Apple Introduces iPod mini

Apple Introduces iPod mini

Smallest 1,000 Song Music Player Ever Comes in Five Colours MACWORLD EXPO, SAN FRANCISCO‹January 6, 2004‹Apple® today introduced iPod� mini, the smallest portable music player ever to hold up to 1,000 CD-quality songs.

iPod mini is encased in an ultra-portable, lightweight anodised aluminium body available in five stylish colours‹silver, gold, pink, blue or green‹and features a patent pending, touch-sensitive Click Wheel for easy, one-handed navigation. iPod mini features the same award-winning user interface as its ³big brother² iPods and works effortlessly with Apple¹s iTunes® Music Store, the world¹s number one digital music service, and the iTunes digital music jukebox software for seamlessly buying, managing and listening to digital music collections.

³iPod has revolutionised the way people listen to music,² said Steve Jobs, Apple¹s CEO. ³iPod mini joins the iPod family of best-selling digital music players, offering customers the same 1,000 songs in your pocket as the original iPod in an innovative design that¹s half the size. We think its going to be pretty popular, especially with younger music lovers.²

iPod mini is the perfect combination of ultra-portable design, storage capacity, ease-of-use and audio performance. iPod mini is smaller than most cell phones and weighs only 3.6 ounces. Building on the success of the original touch wheel, iPod mini features an innovative, new Click Wheel that combines the ease and simplicity of a touch wheel with the precision of mechanical buttons for precise, one-handed navigation. iPod mini users can transfer a song per second from their Mac® or Windows computer and conveniently charge iPod mini with either the included FireWire or USB 2.0 cable.

iPod mini is the ultimate fashion statement with a choice of five stylish colours‹silver, gold, pink, blue or green‹the hallmark white headphones and a new belt clip. With a backlit, recessed screen and lightweight, yet durable anodised aluminium, iPod mini is the ultimate portable digital music player. Users can purchase an optional arm band, in-ear headphones or a dock to enhance their iPod mini experience.

iPod mini features Apple¹s patent pending Auto-Sync technology that automatically downloads an entire digital music library onto iPod mini and keeps it up-to-date whenever iPod mini is plugged into a Mac or Windows computer using FireWire or USB 2.0.

Availability

iPod mini for Mac and Windows will be available worldwide in April, in a choice of a silver, gold, pink, blue or green 4GB model with a belt clip. iPod mini will be available through Apple Authorised Resellers. All iPod minis will include earbud headphones, an Apple iPod mini power adapter, a 1.2m 30-pin to FireWire cable, a 1.2m 30-pin to USB 2.0 cable, and a CD with iTunes 4.2 for Mac and Windows computers.

iPod mini can be charged with either the FireWire or USB 2.0 cable and gets up to eight hours of battery life. iPod mini requires a Mac with a FireWire port and Mac OS® X version 10.1.5 or later (Mac OS X v10.2 or later recommended); or a Windows PC with a FireWire or USB 2.0 port, or a Windows-certified FireWire or USB 2.0 card and Windows 2000, XP Home or Professional.

Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh. Apple is committed to bringing the best personal computing experience to students, educators and creative professionals and consumers around the world through its innovative hardware, software and Internet offerings. Apple, the Apple logo, Macintosh, Mac, Mac OS, iPod, iTunes, FireWire and Apple Store are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Apple. Other company and product names may be trademarks

Over Two Million iPods Sold New 15GB Model Added to iPod Family MACWORLD EXPO, SAN FRANCISCO‹January 6, 2004‹Apple® announced today that over two million iPods have been sold since its introduction, solidifying its position as the number one digital music player in the world. Apple also announced the immediate availability of a new 15GB model offering customers 50 percent more storage for just $499+GST. All iPods work seamlessly with the award-winning iTunes® digital music jukebox software and the pioneering iTunes Music Store, which has sold over 30 million songs, providing music fans with the best digital music experience on either a Mac® or Windows computer.

³With over two million sold, iPod is unquestionably the leading digital music player in the world,² said Steve Jobs, Apple¹s CEO. ³By enabling music lovers to carry their entire music library with them at all times, iPod is clearly changing the way we enjoy our music, much the way the Sony Walkman did decades ago.²

iPod� and iPod mini (also announced today) are the only portable music players with Apple¹s patent pending Auto-Sync, an innovative feature that automatically downloads an entire digital music library onto iPod and keeps it up-to-date whenever iPod is plugged into a Mac or Windows computer using FireWire® or USB 2.0. The ultra-portable iPod is designed with a solid-state ³no moving parts² touch wheel and backlit buttons for precise, effortless navigation through thousands of songs; an elegant dock for easy syncing and charging with an audio line out for quick connection to a home stereo or powered speakers; and ³On-The-Go² playlists so users can build a playlist right on their iPod.

