GAJIZMO

24-inch iMac Starts at $1,499; Critics say Mac mini too pricey

Apple has just announced updates to its iMac and Mac mini desktop lines, including a 24-inch iMac that is priced more affordably than ever before and a Mac mini with powerful new integrated graphics. For the same $1,499 price as the previous generation 20-inch iMac, the new 24-inch iMac delivers a 30 percent larger display, twice the memory and twice the storage. Delivering up to five times better graphics performance, the updated Mac mini now features the same groundbreaking NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphics introduced with the aluminum unibody MacBook family. The Mac mini is the world’s most energy efficient desktop, drawing less than 13 watts of power when idle. All iMac and Mac mini systems come with Mac OS X Leopard, the world’s most advanced operating system, and iLife ’09, Apple’s unparalleled suite of consumer applications for managing and organizing photos, making movies and creating and learning to play music.

Related Stories:

Arn / MacRumors:
Apple Announces New iMacs, Mac Minis, AirPort Extreme and Time Capsule

Discussion: Wi-Fi Networking News, Tech Beat, Computerworld, Ars Technica, TUAW, Guardian,NEWSFACTOR, Engadget, dot.life blog, Gizmodo, CrunchGear, The iPhone Blog, Gadgetwise,AppleInsider, Pulse2, Macintosh, Mac Apps …, PC Magazine and Gearlog

Philip Elmer-DeWitt / Apple 2.0:
Oppenheimer: New iMac a better deal than Dell, HP

Discussion: MacRumors

Larry Dignan / Between the Lines:
Apple refreshes desktop lineup: Is the Mac mini irrelevant?

Discussion: Hardware 2.0, Associated Press, Gadget Lab, Tech Check with Jim Goldman andGizmodo

Asus finally launched the Eee PC 1008HA at CeBIT today. The Eee PC 1008HA measures a svelte 1 inch thick and is really light at just 2.4 pounds.

The netbook which was formerly marketed as the Eee PC Shell has an uncanny reseblance to MSI's netbook. Like MSI’s Wind series, the lid on the Eee PC 1000HA slips down behind the case of the computer when it is opened providing the unit a slightly smaller profile.

The  Eee PC 1008HA netbook is about as thin and light as the high end Eee PC S101. Just as important, it is anticipated that Asus will announce an even lighter price tag. Chippy from UMPC Portal snapped a set of photos of the Eee PC 1008HA, and it looks like it has a nice large keyboard and touchpad. It also appears to have an unusually large (for an Asus netbook) shift key on the right side of the keyboard which should make touch typists happy.

A report by SlashGear indicates that the Eee PC 1008HA is also designed to utilize the new Asus Eee Docking application bar, which lets you access an Eee Sharing utility to transfer files between Eee PC netbooks and an Eee Areana online media and gaming portal with a single click.

In a related report, ZDNet waxed creative about the Asus unveiling stating calling it another surprise at  CeBIT. According the ZDNet, Eee PC doens’t just stand for “Easy to learn, Easy to work, Easy to play” anymore. It now stands for “Easy Excellent, and Exciting.”

During his annual “Strategic Update” briefing with Wall Street analysts on February 24, CEO Steve Ballmer said Office 14 won’t be shipping in 2009.

“Office 14 will not be this year,” Ballmer told analysts.

Microsoft officials have been careful not to provide a ship-date target for the next version of Office. However, last year, more than a few times execs slipped up and indicated Office 14 would ship in 2009. Just a month or two ago, Microsoft reps were telling corporate customers that Office 14 would ship in either late 2009 or early 2010.

Follow this story by Mary-Jo Foley on ZDNet blogs.

Marvell today announced its Plug Computing initiative to make high-performance, always on, always connected, and environmentally friendly computing readily available for developers and end-users. A Plug Computer is small enough to plug directly into a wall socket and is designed to draw so little power that it can be left on all of the time. Unlike other embedded devices in the home, it contains a gigahertz class processor to offer PC class performance. This makes it a viable alternative to a PC for any software service.

Discussions: Computerworld, Gizmodo, Electronista and TG Daily

Apple has discontinued its 20" Cinema Display from the online Apple Store and has notified resellers that the item has reached  "end of life", meaning the company will no longer provide supply.

While it may be possible that Apple has simply chosen to stop offering a 20" model, it more likely that they are preparing to release a new LED-based 20" Display with the new Mini DisplayPort introduced in October. Recall that Apple has said that all future products will contain the Mini DisplayPort connectors. Apple's 30" Display remains available in stores at this time.

We can think of a number of possible Apple product updates now overdue. The Cinema Displays saw some activity in October when Apple introduced their first LED-based standalone monitor with the 24" model.

Follow this story at MacRumors and at TUAW
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The Freep's Mike Wendland writes why the Flip Mino is his 2008 Gajizmo of the Year

"Today starts my annual 12 Days of Christmas Tech Gift Ideas. Each day (Monday through Friday) through Dec. 17, I'll be offering my tech picks for the season.
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Miniature camcorders have become a hot new tech trend these days. But in my book, there’s only one to get if you’re looking for maximum quality and convenience.

It’s the new Flip minoHD, the world’s smallest high-definition camcorder that takes video that can only be described as breathtaking, considering it’s coming from a camera so small it fits in a shirt pocket.

I’ve been testing and using Flip cameras since they first hit the market in 2005, and this latest beauty has so impressed me that it’s my top pick as the tech gift of the year.

It costs $229 and truly, for many consumers who don’t want to be bogged down with larger and more complicated cameras, the minoHD is the only camcorder they will need. "

Follow this post by Mike Wendland at The Detroit Free Press.

Hewlett-Packard is getting set to roll out a quick-charging battery for its laptops that it guarantees to last at least three years without any degradation in performance. The Sonata battery is the product of three years of development work by Boston-Power and will be rebranded by HP as the "Enviro" battery and offered from early 2009 with select machines.

According to HP, the battery can be charged to 80 percent of capacity in 30 minutes, which could be useful for travelers who only have a limited amount of time near an electric outlet, and will go 1,000 charges before the battery's capacity begins degrading. That's a charge a day for three years -- or four years if it's only used on weekdays -- so it should last the average life of a business laptop. Common laptop batteries today start to degrade after 300 charges.

Follow this story at InfoWorld.