This gadget is even more lightweight than the last one (and faster and more powerful as well). It has a 120 meg hard drive, 12 megs of RAM, a built-in 14400 baud fax modem, a 16 level gray screen and a 25 megahertz 68030 processor (which runs FIVE times as fast as my SE). The most amazing thing about it, though, is the "duodock" that comes with it.

This duodock is a large white box with a big hole in front. It sits on my desk at work supporting a big color monitor, a fullsized keyboard and mouse, and its own hard drive. All the various cables and power cords needed to tie my workstation into a larger world dangle behind it. When I come into work I pull my powerbook out of its nylon bag, undo a little trap door in back of the book, and FEED it into the duodock's gaping maw! The dock sucks it up like some kind of oversized diskette and VIOLA! The powerbook becomes a work station!

At night I reverse the process, taking the inner workings of my desktop computer home with me. If I decide to work at home, I can easily dial in and download files, reply to e-mail, and continue work on my programs. Do I sound giddy? Actually, I am, just a bit.

As it turns out, this new toy arrived just in the nick of time. Betsy's parents were just here for a visit and topped it off by BUYING my SE and sweeping it off to South Bend. Therefore, I am launching Archipelago from this very powerbook. And since my job is very uncertain and I do not know how long I can keep this strange and wonderful gadget, Betsy and I will soon be shopping for yet another Mac (which we can ill afford, but then, what's a nerd to do?)

See my hello card for further developments....