Last week, Apple filed for a patent that would allow users to dock a laptop to an iMac as a docking station. About now, the word "Duo" should probably be popping into your head. The PowerBook Duo was Apple's ultra-slim laptop that lacked any kind of external drive in favor of portability that's unmatched even today. Since rumors have abounded for quite some time that Apple has been working on a Folio-like device, this would be the perfect combination. Imagine taking your extremely-portable laptop on the road with you, and when you get home or back to the office, you just slide it right into the side of your iMac not only for storage, but for access. Suddenly, all your peripherals, external drives, etc. are waiting for you.

Will the MacWorld Expo next week reveal the "MacBook Duo" as Steve's "one more thing"? As someone who has his iBook connected to an external keyboard, Wacom tablet, iPod, USB hub, external monitor, power supply, and external speakers, I hope so.

What do you think? Was the Duo ahead of its time? (It didn't do well the first time and died prematurely.)  Has its time come?

Incidentally, this would be a Duo 2 with a Core 2 Duo processor. How redundant.