Re: TI-H: This is for you robert


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Re: TI-H: This is for you robert




I haven't been following this thread, so I apologize in advance if I'm
saying something that's already been said.

I think Grant's confusing the function and purpose of the OnNow Power
Management Architecture.  Shutting down your computer from the OS (as
opposed to the power button on your machine) has little to nothing to do
with OnNow...that feature's been around for a long while from various PC
manufacturers.

OnNow is a hardware specificiation that allows the computer to go into a
low power mode when it is not being used.  When the user is ready to
use the computer again, s/he hits a button on the keyboard (,mouse,
etc) and the system instantly returns to the state it was last left in. 
But the extent of this goes much beyond the simple "Suspend" feauture.
You can schedule your computer to return to a normal state and, for
example, have it dial-in and retrieve any new e-mail or internet updates.
In a network enviroment, a sysadmin could "turn off" all the computers by
hitting one button on the server and turn them all back on just as easily.
This is one feature that has me excited.  Going around to 50 some
workstations every night to turn them off and having 50 some machines in
the morning to turn back on is not fun.  In addition, previous power
management schemes would lose their network connection as soon as they
entered power saving mode.  As such, I've had to disable APM on all the
machines in our labs and inform profs and facuilty to do the same (either
that or have to deal with a mob of faculty in the morning unable to access
their e-mail).

Frankly, I'm not much of a Mac user, as MacOS is not the most ideal
operating system for a network enivroment or development.  However, in my
experience, I have not found any of these features avaialbe in the
Macintosh.  Perhaps the hardware is in them and MacOS just doesn't make
use of it?  Please correct me if I'm wrong.

	-Bart
	 Pola@cns.uni.edu
	 Windows NT System Administrator


On Sat, 28 Mar 1998, Grant Stockly wrote:

> 
> -Win 98 has troubles on most laptops because of video drivers...
> -win 98 works on most new computers
> 
> If you mean that on now and off now are something (robert) that the mac
> doesn't have, think again.  I can turn my 1989 mac by selecting shutdown.
> It turns off.  Press the power key on the keyboard and it turns on.
> 
> This is irrevilant since no computer is better than another, period.
> 
> >Might I mention that OnNow and OffNow settings need to be included in
> >the manufactures BIOS settings, and that that feature will not be
> >useable by anyone with said BIOS settings.  Therefore Gate's is gunna
> >need to convince manufactures to include the junk into thier
> >Motherboards, which caould have some problems running stuf other than
> >98, something the general consumer might not like...
> >--
> >Disclaimer: My mind is so fragmented by random excursions into a
> >wilderness of abstractions and incipient ideas that the
> >practical purposes of the moment are often submerged in my consciousness
> >and I don't know what I'm doing.
> 
> 
> 


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