How do you explain what the BIOS is to non-Super User?

Posted by David Johnstone on Super User See other posts from Super User or by David Johnstone
Published on 2010-03-27T05:53:01Z Indexed on 2010/03/27 6:03 UTC
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explanation

In a particularly nerdy Facebook status update I mentioned that I had flashed my BIOS. One of my friends asked what the BIOS is.

My question is: How do you explain what the BIOS is and does to a layperson? (Hint: "The BIOS is the basic input/output system" is not going to be accepted as the answer.)

(Of course, the real question is "does she like me?", but I'm not sure there's a site for this :-p )

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