Good news!!! Previously a rumor, AppleInsider confirms that the Wi-Fi card in your Apple Intel-based Core 2 Duo iMac IS 802.11n ready! This means your stylish, spankin' Apple desktop can enjoy all the benefits of next-generation Wi-Fi connection! The catch? You owe Apple five bucks (or US$ 4.99, to be exact). Either that or get the new AirPort Extreme Base Station, itself 802.11n-enabled. Do that however, and you'll owe Steve Jobs ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY NINE BUCKS for the AirPort and the 802.11n. Take your pick.

Yes, Virginia. Apple has been quietly shipping your iMacs to you with such advanced capabilities, without telling you about it. To enable it, though, will require a patch that will begin shipping next month when the new AirPort comes out. But why the nominal five dollar fee? (But the cheapskate in this writer replies: Nominal my butt!)

AppleInsider offers an explanation from iLounge editor Jeremy Horwitz, based on talks with Apple reps. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act prohibits companies from selling products without advertising their features, and there are financial/accounting penalties for doing so. 802.11n was unadvertised, but as AppleInsider confirmed, it's there, in the box, and all ready but for one measly patch.

The five dollars (or five dollars from the US$ 179 of Uncle Sam's notes) might be part of that accounting penalty - to balance the books, so to speak. If it didn't collect the additional fee for the unadvertised next-gen Wi-Fi feature, Apple could be held liable for improper accounting, Horwitz says.

Hey, no one wants an Enron - even over five dollars a patch.

Her Majesty's a pretty nice girl but she doesn't have a lot to say
Her Majesty's a pretty nice girl but she changes from day to day
I want to tell her that I love her a lot, but I gotta get a bellyful of wine
Her Majesty's a pretty nice girl, someday I'm gonna make her mine...

Now while our admiration for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth doesn't go as far as what John Lennon and Paul McCartney had in mind in their song, "Her Majesty," it's still might fancy (or should we say fon-sei *Brit accent*) to get noticed by the Queen for your creativity and achievement.

Such is the honor that Jonathan Ive received when the Queen honored him as a Commander of the British Empire during the Queen's New Year Honours. If you have no idea who Jonathan Ive is, he's the one responsible for that wheel scroll thing on your iPods and the sleek design of your iMacs.

A primer on Jonathan Ive for those who don't know him: born in the UK in February 1967, he studied industrial design at Newcastle Polytechnic and started working for Apple in 1992. However, it wasn't until way back in 1998 when Steve Jobs adopted his iMac design that he reached his famous status.

After this, he has taken on designing various products for Apple but his best known design yet is without a doubt, the iPod. This skyrocketed his career in Apple, with Jobs propelling his career even further to become Senior VP of Industrial Design at the company. Prior to the Queen's CBE, he was also hailed as Designer of the Year by the Design Museum London in 2003 and has been given the title of Royal Designer for Industry by The Royal Society of Arts.

We really won't want to bother you with a lot of technical stuff concerning the 2.33GHz MacBook Pro Core 2 Duo latest update, but we thought you might want to know some of the highlights of the update. Thanks to bcavanau, we learned that there have been lots of improvements that'll make a lot of MacBook Pro users happy.

Apple made sure that it was still consistent with the old  model though, with some features hardly changed such as the case (except that it comes with a new FW800 Port) and with far less noise. Here's a quick rundown of stuff you may find in the upgrade:

• Hard drive (120GB) is Fujitsu MHW2120BH
• DVD Drive (6X-DVD-DL) is Matshita UJ-857D
• Airport reception seems to be consistent with previous model
• ATI X1600 Core clock is 418.50 and Memory clock is 450.00
• Screenshots of the About Window and the Hardware Overview in Mac OS X

The Atheros AR5008 802.11n chipset runs up to 650% faster and five times farther than 802.11g. This is a draft 802.11n wireless card found in the MacBook Pro. Other users found a different draft in the iMacs, which means Apple may intend to use another faster wireless card for the upcoming iTV. If this is likely, then we're going to be hearing from Apple soon enough, so keep reading for more news.

Now you can have LightScribe drives in your Mac. Announced by LaCie earlier today, their drives are now Mac-compatible, along with the release of its LightScribe Labeling software.

LightScribe is the software which allows you to create labels on your burned CDs or DVDs without the need for those printer or sticky label papers. The drive has a "direct-to-disc" label technology that etches it right on the disc itself. You can even make it funky by putting in an artwork or whatever design you may be so inclined to put. The announcement is particularly fantastic, because although there are already some Mac users who have had the LightScribe drives for a while now, it is only now that LaCie's software allowed for it to be Mac-compatible.

