Agreed. Interestingly, I'm pretty sure this means that any PC using this BIOS would violate Microsoft's PC9x standards (which call for suspend partitions to be type 84), and would result in the machine failing WHQL certification (or perhaps having it revoked.)
The importance of this is that like all OEMs, IBM's ability to purchase Windows at anything like a competitive price is contingent on 100% compliance with Microsoft standards. This could cost them big time if MS decides to stick it to them and revoke their certification or adjust their discount rate. (Losing the discount puts you out of business, since the OS proce increase can be greater than the total margin on the PC - this is what happened to AST a few years ago.)
I always use type 84 for suspend partitions even when working with Linux - it just works better.
Re:BSD should probably adapt (Score:2)
The importance of this is that like all OEMs, IBM's ability to purchase Windows at anything like a competitive price is contingent on 100% compliance with Microsoft standards. This could cost them big time if MS decides to stick it to them and revoke their certification or adjust their discount rate. (Losing the discount puts you out of business, since the OS proce increase can be greater than the total margin on the PC - this is what happened to AST a few years ago.)
I always use type 84 for suspend partitions even when working with Linux - it just works better.