the ability to make OS and hardware independent device drivers (which would get firmware back in the business of Input and Output -- a feature of the BIOS that hasn't been used by modern operating systems for a long time).

No. This is incorrect. There are basic drivers in EFI for EFI's own use, so that as a pre-boot environment it can get at the hardware, get on the net, etc. Imagine all the situations today where people use the repair console, or a LiveCD, or BartPE, or some other preboot environment. You also could have it play MP3s off the HD without booting all the way into the OS, etc.

But the OS does not use the EFI drivers (EFI code is bytecode like java, not native x86, so it's slow; also, imagine having to reflash your motherboard everytime there's a new driver for your GPU). On an EFI-equipped motherboard the OS uses ACPI to communicate with the firmware, and that's mostly to store/retrieve NVRAM data (system date/time, etc).

I went into more detail in a post here: http://techreport.com/forums//viewtopic.php?p=698127&sid=83ab797420...

ph34r teh DRM BIOS!!!!1 EFI is just an excuse and a way to implement it.

Great. Nothing like a pretty interface on a low level configuration tool to lure your average user to their own destruction. EFI is a froo-froo answer that only Apple could appreciate (Oooo, look at the pretty colors...does it come with Aqua?) There's a reason a BIOS looks the way it does. It's small, unobtrusive, straight to the point and its look scares the hell out of Joe 6-pack. It does its job. Leave it alone.

Again, why is EFI really better than BIOS?

From what I gather, EFI is really good old, BIOS with a larger EPROM chip. It can store some low-level utilities like HDD formating, memory testing, basic NOS (network operating system) etc.

Intel's Bearlake-based motherboards such as my DG33FB and others have supported EFI since their launch in the middle of last year. That other manufacturers are now catching on is welcome news, but EFI support in consumer motherboards is by no means new.

thanx for the mention, Cyril. EFI might have higher hopes as more stuff becomes wireless. A mobo manufacturer could have whatever wifi, bluetooth, wireless usb, etc. implemented through an EFI interface, allowing easier network booting, installation, etc.

Indeed, EFI support should make it MUCH easier to get OS X to run on this thing without too much hacking :D

Adi

anybody have an idea of how hard it would be to get OS X running on this puppy?