Legacy text-mode console drivers (VGA, MDA, HP STI, SGI Newport)
Classic text-mode console output for PC and workstation displays: standard VGA text mode (still emulated by every PC BIOS and by hypervisors like QEMU), the older monochrome MDA adapter, HP's STI firmware consoles on PA-RISC workstations, and the Newport graphics console on 1990s SGI Indy-class machines.
recommendation
Worth keeping but documenting its niche. The VGA text-mode and dummy console code is still exercised every day by virtual machines (QEMU still ships Standard VGA devices) and by early-boot paths on x86, and the directory saw real bug-fix activity through 2025-2026. However, the MDA, HP STI, and SGI Newport sub-drivers serve hardware that has been out of production for decades, so it would be useful to mark those clearly as legacy-only while the modern fbcon plus DRM fbdev emulation path becomes the default elsewhere.
repository signals
sources
- qemu.org
QEMU still documents and ships Standard VGA devices, including ISA and PCI variants, which keeps VGA-text-compatible guest deployments relevant in 2025/2026.
- spinics.net
dummycon saw real upstream bug-fix traffic in 2025 for deferred takeover console switching, indicating the directory is still maintained rather than abandoned.
- spinics.net
newport_con still received upstream patch traffic in late 2025/early 2026, showing ongoing maintenance even for niche legacy subdrivers.
- en.wikipedia.org
SGI Indy/Newport hardware is long discontinued, supporting the view that part of this directory serves legacy workstation niches rather than new physical hardware sales.
codex reasoning notes (technical)
Local shell inspection showed five real console-driver sources here: vgacon, dummycon, mdacon, sticon, and newport_con. Local git history showed substantive touches through 2026-02 and no obvious remove/deprecate series in git-log grep. URLs were obtained via web search/open: QEMU Standard VGA docs for current deployment evidence, spinics patch pages for 2025-2026 maintenance activity, and Wikipedia for SGI Indy/Newport hardware age. Recommendation is keep-annotate because the directory is still actively maintained and still relevant for x86/VM VGA-text and boot-console paths, but several contained hardware-specific drivers are clearly legacy-only.