Apple Unveils PowerMacs, IMacs

Jobs spotlights 8-inch 'cube' PowerMac G4; Microsoft prepares Mac Office update.

Marc Ferranti, IDG News Service

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In a MacWorld Expo tradition, the announcements were made by Steve Jobs, chief executive officer, at the opening session here on Wednesday.

His announcements sparked cheers from an appreciative audience of Mac fans. One of the biggest cheers came when Jobs said the extra processors and more storage will be added to the PowerMacs at no extra cost over current pricing.

The PowerMac G4 Cube will come in two versions: a 450-MHz model with 64MB of memory and a 20GB hard drive, priced at $1799 without a monitor; and a 500-MHz model with 128MB of memory and a 30GB hard drive, priced at $2299 without a monitor. Jobs also announced three new Apple monitors that could be used with this new machine. The Cube machines are scheduled to ship in August.

"We're taking all the power of the PowerMac G4s and miniaturizing it," Jobs said.

Jobs noted this is the first time Apple has added a new category of machine to its basic product lines in two and a half years.

Most Systems Ship Now

The three new PowerMac G4 models are all based on the PowerMac chip, and are available now. The 400-MHz model comes with a 20GB hard drive; the 450-MHz model has a 30GB hard drive; and the 500-MHz model, a 40GB hard drive.

Like all Apple desktop machines from Wednesday on, the PowerMacs will come with a new Apple optical-tracking mouse and a new ergonomic keyboard, Jobs said. The two higher-end models will come standard with dual processors.

Three of the four new IMacs are also available Wednesday. The entry-level IMac is scheduled to ship in September. That system runs on a 350-MHz processor, with 64MB of memory and a 7.5GB hard drive, and is priced at $799. The IMacDV has a 400-MHz chip, 64MB of memory, and a 10GB hard drive, and is priced at $999. The IMacDV+ has a 450-MHz chip, 64MB of memory, and a 20GB hard drive, and costs $1299. The IMacDV Special Edition runs a 500-MHz chip, with 128MB of memory and a 30GB hard drive, and costs $1499.

Microsoft Updates Office

Also, Microsoft expects to ship in October its Office 2001 Macintosh Edition, now in beta testing. The suite is designed to have a more Mac-like look and feel, and also works better with other Mac software applications, according to Microsoft officials.

Office 2001 Macintosh Edition will run on the Mac OS 8 and OS 9 operating systems, according to Glenn Myers, lead product manager at Microsoft's Macintosh Business Unit. The suite will work as a "classic" application on the forthcoming Mac OS X, expected out early next year.

Pricing was not specified. Current Office for the Mac suggested retail pricing is $499 new or $299 for upgrades.

New features include a "My Identity" function for users who share a Mac, eliminating the need to reenter personal identification when logging on.

Microsoft also officially unveiled the name of its new personal information manager--codenamed "Alpaca." Its shipping version will be called "Entourage."

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