Free Republic

Has Apple Computer's chief executive, Steve Jobs, found a way to connect the PC to the TV? With an enticing invitation proclaiming "It's Showtime," Jobs last week touched off speculation about how far Apple will go as it takes its next big step into digital video. On Tuesday, Apple will hold another of Jobs' marketing events in San Francisco to introduce what trade publications and analysts indicate will be his next campaign: an effort to transform the distribution of Hollywood movies as thoroughly as he has revolutionized the recording industry with the iTunes Music Store. A distribution deal with Disney...

Apple today introduced a new $899 configuration of the 17-inch iMac designed specifically for education customers featuring a 1.83 GHz Intel Core Duo processor, a built-in iSight video camera and iLife ‘06, the next generation of Apple’s award-winning suite of digital lifestyle applications. The 17-inch iMac for education is available immediately and will replace the eMac, Apple’s last CRT based computer, providing students and teachers everything they need to learn and create in today's digital classroom, all in the ultra-efficient iMac design. The ultimate in design simplicity, the iMac is ideal for the space saving needs of both the classroom...

Exclusive: Apple Computer is working feverishly on the design of a new Macintosh computer that the company hopes will strengthen its position in the education sector when it goes on sale later this year, AppleInsider has learned. The new low-cost PC, which will act as a replacement for Apple's now defunct eMac line, appears to be on track to catch the latter half of the 2006 educational buying season. Based on a series of proprietary checks, it's believed that the Cupertino, Calif.-based company is aligning component suppliers for a manufacturing ramp of the computers that it plans to initiate around...

PICTURES of what purports to be the "concept model" of Apple’s iPhone have been leaked onto the world wide wibbly web.

Apple Computer’s new MacBook Pro -- the renamed Intel-based successor to the PowerBook unveiled by Apple CEO Steve Jobs two weeks ago -- isn’t yet shipping (see "Update: Apple unveils Intel-based laptop, iMac"). But Apple officials are now showing off their newest 15-in. laptop, and I had a chance at a special Apple event last week to get a closer look at it. In fact, I had some real "pick it up and use it" hands-on time. The good news is that the MacBook Pro, which comes in two models and starts at $1,999, feels and looks just as solid...

Just a couple of months ago, in this column, we proclaimed that Apple Computer's iMac G5, then the company's flagship Macintosh desktop computer for consumers, was the best consumer desktop PC on the market. In fact, we called it the "gold standard" of desktop PCs and said no desktop from the major makers of Windows-based computers could match it. Last week, in a surprise move, Apple gave the iMac a brain transplant. It chose the iMac as the first Macintosh model to be converted to work on the same Intel processors used by makers of Windows PCs, rather than the...

With the announcement of the first Intel based Macs yesterday, many users have rejoiced in being able to dual-boot both Mac OS X and Windows. Unfortunately, this is not the case; due to Apple's use of the extensible firmware interface (EFI) rather than BIOS, current Windows releases will not run on the systems. On Tuesday at Macworld, Apple senior vice president of worldwide product marketing Phil Schiller said the company would not specifically block the use of Windows on Mac hardware. Instead, limitations in Windows itself will prevent its use on the new MacBook Pro laptop and iMac. With...

Apple claims its newest iMac, which features Intel’s new Core Duo processor, is twice as fast as its predecessor. Despite the major change under the hood, the iMac remains with the same design and at the same price as before, with systems starting at $1,299. The new iMac, which starts shipping today, will be Apple’s first computer to feature a CPU built by Intel. Up until now, Apple has used the PowerPC architecture developed in conjunction with Motorola and IBM to drive all of its iMac computers. On the outside, the iMac G5 looks the same as before — it’s...

SAN JOSE, Calif -- Five years ago, Apple Computer was barely an afterthought in the halls of electronics companies. Not anymore. With its best-selling iPods and landmark licensing deals with music and television moguls propelling new ways of consuming digital media, Apple now is the pacesetter. "In the consumer electronics world, there's always talk now about Apple, the way people used to talk about Sony," said analyst Richard Doherty of the Envisioneering Group. "At the water cooler or in board rooms, they're asking, 'What is Apple doing next?' or 'How do we stay out of their way?'" If anything, the...

Like its most recent predecessors, the new $1,699, 20-inch G5 IMac is a single piece computer with the processor, combo DVD/CD drive and ports placed behind the display. Unlike the earlier units, this one builds in a webcam, which can also take still pictures, and comes with a tiny remote control that will handle your multimedia playbacks such as photo slideshows, DVDs, ITunes music, movie trailers and video podcasts. In short, it's all business and yet it's also primed for a fair amount of fun. But perhaps the greatest thing about the IMac is that it works, it works without...

