Quote:
Originally Posted by pilotbob
I guess it depends on your definiition of firmware. A system folder on the devices non-volitile RAM drive could be called firmware. I usually think of firmware as code stored in a ROM chip.
For example, in a PC, the BIOS is firmware but the OS is software... the only real difference is where it is stored. Also firmware is usually specific to a specialized piece of hardware.
BOb
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Well then, except for the most insignificant boot driver burned into ROM - and I'm sure there is one somewhere on the SBC inside, quite possibly in the main chip - it would all qualify as software. But pretty much ALL of it is loaded into the static memory on board. And this is pretty much specific to this device. The OS has been stripped down to the bare essentials for the ebook reader, it has been customized to expect and scan the control buttons, I/O ports the device has and has a custom set of drivers for this specific display. And while the reader is an 'app' in every sense of the word, it too is specific to this device and this OS and is burned into the firmware storage medium.
So I feel quite comfortable calling it all 'firmware'.
Derek