“Allegra” has been with me since 1999. (Yes, that’s a long, long time in computer years…) Several novels have been written on it: its first real job was to be taken to the source of the Rhine (at Sedrun in Switzerland) for the outlining of the project which eventually became the feature/miniseries “Ring of the Nibelungs.” (Hence the computer’s name, which means “Hello!” in Sursilvan Romansch — the dialect of Switzerland’s fourth language which is spoken around Sedrun.) 
But as newer, hotter hardware came along, Allegra was eventually put aside, relegated to “spare room” use. And now we’re at one of those points where there are just too many computers piling up around the place, and it’s time to let some of them go to people who will get some use out of them. So if you’d like a little machine that isn’t too fast or too smart, but is lovable, reliable, and easy to haul around — and has served a hard-working writer long and faithfully — maybe you’d think about giving Allegra a good home.
It’s an Acer Travelmate 312T, containing a Pentium 233 MHz processor with MMX, 32 meg of RAM, a bright TFT screen, and a massive (wait for it!) 3 GB hard disk. The computer is about A5 size, or about an inch smaller around than a sheet of US letter paper: the exact outside measurements are 24 cm / 9.5 in by 17.5 cm / 7 in by 4 cm / 1.5 in, so that it will fit very comfortably inside a purse, or with plenty of room to spare, in a briefcase. It weighs 1310 grams / 2 lb 14.5 oz. It comes with external CD-ROM, 3.5-inch floppy drive, and a soft Velcro-fastened faux-leather envelope/case. (See this Flickr photoset for multiple images.)
It has Windows 98 installed at the moment. I have heard that these machines run Linux well, but I wouldn’t know enough about the subject to be able to verify the claim. I/O ports include DB-9 and RS232, 15-pin video, RJ-11 jack for a 28K “soft” WinModem, slots for 2 PCMCIA cards, IR port, USB 1.0 (one), and a PS2 jack for mouse or keyboard. The hard drive is removable, though I’ve never removed it.
Physically Allegra is in pretty good shape: a few scratches on the cover, no more. It’s been kindly used. Its one weakness right now is that its battery doesn’t hold a charge for very long. But replacements are still available: or if you want to run the machine at home, plugged in, as a spare-room machine, then you have no problems.
Obviously, for a computer that is now of “a certain age”, I’m not going to overcharge. But if you think you’d like to acquire this good little machine (and along with it, who knows, maybe a little writer-mojo — or -mojesse?), I’ll be putting it up (along with all other pertinent technical details) on eBay sometime this evening. Alternately, if by chance you’re attending Worldcon in Glasgow and you’re at all interested, let me know and I’ll bring the machine along for you to inspect. Otherwise, if you’re interested or have questions, please email me at the “contact” address in the center column.
(Update: The computer’s found its new home. Thanks for your interest, everybody!)
