Interestingly I have a dell D600 laptop where you can put it in standby and swap the battery and it doesnt loose its memory contents (no AC connected). I'm not sure if its a feature, or the RAM just happens to retain its contents for the 5 seconds or so it takes to swap the battery.

ATM is a rather nasty porn term, so maybe its best to put machine after it to avoid confusion

Nope, although poorly built Australian holdens and fords often have speed limiters to stop them vibrating apart at high speed ;)