[coreboot] some words on Multiboot...

[Robert Millan]

On Wed, Sep 24, 2008 at 08:57:30AM -0600, Jordan Crouse wrote:
> 
> r870 with some minor whitespace cleanups.

I'm glad to see Multiboot supported by coreboot.  I know some of you are
skeptical, but I really think this is going to be a win-win for both GRUB
and coreboot.

Surely, GRUB will get pushed off in some situations when its role would only
be that of "middle man".  I understood that from the beginning, and I don't
see it as a problem.  I wish people use GRUB for its own value, not simply
as a redundant interface between two things that don't grok each other.

coreboot wins with this, because it expands its ecosystem.  You don't lose
anything, and you win a wider range of payloads/kernels/OSes that will become
usable on coreboot "for free".

In GRUB, developers of payloads for coreboot might find a good testing ground.
Since it is now possible to produce a payload image that will be loadable by
either coreboot or GRUB with no modification, implementors seeking to support
coreboot in their payloads can load them from a coreboot/GRUB stack without
need to reflash every time (with the burden of using flash programmers, hotswap
or risk to produce a brick).

The benefits for GRUB are similar.  If Multiboot is used more, GRUB becomes
more useful.  But of course, that only depends on how much people will want
to use Multiboot.  My work simply allows it to be used, but doesn't set it as
a "mandatory" option.  I'm confident over time you'll see a benefit in using
it by its merit.

-- 
Robert Millan

  The DRM opt-in fallacy: "Your data belongs to us. We will decide when (and
  how) you may access your data; but nobody's threatening your freedom: we
  still allow you to remove your data and not access it at all."