NEW BIOS UPDATE(s) are avalible for all/most TPs now

So; now I see Lenovo has changed its Support page(s) and seems more stable (downloads actually do work @ a decent speeds compared to of PAST!)...... and I have thos observation(s).....

I was updating my personal TP Edge (e520) and noticed that there is a new ADDITIONAL FEATURE = REGION CODE - saw this is the bios update was going thru - and one of the places CLEARLY MENTION - "ADD NEW FEATURE = REGION CODE".

Got me bit curious ! - How & Where is this feature in BIOS used?

So after the updates was completed; after reboot my first stop was at BIOS SCREEN(s) - ((yes Lenovo has made silly way of geting to TP EDGE BIOS via 'enter' instead of F1)) Shock Horror .... the "REGION CODE" nowhere to be seen....

Am I missing something here ?
So I get more 'curious' and update my older W510!
and am on lookout for SAME THINGS!!!! ------yips there it is!! it 'flashed past me" again

So two questions:

a) how many other pple have noticed this "UPDATE"??
- is this just something for SOME NEW MODELS?
- another page at lenovo support seems to say its for "ALL MODELS"
b) how is this feature used ?
- what would happen to pple with backdoor/SLIC Table (SLIC.BIN or ACPISLIC.BIN) - installing "win7 Corp versions etc etc

Last BIOS update for W510 seems to be released 2.5 months ago, on June 30th. It doesn't mention any "region code" as well.
Last BIOS update for E520 is marked as released on August 24th at v1.16-1.07, and the description doesn't mention any "region code" as well.

Can you tell us what BIOS version do you have now, what are the names of executables you've downloaded from lenovo site, where did you get these and where did you read about that "region code"? The link you provided does not contain descriptions for downloads and actually doesn't even contain any links for specific "latest drivers" files, it is just the plain table without any descriptions and/or links for me.

The Opera and Firefox browsers will render the page correctly - at least on an XGA panel - and show links to executables and readme files. In Opera you might have to turn on "fit to width" in the status bar to see it all.

The page that ausmike refers to actually has a new BIOS for the W510, which is from Aug. 11, 2011, ver. 1.39/1.21. Also, not all changes to BIOS are documented on the download page or in the readme file.

I hope this region code doesnt have to do anything with DVD Region blocking to prevent you from watching movies.

**bit more info**>> UPDATE <<<<

The "region code" in question is really weird - not sure if it flys thru and dosent do anything - however also might be something to do with NEW WIN 8 ( upgraded security) & prevention of BACKDOOR SLICerts being loaded etc etc ,,,,, who knows
However I have noticed few things that look "weird"

a) BIOS is eg = 1.1x.11xx version however the BIOS Update Utility version its seems to be ONE SUB VERSION HIGERER eg 1.2x.11xx

Noticed this on my neighbours SL500 that I updated few nights ago. While doing this update( vis Sys Updte) the 'Region Code" clear was there , but there seems to be NO SAFE WAY to 'pause' this updates going thru without bricking the machine.

I did this update on SL500 just to see if the newer bios had these 'region codes" - AND it seems to only be in the "BIOS Update Utility" section. Since this 'update utility' is often the key thing for NEXT UPDATE of any Bios ,,,,, humnnn,,,,, mind wonders....

I have yet to load Win8 (avalible also from this post here) on my TPx220 - just waiting for a 7mm HD to hit the door .... and me find time for that install!

Cheers everyone