*Other People's Hardware
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Q.
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What
took you so long? Where have you been for the last [integer] years?
I've been looking everywhere for this!
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|
A.
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Us too. We
naively went shopping for "a serial board that emulates a video
board, you know?" and got nothing but blank stares for a couple
of months. That's when we decided to build it.
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Q.
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Do
you have a PCI version?
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Old
Answer:
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We're
working like crazy on it. MDA won't work on PCI, so we've had to
make the Weasel VGA, which is now being ported to PCI. For those
with no ISA slots at all, please sit tight as we expect to be shipping
PCI before the end of 2000. If you're one of those who has (an)
ISA slot(s) but can't use it/them due to physical packaging limitations
(eg 1U/2U rack chassis), we have an ISA riser kit
that may help. |
New
Answer:
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The
PCI version should be ready sometime during the summer of 2001.
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Newer
Answer: |
Yes!
We demonstrated the PCI board at USENIX Boston in June, and are
accepting orders now for september delivery.
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Newest
Answer:
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After
several unfortunate delays, it now appears that we will begin shipping
the PCI Boards starting December 17th, 2001.
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Ultimate
Answer: |
Wow
- that was hard. We've been delivering since mid-December
2001 and all's well.
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Q.
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Do you have any international dealers or distributors?
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|
A.
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Resellers
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Q.
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Can
the PC Weasel be used in conjunction with a regular video monitor
and keyboard?
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A.
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Possibly.
There's no video output from the PC Weasel. To add a monitor you'd
have to plug in a normal video board. MDA and VGA occupy different
parts of the memory map and can coexist, but the BIOS may "prefer"
the VGA, rendering the Weasel useless unless the BIOS allows for
a choice of video card.
As for the keyboard, you're certainly free to unplug the Weasel's
keyboard output cable from the PC motherboard connector and plug
in a normal keyboard.
If
you have a burning need for this, please contact us. We may be
able to come up with a custom build to accomodate you.
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Q.
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Have
you tested it with [insert brand of PC or async server here]?
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A.
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If
we haven't, someone probably has. We've received few reports of
incompatibility with PCs, which we have documented here . See our
page on known "issues" with (async) terminal servers. . |
Q.
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Is
"slashdot" a verb?
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| A. |
Yes. |
Q.
|
"PC
Weasel"? What the hell kind of stupid name is that?
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| A.
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Don't thank me. Thank Paul McGovern and Hank Kingsley. |
| Q. |
"2000"?
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A.
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That's
meant to be funny in a wry, ironic way that plays off of others'
serious use of the rather ridiculous "2000" in their product names.
Not everyone appreciates the joke. |
Q.
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Why don't I just buy a motherboard with a serial BIOS? I don't need
a Weasel then.
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| A.
|
That only
gets you part way there. How do you hit the reset button with
a serial bios? When your kernel is hung and your serial console
isn't responding for whatever reason, you have no way to reset
the computer. Also, you lose the option of using a watchdog to
monitor the operating system like only a true supervisory CPU
can do. Most serial BIOSes also don't print out the POST codes
so if the BIOS is unable to output for some reason, you don't
know what failed.
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Q.
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I can do remote reset with a remote power switching device.
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| A.
|
Once you've
factored in the per-host cost of that power switching device (don't
forget about your redundant power supplies), you then have to
pray that your CMOS battery backup doesn't die on you or your
BIOS settings don't become corrupt leaving your ATX motherboard
unable to turn itself back on after the power-cycle, resulting
in your needing to send someone out. There are many improper ways
to solve problems. There are very few proper ways to solve problems.
The PC Weasel is the proper way to solve these problems.
|
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The
PC Weasel is US and Canada patents pending
Copyright
2000, Middle Digital Incorporated
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