Another Mac added to the family

50th birthday gift arrives early;
sleek machine does Windows, too

WINDERMERE — When your laptop fails to connect to the Internet, it becomes nothing more than a 6-pound paperweight.

My trusty Apple Powerbook, circa 2002, has been having connectivity problems, and the likely $400 repair bill seemed too high to keep it on life support.

So I requested, and received, permission from Debbie to buy a new computer.

Let me announce the arrival of the 2006 Mac Book:

I got the "white" version, since Apple is charging $150 extra just for the color on the "black" version. In fact, my "white" machine, equally matched to a "black," actually fared better in speed tests by Apple! Identical innards, so maybe the paint slows down the "black" model.

This nifty notebook is my sixth Mac: original 128K model (1984), then a IIsi, then a Performa 6400, then the Powerbook, then an iMac G5, and now the Mac Book.

Even better, my recent decision to return to teaching at Valencia Community College made me eligible for an education discount AND a free iPod AND a free printer!! (Well, the iPod deal was a $179 rebate on a $179 Nano, but I opted for the 60-gig video iPod and had the educational-discount price reduced by $179. I paid $190 for a $399 beauty!)

Now the trick will be to keep Debbie away from the Mac Book — the new Intel processor allows stalwarts to run Windows, if they so choose.

As for me, I don't do Windows!