What is this site?

I created this site to bring together Duo resources on the ineternet, and to create a place for Duo owners to come together, talk, contribute, and help each other. I was frustrated when my own searches for help, products, or advice were difficult because there was no one single place to go to find such information. Now there is!

What is a PowerBook Duo?
From power-macintosh.com

A Duo is Apple's smallest lightest notebook computer. Unlike other notebooks it has no floppy drive, no SCSI, and no direct way of attaching an external HD or floppy drive. What it does have is a serial port, phone jack (with internal modem), and a 152-pin 32-bit PDS (processor direct slot) in the back (called a PowerLatch connection), that accesses every signal line on the processor. This is true for all models.

So what's that PDS (processor direct slot) for in the back of the Duo? It's what makes the Duo unique - the PDS is a wild card. It allows adapters (called Docks) to connect directly and intimately with the Duo's motherboard. These adapters let you add features to the Duo at the most fundamental level - something you can't do with any other powerbook. You can add ethernet, new video capabilities, SCSI-2, accelerators, and other options.

This expandability lets you tailor the same computer to entirely different environments: at home, coupled with a floppy adapter and external drive it's a stand alone home computer; on the train it's the smallest, most portable powerbook; in the office, with a full Duo dock, it's a business machine with 1 gig drive, ethernet, and 16" monitor - or whatever you choose to add.

What is a Duo? It's whatever you want it to be.

Who the heck are you?

That's easy. I'm Dan Palka, Advertising and Communications major at College of DuPage. I run several sites, including my homepage (danpalka.com), a PowerBook 3400c site (powerbook3400c.com), and of course this site, devoted to PowerBook Duos.

I own nearly 100 Macintosh computers, ranging from SEs to my 1.5ghz 17" PowerBook G4, and everything in between. I currently have 11 PowerBooks (14 total in my life), including, three Duos (2300c, 280c, 230) and they always were special to me.

My other interests include cars, my car (1996 Camaro Z28), my pets, graphic design, and partying. (as you can see at danpalka.com)