The September 12 opening of the Paris Expo and that little surprise event in San Francisco is only a few days away, yet apparently the new iMac can't wait. Apple's gone and announced the up-gunned iMac earlier than expected - media outlets and professional Apple watchers, including us, were guessing the lineup would be announced during either September 12 event. So "12" won't be a number to associate with the iMac.

But two numbers to associate with the iMac are "2" - the Core 2 Duo processor - and 24 - a new 24" screen that caps the high-end version of this latest lineup (And isn't it curious that 2 x 12 = 24? But enough of the math). Apple claims that 64bit Core 2 Duo iMac outpaces its Core Duo predecessor by up to 50%. No need to specify the benefits of the larger screen.

Besides 2 and 24 (and 64 and 50%), here are the other numbers on the upgraded iMac, all involving dollar signs:

• $999 - 17" / 1.83GHz / 512MB RAM / 160GB HD / Combo / Intel GMA 950
• $1,199 - 17" / 2.0GHz / 1GB RAM / 250GB HD / SuperDrive / Radeon X1600
• $1,499 - 20" / 2.16GHz / 1GB RAM / 250GB HD / SuperDrive / Radeon X1600
• $1,999 - 24" / 2.16GHz / 1GB RAM / 250GB HD / SuperDrive / GeForce 7300GT

All versions will include the AirPort Extreme, and versions that cost $1,999 and up will also feature Bluetooth 2.0. However, there's no word on whether Apple will also upgrade the education iMacs.

Reports say that they also decided to upgrade the last of the Core Solo Mini's heart to the 2 Duo as well, eliminating the Core Solo sales lineup and throwing in a new 1.83GHz Core Duo Mini into the mix. Them Cupertino boys do know how to surprise us.

Again? Word on the street is that Apple's been denying Mac mini bulk orders from resellers and large partners. Last time this happened, back in February, we wondered if it meant that Apple would announce or release a new version of the mini - sure enough, within days of that report, Apple introduced the Intel-based mini. The same guy who first wrote about the report now reports that his bulk orders have been denied - just like last time.

And the report's just gotten confirmation from a well-placed source who claims that Apple's been refusing orders worldwide. The source also said that Mac mini supplies should improve in two weeks time when new shipments begin.

So what has the fruit company got up its sleeve this coming post-Labor Day? There were reports of Apple getting ready for fall product launches, particularly a massive air shipment from the Far East due in-country September 5. We do know that September is the month Apple will update its MacBook Pros with Core 2 Duos. With this story of a new mini shortage, could there be more?

Curiouser and curiouser. It would be quite interesting to follow this rabbit down the rabbit-hole.

If you missed out on Apple's previous offer of refurbished nanos and iPods, don't fret because Apple Store is back with an even more enticing offer of refurbished iPod bundles and Mac minis.

A $49 512MB iPod shuffle comes with a free iPod shuffle armband. Ok, that may be an offer you can refuse, but can you say 'no' to an external battery pack? If you're through with the shuffle, you can get one of those 20GB clickwheel iPod with free iPod Dock for $169. For just an additional $30, you can have a 20GB color display iPod.

Refurbished Mac minis powered by 1.5Ghz Intel Core Solo with 512MB RAM and 60GB SATA hard drive/Combo drive is offered at $519. If you want bigger storage capacity of 80GB, you can get it at a discounted price of $699. The 1.42GHz G4 with 512MB RAM, 60GB Ultra ATA hard drive, a Combo drive, and a  32MB ATI Radeon 9200 graphics card is a steal at $519. The 80GB with SuperDrive, DVI or VGA video output version is only $599.

When you press that start key and nothing happens, it's more than an inconvenience.

If you're like a lot of Mac users, it's a betrayal. Suddenly, this faithful friend and servant that has worked with you for so long has decided to "check out" on you.

Remember, however, that Apple has traditionally taken very good care of its treasured customers. If your machine is still under warranty, they'll even send someone to your domicile to correct the problem. But even if its out of warranty, the Apple has been designed to be extremely user-friendly - and there are very few problems that the user can't often solve on his/her own.

The folks at Creative Techs in Seattle have come up with a  handy four-step process to get you back up and running, read the Full Article to start on the path towards recovery.

The MacMini came out over a year ago as an answer for those whose needs did not require, or whose budgets didn't allow, the purchase of a Dual Processor G5. A compact little machine about the size of a jewelry box, the Mac Mini was good for everything but the most extreme, high-end video processing, and could be had for under $600.

Now, a Mac user in Taiwan has reportedly replaced the stock CPU in his MacMini with a 2.16 GHz Core 2 Duo Merom. The souped-up Mini beat  1.8 GHz and 2.5 GHz Dual Processor G5s when it came to an iTunes .mp3 to AAC conversion, despite the fact that the Mini had a slower hard drive. In Photoshop v7 - a notoriously large and cumbersome application - the results for the Mini were also quite promising. This is especially significant when one takes into consideration the fact that Photoshop requires Rosetta to translate PPC instructions for the Intel chip.

As for the upgrade itself, it was a fairly simple procedure - and actually a good thing for the machine, since the Intel chip runs cooler than the previous one.