Apple is planning to unveil a robust new content distribution system in January at Macworld Expo alongside its revamped media-savvy Mac mini, Think Secret has learned. The new content system and related media deals, which will include feature-length content, expanded televisions offerings, and more, will further cement Apple's increasing lead in digital media delivery. In an effort to appease media companies wary of the security of digital rights management technology, Apple's new technology will deliver content such that it never actually resides on the user's hard drive. Content purchased will be automatically made available on a user's iDisk, which Front...

Excerpt - [snip] We've been testing this new iMac, and our verdict is that it's the gold standard of desktop PCs. To put it simply: No desktop offered by Dell or Hewlett-Packard or Sony or Gateway can match the new iMac G5's combination of power, elegance, simplicity, ease of use, built-in software, stability and security. From setup to performing the most intense tasks, it's a pleasure to use. And, contrary to common misconceptions, this Mac is competitively priced, when compared with comparably equipped midrange Windows PCs; and it handles all common Windows files, as well as the Internet and email,...

The updated desktop boosts its already impressive credentials with some nifty tricks, user-friendly features, and the odd gimmick Improving an excellent machine was the happy challenge facing Apple Computer (AAPL) designers as they worked up new versions of the iMac G5 desktop. Against the odds, they have succeeded. Though the changes in the new 17-inch ($1,299) and 20-inch ($1,699) iMacs are relatively small, they help keep it atop the heap as the best consumer desktop around.

This just in off the fake news wire… Apple to hold no special events next week CUPERTINO, CALIF. (Imaginary News Service)—After holding two press events in as many weeks to introduce the video iPod, refurbished iMac, dual-core Power Mac, and Aperture image-editing software, Apple announced it was not scheduling a special event next week to unveil new products. An invitation sent out to the press by Apple displays the words, “We Got Nothin’” on top of a picture of a shrugging Steve Jobs. The pockets on Jobs’ trademark blue jeans are turned inside out, apparently signifying that hardware updates or...

It’s been a little more than a year since Apple introduced the iMac G5. While the update to the iMac unveiled last week doesn’t feature as many exterior changes, there are enough new features on the inside to stump even the most informed Mac user. To keep you on top of the latest iMac changes, we tackle some of your frequently asked questions about the new model below. (You’ll find answers about the video-enabled iPod and iTunes 6 update that were introduced along with the iMac at Apple’s October 12 press event elsewhere on the site.) What's really new about...

I don't hate Apple. I don't even hate Apple-lovers. I do, however, possess deep odium for the legions of Apple polishers in the press corps who salute every shiny gadget the company parades through downtown Cupertino as if they were members of the Supreme Soviet viewing the latest ICBMs at the May Day parade. The Apple polishers buffed and shined this morning in response to yesterday's Steve Jobs-led introduction of the new video iPod. The headlines captured their usual adoration for the computer company: "Apple Scores One Against Microsoft In Video Battle" (Seattle Post-Intelligencer); "Video iPod Premieres in Apple's Latest...

Apple on Wednesday unveiled a new, slimmer edition of its all-in-one iMac G5. Powered by faster processors and numerous new internal components, the new iMac also features two new integrated Apple software applications, an infrared remote control, and a built-in video camera. “We think [the new iMac G5] is one of the best computers we’ve ever made,” Jobs said at the computer’s unveiling at a special press event in San Jose, California. The new iMac models — priced at $1,299 (17-inch display, 1.9GHz G5 processor) and $1,699 (20-inch display, 2.1 GHz processor) — are currently shipping from Apple’s factories in...

These days Apple is generating more buzz than a swarm of African killer bees. Of course, we PC users can sit back and watch the hoopla about the Mac Mini and its brethren with detached interest, right? Well, maybe we should pay more attention. The fact is, Apple gets a lot of things right. For starters, the new Mac Mini is a sleek, pared-down little number that has a trim US$500 price tag to match. For Mac fans, it's an affordable, well-designed digital media machine that gets along nicely with other peripherals. The Mini will let you store and play...

Highly reliable sources have confirmed the specifications of Apple's forthcoming revisions to its Power Mac G5, iMac G5 and eMac systems, expected to start shipping within a few days of Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger's April 29th release. New Power Mac G5 systems, code-named Q87, will top out at 2.7GHz, sources said, while video cards are being upgraded with double the SDRAM. All models will feature SuperDrives offering dual-layer DVD+R support, as well as DVD±RW/CD-RW compatibility.

Ignoring threats of a lawsuit (or perhaps encouraging the publicity), an Apple Computer-focused Web site called PowerPage reported Tuesday that the maker of the iPod Mini and Mac Mini is prepping a diminutive laptop. Saying it has received "details of a secret development team planning specifications for the release of a new mini laptop," PowerPage reports that the machine will run a skinny version of Mac OS X, which includes handwriting-recognition capability. Such a product would not be out of step with Apple's direction. Not only has the company previously produced a similar product, the Apple eMate 300, but it...