Business Notes COMPUTERS

How big is the niche between desktop and laptop computers? The folks at Ergo Computing in Peabody, Mass., are hoping it is about as big as a Brick -- the name of the firm's unique portable. The 8.3-lb. Brick ($2,495 to $4,495) is a powerful desktop machine complete with modem and mouse, and enough muscle to store and quickly process the complete records of a small business.

Only about the size of a collegiate dictionary, the Brick is small enough to take home (where it can be plugged into another monitor and keyboard) without transferring files or juggling floppies. Ergo president and Brick designer Tom Spalding, 41, says the machine comes in "boring beige" and in a postmodern granite finish, which he likes a lot better. "We're not a traditional vendor," says Spalding, who previously made millions in hot-tub and stereo- equipment ventures. "It's much more fun doing neat, clever designs."