Having just got a fancy docking station for my PC laptop, I noticed how similar this 1998 piece of Toshiba equipment was to my DuoDock 1.
Common features rundown. Power dock/undock on both. Expansion slots on both. 2 NuBus for Apple, 1 PCI and 2 ISA/PCI for Toshiba. Internal 50 pin narrow SCSI connector on both. External SCSI connector, HDI 30 on Apple, HD-50 on Toshiba. Keyboard, mouse, serial, audio ports on both. Neither has built in ethernet. :P Floppy drive on both. (I need to get one for the PC.) Bay for hard drive. HD only on Apple, open front 5.25" half height on Toshiba. (Can take just about any SCSI or IDE device that'll fit.) Monitor port on both. Kensington style lock slots. (Plus additional flip out metal cable lug on Desk Station.) Features only on DuoDock. Enhanced video support with more VRAM built in. (Have to add videocard to Desk Station.) Modem jack. (Built in modem on Tecra 8000 on _side_ of laptop, not rear, so can be accessed while docked.) "One piece" integrated unit for monitor to set on. (Desk Station has non-integrated seperate monitor stand that looks like a metal reinforced plastic tray table with legs.) Features only on Desk Station. Internal IDE device port. SelectBay that supports floppy drive, CD-ROM, hard drive and any other SelectBay devices, if you have the right adapter. (It's actually _not_ a Tecra 8000 SelectBay. It was designed for some other Toshiba laptop and needs an adaptor for the 8000 series drives.) Dual Type III CardBus slots. Ability to use docked laptop's screen, keyboard and pointing device instead of having to use external ones. Summed up, it shows how advanced the Duo concept was, well ahead of the times! :) Too bad neither Apple nor any PC maker has thought to do a major update of the Duo theme with a super stripped down laptop with only a hard drive, but with a really nice screen, and a docking station that adds all the desktop bells and whistles. The laptop would only need one USB port, one FireWire port and a phone jack for the built in v.92 modem. Maybe a 10/100 ethernet port too. Today's technology ought to be able to keep the thing down to around 2 pounds, maybe less, especially when organic/plastic light emitting diode display technology matures. The lid could be only 1/8" thick with much of that just the shell for support. An ideal laptop for the person who works while travelling, never ever installs software or plays a CD or DVD on the road, just needs a lightweight and powerful computer that will do what needs to be done. This sort of person typically "docks" at home or work to make any software changes or lets the IT department at work handle it. He or she normally doesn't need to print anything away from work and gets files on and off the computer by logging into a network remotely. The major selling point would be the light weight! The two Duos I have were considered very light weight, not having a floppy drive or any ports other than the printer and the phone jack. But the 1995 Dell Latitude XPi P75D wasn't much heavier and it had a full complement of ports to make it fully "desktoppable" without the docking station and it had a built in floppy drive. (But no built in sound like the Duos.) What a difference a couple of years makes, eh? Who here would like to see a new Duo from Apple? ===== "When you are wrestling for possession of a sword, the man with the handle always wins." Hiro Protagonist __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? SBC Yahoo! DSL - Now only $29.95 per month! http://sbc.yahoo.com ---------- Duo/2400 List, The friendliest place on the Net! A listserv for users and fans of Mac subportables. FAQ at <http://www.themacintoshguy.com/lists/DuoListFAQ.shtml> Be sure to visit Mac2400! <http://www.sineware.com/mac2400> To unsubscribe, E-mail to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To switch to the DIGEST mode, E-mail to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Need help from a real person? Try. <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> ---------- Dr. Bott | 10/100 Ethernet for your 2400 is finally here! MPC-100 | <http://www.drbott.com/prod/mpc100.html> RoadTools $30 PodiumPad available at Apple retail stores, $20 Traveler CoolPad at Staples. Both in white for iBooks at <http://roadtools.com> Midwest Mac Parts ][ <http://www.midwestmac.com> After-market parts for Macs. ][ 888-356-1104 ][ MacResQ Specials: LaCie SCSI CDR From $99! PowerBook 3400/200 Only $879! Norton AntiVirus 6 Only $19! We Stock PARTS! <http://www.macresq.com>