A Taiwanese forum page has been discussing the results of replacing an Intel Mac miniÂ?s standard Core Duo chip with a Core 2 Duo chip (the 2.16GHz Merom T740) that is slated to be released on August 2006. The benchmarks are pretty reliable and they don't lie - although the tinkered-on MacMini did not recognize that someone did a "brain surgery" on it (click on the left thumbprint), when it is compared to both a dual 1.8GHz G5 and a dual 2.5GHz G5 (right thumbprint below), the Merom-running MacMini beats them both in an iTunes MP3 to AAC conversion despite the miniÂ?s slower hard drive.

To sum it all up, the results are very innovative and promising. Upgrading Apple CPUs have become revolutionary if this would be believed, since this generation Core 2 Duo chips actually generate less heat than the current generation, upgrading these new Intel Macs may be the easiest CPU upgrade in AppleÂ?s history.

Was the DeLorean made for anything else but driving around neighborhoods or highways in 'Back to the Future' style? You certainly won't think it would be good for other things, but it is.

When the Mac Mini came out, talks about custom car computing became very prominent. The Mac Mini was ideal for installation in cars because of its features and compact design. A company called Carnetix even came up with a DC-DC regulator for safely powering a Mac Mini from a 12V supply.

This owner of a DeLorean was also bent on getting a computer custom installed to his car, but he had a problem. He didn't want the typical 7-inch touchscreen; he wanted a screen that was AT LEAST 20 inches wide. So he did to the DeLorean what everybody else wouldn't do to their cars - he installed the Mac Mini and a screen larger than the usual screens in an area just beyond the car's windshield.

Because of the many limitations he had to face with making his carputer, he came up with a solution that was definitely both convenient and ingenious: a projector was used for his DeLorean Mac Mini to give the 37-inch screen he had envisioned.

Not bad, eh? Know of anyone else who's tried anything like this?

Earlier, we reported on an iMac user who mounted her iMac g5 on an adjustable arm that gave her Apple baby a "floating" effect. Since Apple is all about innovation, it isn't a surprise that its consumers are picking up the same innovative ways of thinking. Picking up from that pitch, a MacMini user named Jeff presented a sweet setup of his MacMini.

According to the guy, "I could have mounted the Mini higher on the wall to hide the cables, but I wanted easy access for connecting digital camera and camcorder. Audio is currently through monitor's internal speakers. Need to find a good wall mount surround sound receiver!" Nice work, really nice!

Here are the features of Jeff's Macmini setup:

- Mac Mini Core Duo, 1G RAM
- Westinghouse LVM-42w2 1080p monitor
- 300GB HD in fanless enclosure
- Miglia TVMini HD OTA HDTV tuner
- Radio Shack double bow tie UHF antenna (in attic)
- Unicom S-Video + Audio L/R balun from SD DirecTivo (dual tuner) in bedroom
- Xantech IR extender over CAT5 to DirecTivo in bedroom
- Peerless ST650P Universal Tilt Wall Mount
- Apple wireless keyboard and mouse (not shown)
- Universal R7G Remote Control (not shown) programmed to control monitor, TVMini HD, FrontRow

Apple have just released an updated firmware for its SuperDrive component found in many of there computers.

SuperDrive Firmware 2.0 features solutions for many errors previously encountered when using certain burning speeds on some recordable DVD media. This update, designed for Mac OS X v10.3.9 or later is designed for use with the following Apple products:

PowerBook G4 (12 -inch 1.5GHz)
PowerBook G4 (15-inch 1.33GHz, 1.5GHz, or 1.67GHz)
PowerBook G4 (17-inch 1.67GHz)
iMac G5 (17-inch 1.6GHz or 1.8GHz)
iMac G5 (20-inch 1.8GHz)
Mac mini G4

If your product meets the system requirements, but you are unable to update the firmware, Apple have advised customers to contact your local Apple Authorized Service Provider or an Apple Store retail location.

You can get this free download (avaliable in most languages) just below:

Download: [Superdrive Firmware 2.0 Update]

DivX released its famous codec for the Mac. Almost universally found in PCs, DivX for Mac 6.5 is the first Mac version officially released by the company.

DivX is a codec (compression/ decompression) software that crunches video from virtually any source to a size that is easy to transport over the Internet. But despite the significant reduction in file size, the original video's quality remains unchanged. The software's video compression power is so efficient it can fit the entire contents of a DVD on a regular data CD.

If you've never used a DivX before, trust us it's not complicated. The DivX for Mac 6.5 lets you convert your videos to DivX by the fool-proof drag-and-drop method. Simply drag the file to the DivX Converter and clck on the Convert button.  That's all there is to it.  The DivX for Mac download includes:

• DivX Player 1.0.1
• DivX Community Codec 6.2.2
• DDivX Community Codec 6.2.2

DivX for Mac 6.5 requires Mac OS X 10.3.9 or later and QuickTime 6 or later. The Pro Version costs $19.99 which is a good deal if you ask us.

For older machines using older Macintosh operating systems, you can use the DivX 5.2.1. DivX 5.2.1 for Mac works with Mac OS 10.2.6 to 10.3.9. However, DivX 5.2.1 is not compatible with Mac OS 10.4 or QuickTime 7. DivX 5.2.1 for Mac includes an mp3 encoder and also costs $19.99.