I must admit that even I a loyal Duo-ist have a hard time getting on the Duo
modification band wagon. Regardless of the tone of Jeremy's original post,
several points are well taken which is that this is an expensive undertaking no
matter how you slice it. I am more likely to try to figure out how to modify a
2400, or G3 Powebook for that matter, to accept the Duo's trackmarble assembly
than to monkey about with the insides of the 2300. I think it would be far
easier & cheaper. Besides, the 2300's battery life is dismal and who wouldn't
want a bigger screen. I know I would!
Anyway, I would have dumped my Duo in an instant had the iBook been what many
of us thought it would be. When I say dumped, I would have kept the 2300,
because I have so much invested in the Nubus technology that it will be useful
for many years to come (even at 100MHz), unless I get really busy and really
need a screaming processor that justifies an otherwise substantial investment
to replace all my old stuff. I'm afraid the 2300 is more for me know what my
Mac 128K is, a novelty, which also happens to be quite useful still. But those
days are numbered. I grow quite tired of surfing at 14.4 or the alternative of
getting out the external modem and plugging everything in. That for me really
makes the Duo obsolete, not the processor speed.
However, I think Apple has something up their sleeves. Take a look at Steve
Jobs' product grid. Doesn't the G3 PowerBook seem a little out of place with
the rest of the fruity products (the specs don't jibe either)? Something else
is coming ... soon. And it's not just the PDA either. The current "pro" G3
PowerBook is transitional. Now that all of the blanks are filled in on the
grid, you can start to look for the product families: Consumer Desktop A & B
(let's face it, the all-in-one concept is not going to hold for every
consumer), Consumer PowerBook A & B (the real "student" model and the regular
"housewife" model), Pro Desktop A & B (high end with lots of expandability &
low end dedicated task) and finally: Pro PowerBook A & B (Full Blown & Ultra-
Slim).
So, I'm waiting until at least January Mac World to see what new equipment
Apple unveils to take advantage of the October release of OS 9, before I
replace my 2300. Until then, it continues to make me very happy just the way it
is.
----------
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