Live updates on Apple Conf.

[n2doc]

New iMacs, updated apps so far....

http://www.macworld.com/news/2007/08/07/macevent/index.php

Apple Mac Event - Live Update
By Peter Cohen

Apple CEO Steve Jobs took the stage at the company's headquarters in Cupertino, Calif. this morning to present to a select group of journalists and other VIPs. "Today's focus is on the iMac," he told the assembled throng.

The market share of the Mac is rising three times faster than the rest of the PC industry, Jobs remarked.

The new iMac

"We think it is an all-in-one world," said Jobs. This trend has been clearly defined in iPods, iPhones and other consumer devices, he noted, along with the dramatic rise in popularity in recent years with notebooks, which he said are taking over the whole PC industry.

"Why do people put up with this stuff on the desktop?" he asked, showing attendees a picture of a Dell desktop PC brimming with wires and cables. "We think there's a much better way, and the much better way is this," he added, showing the iMac.

"iMacs have been very successful, and we'd like to make it even better," he said. Apple is borrowing two elements from its pro products for this new generation of iMac -- aluminum and silicon dioxide, better known as glass.

Aluminum, Jobs explained, is extremely durable and very lightweight, and pros love Apple's pro products -- the MacBook Pro and the Mac Pro are both made from it. Glass, he explained, is a very elegant material and scratch resistant. It's also recyclable.

"So what would an iMac look like if we upgraded it and made it out of aluminum and glass?" Jobs ruminated. And then he displayed the new device.

The new iMac is thinner than before, and comes in two sizes: 20 and 24 inch. It features audio input and output, three USB 2.0 ports, FireWire 400 and 800, Gigabit Ethernet and video out. The slot-loading "SuperDrive" has been retained, along with a built-in iSight webcam and microphone.

The displays have a glossy sheen to them, which Jobs says Apple's customers have told them they love. He says the glossy display is better for displaying photos and movies.

To complement the sleek new aluminum design of the iMac, the system also has a new keyboard -- confirming rumors that first appeared about a week ago, the keyboard shares the same thin design. It also sports special dedicated keys -- dimmer, brighter, Exposé, Dashboard and media controls.

A new wireless keyboard and "Mighty Mouse" are also available. Both use Bluetooth 2.0.

Inside the iMac are Intel Core 2 Duo processors clocked from to 2.4GHz to 2.8 GHz in Configure To Order (CTO) offerings. They support up to 4GB of RAM, and feature ATI Radeon HD 2400XT graphics. They also feature hard disk drives up to 1 terabyte (TB) in capacity, and feature 802.11n wireless networking standard.

The new iMac is being offered in three basic configurations: An $1,199 model with 20-inch display, 2.0GHz processor, 250GB hard disk; a $1,499 model clocked at 2.4GHz with a 320GB drive for $1,499, and a 24-inch model for $1,799.

All models will be available starting today, said Jobs.

[NYCGirl]

1. They're beautiful!

[moggie]

3. I'll reserve judgement

It's hard to tell from the pictures: I need to see one in the flesh. The aluminium case could look great, or really cheesy. I'm not in the market for one, because my current iMac is less than a year old, but I'm interested in the new keyboard, since my Bluetooth keyboard seems to be dying. I hope they haven't sacrificed key travel for the sake of slimness.

[Poiuyt]

2. I'm curious about how the glossy displays will look

Will there be a lot of reflections? There's a window right behind me as I type. I hope that's not going to be a problem.