[Ham-Computers] True or False?

[Don]

CHECK http://www.tigerdirect.com for puter without OS

Don
Semper Vilgils
I Just dropped in to see what condition my condition was in!
http://www.JCMSARA.ORG    HAM/HAMFEST LINK
http://www.angelfire.com/ms2/paswx Real Time WX Obs

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "jeff" <jeffv at op.net>
To: "Computers (or other) used for amateur radio, communications, or 
experimenting" <ham-computers at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Friday, October 22, 2004 10:15 PM
Subject: Re: [Ham-Computers] True or False?


>> 4. Does anybody custom make and sell a computer without any operating 
>> system? In
>> other words, buy the computer and install whatever OS you desire.
>
> This is called the Microsoft tax.  Bill and company has it rigged that
> most vendors are required to put one of their OS'es on each computer.
> Their license states that you can get a refund but they have been
> denying this for years now.  Once a year or so, a bunch of linux geeks
> celebrate Microsoft Refund Day and descend on Redmond to demand their
> refunds.  Each time they fail to get more than a little press.
>
> That said, check with local vendors or ask a friend.  I buy parts at
> computer shows and assemble them myself.  Getting a prebuilt one with no
> OS is just a little more expensive, obviously.
>
>
>> 5. Does the BIOS play a role in the type of OS used, that is, BIOS XYZ is 
>> needed
>> to run Windows 98SE and BIOS ABC is needed to run Windows XP HE. You can 
>> not run
>> either/or with the same BIOS?
>
> at times, yes, you will need to upgrade the BIOS.  It's best to keep it
> updated anyway, unless the update will cripple an important function.
>
>
>> 6. What is the technical difference between BIOS and CMOS? During boot 
>> up, which
>> is active and when, and what do both do?
>
> CMOS = Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor.
> BIOS = Basic Input Output System
>
> CMOS is the material the chips are made of.  BIOS is the instruction set
> that resides in the chip.
>
>
>> computer 8-12 hours per day, every day. I have never had a hard drive 
>> failure on
>> any computer, ever. Yet I hear about people who seem to have failures 
>> quite
>> often. Am I just lucky?
>
> it is said that a lot of electronic failures happen at shutdown.  I
> don't have direct proof of this, but I tend to run my home and work
> boxes 24 hours, 7 days without a lot of failures.
>
> That aside, you are very lucky.
>
>
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