At the keynote address at the Macworld Expo in Tokyo this week, Steve Jobs continued Apple [1]'s move to CD-RW (recordable CD drives) as the media device of choice in new Macintosh computers. Apple's iMac [2] line still includes Indigo and Graphite models, and adds psychedelic Blue Dalmation and Flower Power designs. Available in a basic 400 MHz model ($900, with CD-ROM drive) and higher-end 500 MHz and 600 MHz models ($1,200 and $1,500 with CD-RW drives), the iMac family is now at the core of Apple's "digital lifestyle" push. The 450 MHz Power Mac G4 Cube [3] ($1,300) retains its DVD-ROM drive. New models at $1,600 and $2,144 (with 128 and 256 MB of memory, respectively, compared to 64 MB for the base model) sport CD-RW drives, and the high-end unit features nVIDIA's GeForce2 MX [4] video controller and a 60 GB hard drive.
Apple also announced a $1000 price cut in its 22-inch flat-panel Cinema Display [5], now a mere $3,000. Almost lost in the shuffle was word that Apple's top-of-the-line 733 MHz Power Mac G4 [6] minitower, with CD- and DVD-writing SuperDrive, is now shipping.
[1]: http://www.apple.com/
[2]: http://www.apple.com/imac/
[3]: http://www.apple.com/powermaccube/
[4]: http://www.nvidia.com/products/geforce2mx.nsf
[5]: http://www.apple.com/displays/acd22/index.html
[6]: http://www.apple.com/powermac/