The drives are already available for just under US $100, while the software comes free with the drives. The LightScribe labeling software is also released for Linux.

New technology makes its way into our hands so fast that sometimes even the company selling it doesn't have time to update its final published specs. At least that's the way it appears with the new Core 2 Duo iMac. A few users have reported some unexpected details when running Vista on their Core 2 Duo.

What looks wrong here? Namely a network card that supports 802.11n in addition to the advertised b/g standards. A reader identified the card to be a Broadcom card which "works across all 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g and draft-802.11n solutions. Intensi-fi is Broadcom's implementation of the 802.11n draft specification and the industry's first draft-802.11n solutions. Intensi-fi technology delivers superior performance and robust wireless connectivity throughout a home or office, enabling next-generation Wi-Fi devices to support voice, video and data applications. Intensi-fi chipsets are also designed to be compatible with existing 802.11a/b/g products."

So why the advertised limitation in Mac OS X? One suggestion was that 802.11n is not supported yet, possibly requiring Vista's latest drivers to unlock 802.11n mode in the Broadcom network card. While this is merely speculation, it's a fact that companies update and replace internal stock hardware with "equal or better" components at time due to availability and cost. So we guess that the moral of this story is to not be surprised if your Core 2 Duo (or other devices) magically start accepting new formats.

Troll Touch successfully tinkers with the 24-inch Apple iMac and has now announced that it is now incorporated with the company's touchscreen conversion. With its PSR-1 touch technology, the touchscreen operates with any non-sharp pointing device, such as a stylus or a gloved hand.

Turning your Mac into a touch-driven kiosk system now is also made possible by the analog resistive touchscreen. Apart from that, you can also turn it into a point of sale system or other device that can benefit from touch-driven input rather then mouse and keyboard input.

If you want to have your iMac converted, you might want visit the company's facility in Valencia, California and shell out US$ 1,499. If, however, you want a brand new Mac you can avail of a 24-inch iMac with touch screen technology for US$ 3,499.

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.

Apple's shares have hit $73.36 today, almost 5% higher than they were yesterday. Reports all over the internet suggest that this hike in the price of Apple shares is due to interest in Apple's special event titled 'Showtime' that will run less than a week from now on September 12. The question is, will the shares stay at this level, rise, or fall after news from the September 12 event has circulated? That all depends on what Apple are planning to reveal of course. Analysts today predicted that Apple could "multiply" revenue with new products, including a new iPods and a new iMac - both of which are expected to be revealed at the event.

"Next Tuesday we believe Apple will unveil a major move into the digital home with the potential to multiply its revenue streams," UBS analyst Benjamin A. Reitzeswrote in a note to clients. "In addition to potential new nanos and movie and video services, we are excited about potential products through 2007."

Whatever the September 12 event brings, you can be sure to see all the latest here at QJ.net's Apple blog. What are you expecting? A WiFi enabled iPod, a new design, more features. Tell us through your comments!

  

According to sources, Apple are going to take advantage of their media event on September 12th to introduce two new iPods and a new iMac. The new iPods includes the second-generation of the popular mini MP3 player that goes by the name of the iPod Nano and its bigger brother, the updated fifth-generation iPod. Apparently, additional members of the media will be invited to attend the September 12th event during this week.

Th event will be big, as Apple has gone through lots of trouble to get worldwide media attention. The event will be held near Apple's Cupterino, Calif. headquarters and will be carried by a private satellite feed to a central London location for members of the European press. The items revealed on the day are expected to be on show at the Apple Expo Paris - which also kicks off on September 12.

The new nano will sport increased capacities and be available in multiple colors with a metal finish. The upgraded iPod, meanwhile, is expected to sport increased capacities at the same price points. As far as the iMac goes, expect to see faster Core 2 Duo processors inside and the addition of a new, high-end 23-inch model which we are interested in. Stay tuned to QJ on September 12th for updates.

The widespread availability of Intel Corp's new desktop processors in the past several weeks is not enough to make Apple introduce new line of iMac computers. We know now why as they confirm previous rumors to sidestep Core 2 Duo and use Merom, the mobile variant of chips, for the MacBook instead.

This month will not be over before they come up with the announcement regarding the next-gen models, including a 23-inch new member of the iMac family. This upgrade will be the third Apple ha made within the last 12 months.

In a related matter, this is not the first time Core 2 Duo was ignored by Apple. The recently unveiled Mac Pro high-end desktops went with Intel's higher-performance Xeon server processor, contrary to earlier reports. Then everybody thought Core 2 Duo will then be going to the iMac line, but here we are, Merom taking the spot.

Merom is said to be capable of up to 2.33GHZ speed, offering a 40 percent increase compared to the previous Core Duo CPU.