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SCMP Reporter

I AM to retire this year, after which I shall sail my 40-foot ketch to the Philippines, where I intend to find the most remote spot from where I plan to do a lot of writing. I want a compact computer for my yacht - a desktop or notebook.

  I want a fax/modem. I have no telephone line, but I have an 88-horsepower engine and a generator, so there will be plenty of electricity.

   I want a CD-ROM, a sound card, either Internet or CompuServe facilities, a scanner, a good colour screen, and the computer should have a power processor (a RISC chip?).

  I would also like one with a port for a full-sized keyboard. Indeed, I would like as much software as I can get.

   Remember, I shall be in a remote place where either repairs or additional peripherals will be hard, if not impossible, to get.

  I want this system as soon as possible so that I can get over any teething troubles before I leave Hong Kong. I have budgeted about $50,000 for this, but price is secondary to quality, durability and capability.

NAME AND ADDRESS SUPPLIED That sounds like my kind of retirement plan.

  If I wanted a computer for it, I would definitely go for one of the new 486DX4, 75-mega-Hertz notebooks to come off the Toshiba production lines in recent months.

  Some notebook makers have systems based on these powerful microprocessors (one even has a Pentium notebook), but the Toshibas come with most of what you say you want in one system.

  A friend of mine recently bought a Toshiba T4800CT notebook with a 320-MB hard disk and 16 MB of RAM, plus an extra battery and a few other bits and pieces for just about $55,000.

   What's good about this machine is it comes with built-in audio and video support, has a crisp colour LCD screen, PCMCIA slots into which you can plug a fax/modem, and it still fits within the basic notebook size and weight category.

  His machine has the 486DX4-75 CPU. Since it also has multimedia support built in, you can simply buy a good CD-ROM from a peripheral vendor for about $2,000 and plug it in. You can also pick up a 14.4-Kbps PCMCIA fax/modem for about the same price.

  The computer comes with a host of pre-installed software that should cover most of your needs.

   You can, if you wish, buy a desktop monitor for it, too. You could get away with spending about $75,000 for the lot, including a scanner and printer from the likes of Hewlett-Packard.

  You can subscribe to both the Internet and CompuServe (plus many other on-line services in Hong Kong or overseas) before you leave, but what good they will do you without a telephone connection I don't know.

   Either way, you will have to dial into your on-line accounts in Hong Kong using IDD from wherever you are.

   I suppose one advantage of having a laptop on your boat is that you can lug it ashore to a phone connection to get yourself hooked up into cyberspace on occasion.

  For more information on Toshiba notebooks, telephone Chevalier (OA) Ltd on 318-1228.

  If, however, you want a real desktop beast, there are always Digital Equipment's Alpha PCs. A basic Alpha PC system can cost about HK$65,000 from distributors Onflo (telephone 364-6580). Peripherals will, of course, cost extra.



486 notebook's plain sailing