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- NEW YORK - The Apple
faithful got what they came for Wednesday as an ebullient Steve Jobs introduced
the portable version of the wildly popular iMac computer, dubbed iBook.
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- The portable version of the wildly popular iMac computer,
dubbed iBook
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- Jobs, who sports the typically Apple title of iCEO -
interim chief executive officer - unveiled the clamshell-shaped laptop,
which has the same look of the all-in-one iMac computer. Like the iMac,
the iBook will also come in colors, or "flavors" as the company
calls them -tangerine and blueberry to start.
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- The announcement came at the MacWorld Expo show, held
at the Jacob Javits Center in New York.
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- The snazzy portables sport a rubberized surface for ruggedness,
a full-sized keyboard, a built-in 24x CD-ROM drive and a nice touch not
found on other portables - a built-in handle. A 300mhz processor is standard,
as is 32-megabytes of memory and a 3.2 gigabyte hard drive.
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- But the newest and most cutting-edge feature is a wireless
connection to the Internet using technology developed for Apple (<http://invest.foxmarketwire.com/cgi-bin/tipsheet?ticker=aapl&x=22&y=11&hn=stoc
k_theader.inc&fn=footer2.inc&site=fox&request=s0&group=wfAAPL)
by Lucent Technologies. The AirPort Wireless Network uses a flying saucer-shaped
base station with a built-in 56k modern and an Ethernet connection. Two
antennas are built in to the body of the iBook, on either side of the 12.1-inch
screen. The system has a range of 150 feet which, Jobs noted, is half the
length of a football field.
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- "That's bigger than anybody's house I know of, except
Bill Gates'." Jobs said. As many as 10 laptops can share the signal
from a single base station. A credit-card-sized plug-in that installs under
the keyboard of the iBook makes the computer wireless.
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- iBook Specifications
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- Processor and Memory - 300-MHz PowerPC G3 processor 32MB
of SDRAM
- Storage - 3.2GM IDE hard disk drive
- Built-in 24 X CD-ROM drive
- Interfaces - Built-in 56K modem supporting K56flex and
V.90 standards
- 16-bit stereo sound output minijack
- Graphics Support - 4MB of SDRAM video memory
- Battery - Up to 6 hours of battery life, depending on
configuration and usage
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- Size and Weight
- Width: 13.5 in (34.4 cm)
- Height: 11.6 in (29.4 cm)
- Weight: 6.7 pds (3.0 kg)
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- Jobs saved the wireless announcement for last and introduced
the feature with his usual showmanship. He began his demonstration by surfing
the Internet with his iBook, then lifted the laptop and began walking the
stage. After the crowd awarded Jobs' performance with oohs and ahhs and
applause, Jobs took a hula-hoop and passed it around the computer.
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- "No wires!" he yelled.
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- The laptops will be available in September at a cost
of $1,599. The AirPort base station will sell for $299 and the wireless
network cards will sell for $99 each. Judging by the reaction of the crowd,
the iBooks will be big sellers.
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- Show attendees lined up to take a close look at the new
laptops and many even posed with them, asking Apple employees to snap their
picture as they held the iBook by its handle. Even several newspaper reporters
in the press section of the Expo couldn't help but react with cries of
"Wow! That's cool!" as Jobs showed off the iBook.
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- Jobs also unveiled two other developments at the Expo.
The new Macintosh operating system, OS 9, will begin shipping in October.
The latest version of the system includes 50 new features, most notably
a souped-up Internet search engine called "Sherlock 2." The program
allows the user to specify search targets, allowing a user to search just
through news sites or, more to the point, just shopping sites. Sherlock
then checks dozens of sites and ranks the results, allowing users to comparison
shop and even monitor auctions on sites such as Amazon.com and eBay.
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- Apple also introduced its QuickTime TV service. Using
the QuickTime video system, the network connects to streaming video content
from such providers as Disney, BBC World News, Fox News and Fox Sports.
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