An economic stimulus that only benefits the rich? Lethal toxins confiscated in Britain? Daschle wises up? PHOOEY! I want to talk about Apple.

Too big to carry, but too cool to pass up? Behold: the 17" Powerbook. The geeks at Slashdot (at least the Mac-friendly ones) are drooling over it. And, yeah, supercool and all, but holy Jesus that's a big laptop. Other than geeks and folks with laptop envy, what purpose does this machine serve? Am I going to edit feature films on the train? I want a laptop so I can do work whenever and wherever, but I don't want to lug around a skateboard-sized computer.

However, the idea of replacing a desktop with a notebook is a good one -- less syncing, less redundant info. It was Apple that introduced the idea of a docking station in the first place. If you want a 17" monitor on your notebook, go for it. I, for one, would be plenty happy with a 12" monitor on my Powerbook and a 23" display at home to plug into it. Get the best you can out of portability and the best out of sitting at a desk. For me, the 17" Powerbook is an unnecessary compromise.