From:	Brett Borger <bxb121@***.EDU>
Subject:	Re: ASIST assistance?
Date:	Fri, 1 May 1998 19:19:54 EST

> I saw that flaw when I was typing it. Just hoped no one would catch
> me on it. D'oh!
>
> You may have on that... I don't know much about BIOS except that I
> don't want to frag with it. =) What exactly does BIOS do, and how
> would that relate to the operation of a cyberdeck? I could imagine

BIOS: Basic Input/Output System (?). Basically it's responsible for
handling signals from hardware and letting the CPU access them IIRC.
Naturally, software drivers or additional hardware drivers are needed
for most things anyway. This is all working off of memory from
reading too many manuals when I was younger so anyone with more
up-to-date knowledge refresh me.

> the ASIST being part of the BIOS, but I don't know that I'd say that
> it is the BIOS. You can take the ASIST out of a cyberdeck, slap a
> monitor and a keyboard on it, and you have a turtle. You take the
> BIOS out of a PC, and you've got an useless assembly of glass,
> plastic, and metal.

ACtually, I have a book "101 things to do with a dead computer".
Pretty funny. My favorite is turning the monitor into a fishtank.

But to get to your point, I'd say that the differences between the
hardware of a Turtle and a 'deck go beyond running ASIST...they work
on different principles. Sadly, I have nothing to back me up.
Anyone want to help me out?

-=SwiftOne=-\