🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <89334.033516ALE101@PSUVM.BITNET> ALE101@PSUVM.BITNET (Allen Edmiston) writes:
>In article <3317@jarthur.Claremont.EDU>, wilkins@jarthur.Claremont.EDU (Mark
>Wilkins) says:
>>
>>In article <89333.182656ALE101@PSUVM.BITNET> ALE101@PSUVM.BITNET (Adrian
>>Sullivan) writes:
>>
>>>that ti would be alot better if set startup (usually found under the
>>"special"
>>>menu item) would be in the startup device CDEV. i never understood why
>>>set startup was under the "special" menu item.
>>
>>   But CDEVs take so long to load!  How about putting the Startup Device
>>under the Set Startup... in the special menu?  That would make it easier
>>than it is now to change.
>>
>>  -- Mark Wilkins
>>     wilkins@jarthur.claremont.edu
>
>but the logical place is in the control panel... i know the speed is slower,
>but i'd rather see a logical mac that didn't confuse people than a mac with
>options where they shouldn't be

When I read the first post, I thought, "Yes, why not combine them?"
Now that I've given it some thought, I don't think that's it likely to
happen.

First, some history.  Set Startup has long been an option (always?)
with the Mac System Software.  It dates back to the days before cdevs
existed and when I used to use it to decide between using Finder or
the MiniFinder (yes Mini, not Multi). This was also before hard
drives, except for some 20HD non SCSI device that no one could afford
at the time anyway (in comparison to today's 80meg, ~$600)

Set Startup tells the system what software to run when starting up.
It is software oriented, and its conditions are stored with the system
on whatever media you may be using (floppy, hard drive,
magneto-optical...)  If I should choose to boot from a floppy, I would
want the startup conditions of that floppy to occur, not the ones on
my hard drive that I normally use.

Startup device is a cdev that like some other cdevs (monitor and some
of the other Apple ones) stores its setting in hardware memory of your
machine (I can't remember the formal name, but it has to do with the
NiCd battery that has a life of about 10yr for the new Macs).  These
cdevs contain information that is neccessary before your software
boots. For my Mac II, the monitors information tells the computer to
use color for the startup sequence before the system software is
running. As for Startup Device, it should be obvious why this
information could not be stored in with the System software.

While it would be theoretically possible to make one cdev that managed
all this information, it wouldn't be logical or easy.  One stores
hardware information needed for you machine in hardware.  The other
stores software information that is dependent on what software you run.

Paul Eric Menchen
meuchen@grad1.cis.upenn.edu
(Don't have my .sig with me)