Apple¹s iTunes Music Store for Mac and Windows computers is the perfect companion to iPod. The iTunes Music Store makes it easy for music fans to find, purchase and download their music online. Music purchased from the iTunes Music Store is downloaded right into Apple¹s popular iTunes digital music jukebox software, where users can easily manage their music library, create playlists, burn custom CDs and transfer their entire music library onto their iPod for on-the-go listening anywhere. (available to US customers only)

More than just music, iPod is also great for listening to and keeping track of audiobooks; as a clock and alarm; for synchronising and managing contacts, calendars and to-do lists; as a note reader for downloaded text-based information; and for digital voice recording and photo storage with optional Belkin accessories, allowing users to record hundreds of hours of audio and store thousands of digital photos on their iPod. iPod includes a rechargeable lithium-ion battery for more than eight hours of continuous music.

Pricing & Availability

Apple¹s third generation, dockable iPods are now available in three ultra-portable models: a new 15GB model that holds over 3,700 songs for a suggested retail price of just $499+GST (available from late January); a 20GB model that holds over 5,000 songs for a suggested retail price of $659+GST; and a 40GB model that holds over 10,000 songs for a suggested retail price of $879+GST. Available through Apple Authorised Resellers, iPod supports high-speed syncing via USB 2.0 with Windows; a separate USB 2.0 cable, available through Apple Authorised Resellers is required. All iPod models include earbud headphones, an Apple iPod power adapter, a FireWire cable and a 4-pin-to-6-pin iPod FireWire adapter. 20GB and 40G iPod models also include the iPod Dock, carrying case and wired remote; these optional accessories can be ordered for 15GB iPod models through Apple Authorised Resellers.

iPod requires a Mac with a FireWire port and Mac OS® X version 10.1.5 or later (Mac OS X v10.2 or later recommended); or a Windows PC with a FireWire or USB 2.0 port, or a Windows-certified FireWire or USB 2.0 card and Windows 2000, XP Home or Professional.

Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh. Apple is committed to bringing the best personal computing experience to students, educators and creative professionals and consumers around the world through its innovative hardware, software and Internet offerings.

Apple, the Apple logo, Macintosh, Mac, Mac OS, iTunes, iPod, FireWire and Apple Store are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Apple. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Apple Announces iLife Œ04 New Versions of iPhoto, iMovie & iDVD; Introducing GarageBand MACWORLD EXPO, SAN FRANCISCO‹January 6, 2004‹Apple® today announced iLife� Œ04, the next generation of Apple¹s award-winning suite of digital lifestyle applications. iLife Œ04 features major new versions of iPhoto�, iMovie® and iDVD� and introduces GarageBand�, a revolutionary new music application that turns a Mac® into a professional-quality musical instrument and recording studio for musicians and aspiring musicians alike. iLife Œ04 also features the recently-released iTunes® 4.2, the world¹s best digital music jukebox software which includes the iTunes Music Store, the world¹s number one digital music service. iLife Œ04 leads the industry in allowing consumers to easily organise their photos, manage their music collection, create movies, author DVDs and now create music.

³With iLife Œ04, Apple is taking another leap far ahead of its PC competitors in offering the most innovative software for organising and creating digital music, photos and movies,² said Steve Jobs, Apple¹s CEO. ³And now GarageBand does for music creation what iMovie did for video and iPhoto did for photos‹makes the creative process easy and affordable for everyone. Over half of U.S. households have at least one member who currently plays a musical instrument, so we think GarageBand is going to find a very receptive audience.²

GarageBand turns the Mac into a complete recording studio, allowing both novice and seasoned musicians alike to easily play, record and create amazing music using a remarkably simple interface. With GarageBand, recorded performances, digital audio and looping tracks can easily be arranged and edited like building blocks to create a song. GarageBand comes with more than 50 software instruments, including a premium-quality grand piano, that can be played and recorded with any USB or MIDI music keyboard. Over 1,000 professionally pre-recorded audio loops can be combined to make complete songs or backing tracks. Vocals and live instruments such as guitars can be recorded digitally via microphone or analog input. All these tracks can be edited and mixed together with over 200 pro-quality effects presets, including pro-quality effects such as reverb and echo, and the built-in expertise of professional recording engineers. With GarageBand¹s advanced modeling technology, guitar players have access to some of the most revered vintage amplifier sounds with six guitar amps, including clean jazz, arena rock and British invasion. GarageBand can also export completed songs to iTunes for burning to CD, encoding in MP3 or high quality AAC, transfer to iPod� or for use in the other iLife applications.

