I remember, and I’m gen z. And some higher end laptops had two battery slots so you can hot swap the batteries without turning it off.
Those were the days. Everyone talks about how smartphones nowadays get people addicted to instant gratification and convenience, but IMO the ability to swap out the battery when it died was a level of instant convenience we had decades ago that modern devices are severely lacking. Having to tether your phone to a battery bank while on the go is nowhere near as good as just popping the back cover and replacing the battery.
I had a Nokia flip phone in the 90s (no internet), and it was freaking amazing! I’m looking for a basic cell phone with no internet, and would welcome recommendations. I made this decision 2 weeks ago when I went for a walk with a friend around a lake. Beautiful walk, the lake, the spring flowers, water birds… and almost everyone we passed on the trail was on their phone. They didn’t even look up when we passed. I found it really disturbing, and I’m opting out.