Firmware

November 9, 2021

soft - fluid firm - meant to be read-only, permanent. interface software and hardware. Before OS hard - physical

UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface) BIOS (Basic Input Output System)

• At the end of the day, UEFI is a spec that needs implementation

• UEFI has secure boot, check OS validity no malware

  • interface firmware and OS

• usually on motherboard flash memory

• firmware has some interesting parallels to smart contracts: immutable (unless reprogrammed or physically switched)

• homebrew projects like Doom on iPods

• does not have OS or loader in RAM

• bootloader first thing upon boot

  • safe alternate bootloader like a starting foot in door

• crippleware (lockout by payment)