Apple News from Macworld Expo, San Francisco 2006
Each year at the Macworld conference in San Francisco, attendees eagerly await
news of the latest Apple technology introductions and upgrades. This week, Apple
CEO Steve Jobs did not disappoint, delivering the opening keynote with plenty
of exciting announcements and demos that had the audience cheering.
The biggest news, of course, was the formal introduction of the Intel chip.
The introduction of the new chip into Apple products yields the biggest jump
in processor speed the company has ever announced. Banners around town posed,
"What's an Intel chip doing in a Mac? A whole lot more than it's ever done
in a PC." And what's an Apple blowout announcement without a really great
TV commercial? Jobs ran Apple's new TV commercial, noting eager acceptance from
the audience. You can find a description of the new processor at www.apple.com/macbookpro/intelcoreduo.html.
And Jobs did not neglect product announcements. Highlights included: the unveiling
of an iMac based on the new Intel Core Duo Processor-benchmarks have clocked
speeds twice as fast as its predecessor; the introduction of the MacBook Pro,
running on the new Intel chip at speeds up to four times faster than a G4; an
iPod radio remote; iLife '06 with photocasting over the Internet and a GarageBand
feature for creating Podcasts; and iWork '06 with advanced image editing within
Pages and Keynote. The audience enjoyed the enthusiastic demos, performed onstage
by Jobs himself.
Of course, Apple has extensive information about all these products on the
Apple Store (US) Web site (www.apple.com/products).
Below, we've listed the key products with (US) education pricing:
MacBook Pro: Just introduced-a new notebook featuring the Intel Core
Duo processor; shipping in February 2006. Comes with Mac OS X Tiger installed
and includes iLife '06. The built-in iSight video camera is standard equipment.
Weighs in at 5.6 pounds with a 15.4-inch screen. The MacBook Pro starts at $1799
(education pricing).
The new iMac: The first of a new generation of Macs featuring the Intel
Core Duo processor; now shipping, with Mac OS X Tiger. Comes standard with a
built-in iSight video camera and a SuperDrive. Includes iLife '06. The new iMacs
start at $1199 (education pricing).
iLife '06: Designed to serve a digital life style, iLife '06 features
iPhoto, iMovie, iDVD, and GarageBand. It also introduces iWeb to create Web
sites, online photo albums, blogs, and Podcasts. iLife '06 is just $59 (education
pricing).
iWork '06: Productivity software for creating documents and presentations.
Includes a set of new features within Pages 2 and Keynote 3, including spreadsheet-like
tables and image editing capabilities. iWork '06 is only $49 (education pricing).