[Devel-machines] Testing of firmware and base system on B2 and B1.

[Mitch Bradley]

Carl-Daniel Hailfinger wrote:
> On 27.09.2007 01:44, Jim Gettys wrote:
>   
>> As we run up to mass production of systems, the team at OLPC must
>> focus its efforts on testing and bug fixing on the mass-production
>> hardware.
>>
>> To date, we've been careful to ensure that our firmware and software
>> works on all five variants of our beta hardware. Testing all these
>> variants is taking time from key developers; therefore we will stop
>> testing firmware and builds on the B1 and B2 systems.
>>
>> (3) Do *not* upgrade your firmware on B1 or B2 systems to any version
>> after Q2C27. It will never have been tested on your hardware and could
>> break it completely.
>>
>> (4) B3, B4, and C test systems are identical from a programmer's point
>> of view.
>>     
>
> Are they also identical from a BIOS developer's point of view?
>   

B3 and later machines are essentially identical as far as the firmware 
is concerned.  OFW senses the board revision and reports it in the 
device tree, but does behave differently as a result of board revision 
difference.

There are differences in OFW behavior between A, B1, B2, and B3, but it 
settles down at B3.

B3 is the first system that contains the LX CPU.  So another way of 
saying it is that all machines with the LX CPU have the same programming 
interface.

> Since I have A,B1,B2 machines and use them for development (including
> BIOS development), I'd like to continue working on the BIOS and even
> release new BIOS versions for these old machines. Be warned, though,
> that the A-Test boards are not at the center of my focus.
>
>   
>> (5) If you are doing active development and need a B4 system, please
>> use the developer's program to ask for a replacement. While we cannot
>> guarantee that we can replace all developer's machines, we do have
>> some available for those who really need them.
>>     
>
> I'll apply for a B4 system soon.
>
> Regards,
> Carl-Daniel
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