Editing Firmware (section)

== Applications ==

=== Computers ===
[[File:AMI 486DX EISA BIOS 20051109.jpg|thumb|right|ROM [[BIOS]] firmware on a [[Baby AT]] [[motherboard]]]]

In some respects, the various firmware components are as important as the [[operating system]] in a working computer. However, unlike most modern operating systems, firmware rarely has a well-evolved automatic mechanism of updating itself to fix any functionality issues detected after shipping the unit.

A computer's firmware may be manually updated by a user via a small utility program. In contrast, firmware in mass storage devices (hard-disk drives, optical disc drives, flash memory storage e.g. solid state drive) is less frequently updated, even when flash memory (rather than ROM, EEPROM) storage is used for the firmware.

Most computer peripherals are themselves special-purpose computers. Devices such as printers, scanners, webcams, and [[USB flash drive]]s have internally-stored firmware; some devices may also permit field upgrading of their firmware. For modern simpler devices, such as [[USB keyboard]]s, [[USB mouse]]s and [[USB sound card]]s, the trend is to store the firmware in on-chip memory in the device's [[microcontroller]], as opposed to storing it in a separate [[EEPROM]] chip.

Examples of computer firmware include:
* The [[BIOS]] firmware used on PCs
* The [[Unified Extensible Firmware Interface|(U)EFI]]-compliant firmware used on [[Itanium]] systems, Intel-based [[Mac (computer)|Mac]]s, and many newer PCs
* [[Hard disk drive]], [[solid-state drive]], [[optical disc drive]] and optical disc recorder firmware<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Mielewczik |first=Michael |date=2000 |title=Firmware-Update. Mehr Speed und Sicherheit |journal=PC Praxis |language=German |volume=1/2000 |pages=68}}</ref>
* [[Video BIOS]] of a [[graphics card]]
* [[Open Firmware]], used in [[SPARC]]-based computers from [[Sun Microsystems]] and [[Oracle Corporation]], [[PowerPC]]-based computers from Apple, and computers from [[Genesi]]
* [[ARCS (computing)|ARCS]], used in computers from [[Silicon Graphics]]
* [[Kickstart (Amiga)|Kickstart]], used in the [[Amiga]] line of computers ([[Power-on self-test|POST]], hardware init + [[Plug and Play]] [[Autoconfig|auto-configuration]] of peripherals, [[kernel (operating system)|kernel]], etc.)
* [[Run-Time Abstraction Services|RTAS]] (Run-Time Abstraction Services), used in [[IBM System i|System i]] and [[System p]] computers from [[IBM]]
* The [[Common Firmware Environment]] (CFE) for [[Broadcom]] [[systems-on-chip]] (SoCs)
[[File:Firmware update Fuji Instax Liplay.jpg|thumb|Updating the firmware of a [[Instax|Fuji Instax]] camera]]

=== Home and personal-use products ===
Consumer appliances like [[gaming console]]s, [[digital camera]]s and [[portable music player]]s support firmware upgrades. Some companies use firmware updates to add new playable file formats ([[codecs]]). Other features that may change with firmware updates include the GUI or even the battery life. [[Smartphone]]s have a [[firmware over the air]] upgrade capability for adding new features and patching security issues.

=== Automobiles ===
Since 1996, most [[automobile]]s have employed an on-board computer and various sensors to detect mechanical problems. {{As of|2010}}, modern vehicles also employ computer-controlled [[anti-lock braking system]]s (ABS) and computer-operated [[transmission control unit]]s (TCUs). The driver can also get in-dash information while driving in this manner, such as real-time fuel economy and tire pressure readings. Local dealers can update most vehicle firmware.

=== Other examples ===
Other firmware applications include:
* In home and personal-use products:
** Timing and control systems for [[washing machine]]s
** Controlling sound and video attributes, as well as the channel list, in modern [[television]]s
* In [[Network router|routers]], [[Network switch|switches]], and [[Firewall (computing)|firewalls]]:
** [[LibreCMC]]{{snd}} a 100% [[free software]] router distribution based on the [[Linux-libre]] kernel
** [[IPFire]]{{snd}} an [[Open-source software|open-source]] firewall/router distribution based on the [[Linux kernel]]
** [[fli4l]]{{snd}} an open-source firewall/router distribution based on the Linux kernel
** [[OpenWrt]]{{snd}} an open-source firewall/router distribution based on the Linux kernel
** [[m0n0wall]]{{snd}} an embedded firewall distribution of [[FreeBSD]]
** [[Proprietary firmware]]
* In [[Network-attached storage|NAS]] systems:
** [[NAS4Free]]{{snd}} an open-source NAS operating system based on FreeBSD
** [[Openfiler]]{{snd}} an open-source NAS operating system based on the Linux kernel
** [[Proprietary firmware]]
* [[Field-Programmable Gate Array]] (FPGA) code may be referred to as firmware