Apple launches revamped iMacs and more friendly operating system

Apple has launched a second generation of iMacs that are faster, quieter and cheaper and a new version of the Mac OS packed with Internet friendly features.

The new iMac comes in three versions: at £799 (inc Vat) the entry level model is the cheapest iMac yet, has a faster processor, 64Mbyte of memory and new features like much improved sound output and a slot load CD-Rom to replace the fiddly tray.

The £999 iMac DV is the first ever consumer PC which is ready to edit digital video as soon as you take it out of the box.

Apple boss Steve Jobs predicts that home video editing will be the "next big thing" just as DTP was in the 1980s.

The iMac DV comes with a built-in 4x DVD-Rom drive, DVD video playback, and two 400Mbps Firewire ports which can directly import and export near broadcast quality video from most domestic DV camcorders. Apple has also bundled its own easy to use video editing software, called iMovie.

The iMac DV Special Edition (£1,119) is the top of the range model and comes with more memory (128Mbytes) and a larger, hard drive (13Gbyte). All the models will be available late October.

Apple also unveiled version 9.0 of the Mac OS, which will cost £79 (inc Vat) when it ships on 28 October. This is despite the threat of a lawsuit from a US company, Microware, that claims it owns the copyright to the name OS9. (see Newswire 10 September) OS9 is a major revamp of the Mac OS, including the Sherlock Internet search engine that adds 'channels' to provide, "tailored lists of search targets including people, shopping and news."

Apple has sold over two million iMacs since launching the range 13 months ago.