the greatest vintage apple-collection

Two worlds

Back then, mobility and color were hardly compatible at Apple.

There was the PowerBook 180c, but its battery life was well under an hour, and even then, its design seemed outdated and too heavy. This solution wasn't truly convincing.

Then came the Duo System – and I was thrilled.

A docking station transformed the PowerBook Duo 230 into a fully-fledged desktop Mac with color. I already owned a 16-inch color monitor, so the setup was almost perfect. At my desk, the system was large, but it was mobile as soon as I removed the Duo. All my data was always with me – no synchronization, no copying.

A particularly clever feature: the docking station had a second hard drive built in, which served as a backup. For its time, this was an extremely well-thought-out concept.

And then there was this mechanism. The Duo was simply slid into the docking station, a motor gently pulled it in, and the system started automatically—almost silently, almost magically. Shutting it down was the reverse: the docking station just as gently ejected the Duo. That moment always felt like something from the future.

The only real drawback was the PowerBook Duo 230 itself. The display was disappointing—dark, low-contrast, and significantly below the standard Apple usually offered. The keyboard was also spongy and imprecise. The Duo concept was brilliant, but the underlying hardware was a compromise.

Today, over 30 years later, another downside has emerged: almost all the docking station power supplies are defective. Even after replacing all the capacitors, many power supplies remain dead. Why these power supplies are so problematic remains a mystery to me.

The Duo computers themselves are now considered extremely temperamental. Despite replacing the electrolytic capacitors, many units simply remain dead or behave unpredictably. Repairs are often frustrating and not always successful.

And yet: The Duo system remains one of the most elegant and visionary solutions Apple has ever built. The idea of seamlessly combining mobility and desktop convenience was far ahead of its time—even if technical reality has taken its toll.