Re: [tlug] Favorite Linux laptops these days?

[Lyle H Saxon <llletters@example.com>]

On Sat, Apr 28, 2012 at 9:03 PM, Kalin KOZHUHAROV <me.kalin@example.com> wrote:
>> So there's a base set of settings that live even if the BIOS battery dies then?
>>
> First it is not called BIOS battery, but CMOS battery. BIOS is in ROM
> (flash these days, so you can upgrade it) and will stay there (close
> to) indefinitely without any external power. Your settings (boot
> priority, RTC date/time, etc.) are stored in the CMOS
> (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CMOS) and this is what the battery is
> for. The default settings are stored together with the BIOS on the
> flash, so when you "reset the CMOS" by shorting the battery, those get
> loaded by default. Whether they work (i.e. you can boot) or not is
> another story.
And that goes for a machine manufactured around... I was thinking as
old as 1987 - but that's too old (I got them used to start with).
Looking up when W3.1 came out (which they originally had) I see 1992
(which is after flash came out - oops - disregard my newly titled
response to another newly titled response).
>>
> Bring it next time to TLUG meeting (and say you do so), I can bring
> some hand tools we can open it and look inside.

Okay!  Thanks!  I opened up (busted actually) another one some years
ago and remember it as not coming apart very easily though.  Also, let
me check how they look on the balcony.  If they've gotten wet
(distinct possibility), I might as well just trash them.  They're so
old I don't really care, but I was thinking of using one as a word
processor, but for that it would make more sense to just get any piece
of junk used laptop.

Lyle