iPhoto 4 now lets users scroll through and resize up to 25,000 photos in seconds to find exactly the photo they¹re looking for. New time-based photo organisation gives users even easier access to their photos, and Smart Albums automatically organises photos based on date, keyword or the user¹s own rating. New slideshows include cinematic transitions and controls for rotating, rating and deleting photos on the fly. With Rendezvous� photo sharing, photos can easily be shared between computers across home networks.

iMovie 4 features editing directly in the timeline to make movie creation easier and faster. Users can select and edit multiple clips simultaneously to modify and render clips faster and more efficiently. With graphical audio waveforms and live audio scrubbing, users can find specific edit points in audio tracks, and alignment guides make it easy to precisely sync video and audio. Live video can be imported directly from an iSight� camera to the clips panel. iMovie 4 also makes it simple to share movies over the Internet via email or web with a .Mac HomePage, and users can take movies with them when they travel with a compatible Bluetooth mobile phone or PDA.

iDVD 4 includes 20 new Hollywood-style themes, many with intro movies and sub-menus, that can be personalised with music, photos and movies for truly original DVDs. Movies from iMovie, photos from iPhoto and music from iTunes or GarageBand can be added directly to a DVD via the media browser, and enhanced photo slideshows can include cinematic transitions and iTunes playlists. The DVD Map provides an overview of entire DVD projects, and professional-quality encoding can fit over two hours of video on a single DVD.

iLife Œ04 also includes the latest version of iTunes, the world¹s best digital music jukebox software with the iTunes Music Store inside. (Available in the US only) iTunes allows users to import music from CDs, legally download music for just 99 cents (US) per track, organise and mix the music in their digital music libraries into custom playlists, burn custom CDs or take their entire music collection with them on their iPod. The pioneering iTunes Music Store, iTunes digital music jukebox software and market-leading iPod portable digital music player provide a complete solution for music fans to buy, manage and listen to their digital music collections anywhere.

Pricing

iLife Œ04 will be available for a suggested retail price of $89+GST through Apple Authorised Resellers. The iLife Œ04 applications will also be included with all new Macs. iTunes version 4.2 is currently available as a free download at www.apple.com .

iLife requires Mac OS® X v10.2.6 or later, QuickTime® 6.4 or later, a Macintosh® computer with PowerPC G3, G4, or G5 processor, 256MB or more physical RAM and a 1024x768 or larger display. A 600 MHz G3 processor or faster is required for GarageBand and a G4 or G5 processor is required for GarageBand software instruments. An Apple SuperDrive� or 733 MHz G4 processor is required for iDVD and a SuperDrive is required to burn DVDs.

Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh. Apple is committed to bringing the best personal computing experience to students, educators and creative professionals and consumers around the world through its innovative hardware, software and Internet offerings.

Apple, the Apple logo, Macintosh, Mac, Mac OS, iLife, iPhoto, iMovie, iDVD, GarageBand, iTunes, iPod, Rendezvous, iSight, Apple Store, QuickTime and SuperDrive are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Apple. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Apple Introduces Jam Pack Triples the Music Content for Revolutionary New GarageBand Music Creation Software MACWORLD EXPO, SAN FRANCISCO‹January 6, 2004‹Apple® today introduced Jam Pack, an add-on music content package for Apple¹s revolutionary new GarageBand� music creation software, announced today as part of iLife� Œ04. Jam Pack triples the music content for musicians and aspiring musicians alike with over 2,000 additional loops including many for hip-hop and electronica; over 100 additional software instruments, including a concert grand piano and 12 string guitars; over 100 additional pro-quality effects presets; and 15 additional guitar amps, including surf, grunge, heavy blues and atmospheric.

³GarageBand is like having over 50 musical instruments, a studio of professional musicians and the best recording engineers right at your fingertips,² said Steve Jobs, Apple¹s CEO. ³And Jam Pack takes GarageBand even further, with even more professional-quality instruments, loops, effects and guitar amps.²

GarageBand turns the Mac® into a high-quality musical instrument and complete recording studio, allowing both novice and seasoned musicians alike to easily play, record and create amazing music using a remarkably simple interface. With GarageBand, recorded performances, digital audio and looping tracks can easily be arranged and edited like building blocks to create a song. GarageBand comes with more than 50 software instruments, including a premium-quality grand piano, that can be played and recorded with any USB or MIDI music keyboard. Over 1,000 professionally pre-recorded audio loops can be combined to make complete songs or backing tracks. Vocals and live instruments such as guitars can be recorded digitally via microphone or analog input. All these tracks can be edited and mixed together with over 200 pro-quality effects presets, including pro-quality effects such as reverb and echo, and the built-in expertise of professional recording engineers. With GarageBand¹s advanced modeling technology, guitar players have access to some of the most revered vintage amplifier sounds with 6 guitar amps, including clean jazz, arena rock and British invasion. GarageBand can also export completed songs to iTunes® for burning to CD, encoding in MP3 or high quality AAC, transfer to iPod� or for use in the other iLife applications.

