> Announcements - http://lists.phillylinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug-announce
> General Discussion  --   http://lists.phillylinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug
>
>
___________________________________________________________________________
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