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Apple today introduced an upgraded line of iMacs with CD-RW drives and iTunes, Apple's amazing new "jukebox" software, which lets users create and manage their own music library and burn their own custom audio CDs. With fast new PowerPC G3 processors running at up to 600 MHz, up to 40 GB hard drives, FireWire ports and iMovie software on all systems, the new iMac family comes in two somewhat funky and retro new patterns, Blue Dalmatian and Flower Power, as well as the two most popular iMac colors, Indigo and Graphite.

The number of iMac variants has been reduced from four to three. All but the $899 base model come with CD-RW, and all have FireWire iTunes and iMovie.DVD-ROM is now completely gone from the iMac line.

Flower Power is reasonably attractive, if you like that sort of thing but Blue Dalmation gives me the willies, and I am crushed that my two favorite iMac colors -- Snow and Sage -- appear to be gone.

"iMac has evolved into an entertainment center, where you can create desktop movies, manage your digital music library and burn custom music CDs," said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO. "iMovie and iTunes are so easy to learn and use, even your parents can use them without getting confused."

iTunes, which has been downloaded more than 750,000 times since its debut in January, lets users import songs from their favorite CDs into their iMac and compress them into the popular MP3 format; organize their music using powerful yet easy to use searching, browsing, and play list features; watch stunning visualizations on their computer screen; and create custom music CDs with the new iMac's CD-RW drive.

All iMac models come preinstalled with Apple's iMovie 2, the latest version of the Apple's easy-to-use consumer digital video editing software, and offer two FireWire ports for easy connection to a variety of high-speed peripherals such as digital camcorders and digital cameras. Movies can be saved back to the camcorder, copied to videotape or posted to a user's own website using iTools, Apple's suite of free Internet services.

Every iMac comes standard with Apple's optical mouse and full-size Apple Pro Keyboard, and is AirPort ready. AirPort, Apple's revolutionary wireless networking solution, provides totally untethered Internet access at speeds up to 11 megabits per second.

iMac's other features include near-silent operation, reducing noise levels to half that of competitive systems; ATI RAGE 128 Pro accelerators for outstanding graphics; built-in 10/100BASE-T Ethernet for easy DSL and cable modem access and an all-digital sound system designed in collaboration with Harman Kardon.

The new iMac models are available immediately on The Apple Store (http://www.apple.com) and through Apple Authorized Resellers in three standard configurations:

• iMac, available in Indigo, features a 400 MHz PowerPC G3 processor and contains 64MB of PC100 SDRAM, 512K backside cache, a 10GB Ultra ATA hard disk, a slot loading CD-ROM drive, ATI RAGE 128 Pro with 8MB of SDRAM, a built-in 56K V.90 modem, two FireWire ports and two USB ports, VGA video mirroring and is AirPort ready for a suggested retail price of $899 (US).

• iMac, available in Indigo, Blue Dalmatian and Flower Power, features a 500 MHz PowerPC G3 processor and contains 64MB of PC100 SDRAM, 256K on-chip backside cache, a 20GB Ultra ATA hard disk, a slot-loading CD-RW drive, ATI RAGE 128 Ultra with 16MB of SDRAM, a built-in 56K V.90 modem, two FireWire ports and two USB ports, VGA video mirroring and is AirPort ready for a suggested retail price of $1,199 (US).

• iMac Special Edition, available in Graphite, Blue Dalmatian and Flower Power, features a 600 MHz PowerPC G3 processor and contains 128MB of PC100 SDRAM, 256K on-chip backside cache, a 40GB Ultra ATA hard disk, a slot-loading CD-RW drive, ATI RAGE 128 Ultra with 16MB of SDRAM, a built-in 56K V.90 modem, two FireWire ports and two USB ports, VGA video mirroring and is AirPort ready for a suggested retail price of $1,499 (US).

The speed bumps and CD-RW drives are welcome upgrades, but i think many folks were expecting more than this, and you can bet there will be some criticism that the iMac design is getting more than a bit long in the tooth. On the other hand, these machines offer incredible value and performance for the money.

Charles W. Moore

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