[rescue] Slightly OT: ?Bad Cap Saga

[der Mouse]

> What has kept things going for so long is that TTL ([...]) has been
> used since the 1970's and is basicly unchanged.

Well...sort of.  It's hard to find new TTL.

However, there are comparatively modern logic families, such as HCT,
that can be directly connected to TTL and Just Work.  Some of them even
have variants that use TTL threshold levels on their inputs, though for
most purposes that level of compatability isn't necessary.

> Things also took a giant leap away from compatibility in the last few
> years as you can no longer manufacture or sell lead based solder in
> most of the world.

I keep hearing this said, but I don't think it's actually true; there
are way too many exceptions where tin/lead solder is still permitted.
I certainly know I've bought it new fairly recently - not NOS, either,
but ordinary retail, and well after RoHS became common.

> What's going to happen when TTL is replaced, which it eventually will
> be?

It already has been, as I mentioend above.  But you'd never know it for
the most part.  (What _does_ seem to be dying is the DIP.  Grrr.)

>>> Could they still be written?  If so, by whom?
>> Any good kernel hacker for the relevant OS, of course.
> Unfortunately most of them won't.

Of course not.  But all it takes is one.

That one has even been me on a few occasions (such as the NetBSD driver
for the lpvi).

> Remember the device support in the 0.9 era Linux kernels?

No; I didn't use Linux in those days.  (Even today, my Linux use is
restricted to recent at-work stuff, and even then never anything
kernel-level.)

> [...] than getting someone to put a parallel port back on a PC, find
> someone willing to write the drivers for Vista.

Why do you keep bringing up Vista?  I don't care about drivers for
Vista.  At all.  For any hardware.

> You want your cheap PC motherboard to include the port,

Not necessarily.  As I said upthread, I expect it to add somewhat of a
premium to the price - same as more expansion slots or onboard audio or
various other options.

Except that in the case of a parallel port, the option of paying that
premium and getting it doesn't seem to be available.  (Well,
presumably, short of buying - or becoming - a motherboard maker.)

Which is where we came in.

> I'm also a lot more familar with device driver development than you
> give me credit for, [...]

What makes you think I don't give you credit for familiarity with
device driver development?  The only thing you've said in this thread
that bears on that, as far as I can recall, is the remark that
exhibited an (apparent) ignorance of NetBSD's bounce buffer support,
and, well, if you're familiar with that, why did you act un-?

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