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Sorry for the snip, Ed. First, if ROM BIOS, however, did provide at least some service beyond boot, wouldn't there be a performance improvement? Second, I tthink at least some services (disk size, drive types, etc.) are provided through ROM BIOS interrupts aren't they? Or has that gone the way of the dinosaur? Third, if the machines had been designed for a GUI in the first place, wouldn't they be radically different from the machines we now have?

BTW, that was a great post. Thanks much.