linux kernel - installation accessibility improvement

[Tony Baechler]

I could be totally wrong here, but doesn't the kernel have an option to use
a serial console?  I vaguely remember a parameter to send messages out a
serial port, but I could be imagining things.  I know for a fact that
FreeBSD supports this as I've seen it in the install docs.  Server
motherboards also support this or something similar.

I think you're overlooking a few things.  First, many machines don't have
serial ports, so a serial console wouldn't do any good.  Second, if you do
have a serial port, it's just that, a single serial port.  Therefore, it
would be impossible to plug in a speech snythesizer, Braille display and
serial console on one machine.  Finally, USB wouldn't be supported that
early in the boot process, so output wouldn't go to a USB Braille display.

On 2014-07-25 05:12 PM, Jude DaShiell wrote:
> If a boot: prompt times out and the device on which it timed out on was 
> presumed by the kernel to be the console; it would be helpful for braille 
> display users and those with another computer if the boot message and 
> boot: prompt could be sent out over a serial port by default and have an 
> attempt be made to take a response from that serial port as well.
> This if it could be done would be  analogous to how Apple designed Tiger 
> 10.4 and subsequent operating systems when those install.
> 
> 
> jude <jdashiel at shellworld.net>
> 
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-- 
Have a good day,
Tony Baechler
tony at baechler.net