[coreboot] v3 parallel port console?

[Carl-Daniel Hailfinger]

On 17.09.2008 00:34, Joseph Smith wrote:
>> Guys, have you noticed how similar this idea is to the often-derided USB
>> flash key plugged into a USB<->PS/2 converter? That's a great thing! It
>> means we'll attract all sorts of crazy hardware hackers.
>>
>>     
> I've never heard of anyone doing that? I'd be curious if you have any
> links?
>   

Short version: Some keyboards are dual USB+PS/2 keyboards and have an
USB connector by default. They often come with a pure passive adapter
which will convert the USB pinout to a PS/2 pinout.
http://us.st12.yimg.com/us.st.yimg.com/I/directron_2019_60686738 is an
example image of such a female USB -> male PS/2 adapter.
Of course, this will only work with devices supporting the PS/2 protocol
natively.

Some time ago, a few pranksters (myself included) suggested to use such
an adapter to plug USB flash drives into legacy PCs without USB ports.
Of course that wouldn't work due to the passive nature of the adapter
(electrical and protocol mismatch).

The PS/2 port is generally seen as a pure input "device" and using it
for complex output (i.e. not just switching keyboard lights) will
certainly baffle lots of people and confuse those "of course that won't
work" experts.

Regards,
Carl-Daniel

-- 
http://www.hailfinger.org/