GarageBand and Jam Pack require Mac OS® X v10.2.6 or later, QuickTime® 6.4 or later, a Macintosh® computer with PowerPC 600 MHz or faster G3, G4, or G5 processor, 256MB or more physical RAM and a 1024x768 or larger display. A G4 or G5 processor is required for GarageBand software instruments. Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh. Apple is committed to bringing the best personal computing experience to students, educators and creative professionals and consumers around the world through its innovative hardware, software and Internet offerings.

Apple, the Apple logo, Macintosh, Mac, Mac OS, GarageBand, iLife, iTunes, iPod, Apple Store and QuickTime are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Apple. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Apple Introduces Xserve G5 Dual 2.0 GHz PowerPC G5 Processors Deliver Over 30 Gigaflops of Power in a 1U Enclosure

MACWORLD EXPO, SAN FRANCISCO‹January 6, 2004‹Apple® today introduced Xserve® G5, the most powerful Xserve yet, delivering over 30 gigaflops of processing power per system, about 60 percent more than the PowerPC G4-based Xserve. Xserve G5 features the same revolutionary PowerPC G5, 64-bit processor used in Virginia Tech¹s cluster of Power Mac® G5s‹the world¹s third fastest supercomputer. With unparalleled performance and manageability in a 1U rack-mount enclosure, Xserve G5 is the perfect server for today¹s UNIX-based applications.

Xserve G5 includes a new system controller with up to 8GB of PC3200 error correcting code (ECC) memory; three hot-plug Serial ATA drive modules that deliver up to 750GB of storage; optional internal hardware RAID; dual PCI-X slots, supporting 133 MHz PCI-X cards with over 1 GBps of throughput; and dual on-board Gigabit Ethernet for high-performance networking.

³Xserve G5 delivers just what our customers have been asking for,² said Philip Schiller, Apple¹s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. ³With dual G5 processing power and up to 8GB of ECC memory, Xserve G5 is affordable, easy to manage and easy to cluster. Starting as low as $5,299 +GST, no one can offer better price performance in a 1U rack-mount design.²

Available with either single or dual 2.0 GHz PowerPC G5 processors, the Xserve G5 architecture is based on an execution core that features massively parallel computation for an unprecedented 215 in-flight instructions, full symmetric multi-processing, two double precision floating-point units and an optimised Velocity Engine. Xserve G5 has the industry's fastest front side processor bus‹running at up to 1.0 GHz and delivering 8 GBps per processor.

Building on the engineering feats first introduced in the Power Mac G5, Xserve G5 squeezes the incredible performance of dual PowerPC G5 processors into an ultra-thin 1U enclosure. An innovative copper heat sink design effectively removes heat from the processors while eight high-performance fans provide airflow for cooling the system. The fans are individually managed and monitored by a dedicated fan control processor; if a single fan fails the others speed up to compensate. The 1U enclosure has an array of over 30 sensors, including eight dedicated to temperature control, that continually monitor all critical system functions throughout the server.

Xserve G5 is the ideal server solution for cross-platform file and print, workgroup management, video streaming, database applications, high-performance computing, and web and mail serving. Apple also offers a cluster node configuration specifically designed for high-performance computational clustering that delivers the compute performance of dual G5 processors without the cost of additional components, such as a CD-ROM drive.

Xserve G5 features new capabilities designed to make server setup and remote management easier than ever before. Server Monitor, Apple¹s hardware remote monitoring application, provides both high-level red/yellow/green status on all key subsystems, as well as detailed information on server status. Xserve G5 includes an updated Server Monitor that now provides information from over 30 sensors, including power supply voltages, temperature sensors, fan speeds and Ethernet and hard drive performance.

Xserve G5 ships with an unlimited client edition of Mac OS® X Server version 10.3 ³Panther² software pre-installed. Panther Server integrates leading open source and open standards software with easy-to-use management tools that make it easy to deploy popular open source solutions for Mac®, Windows and Linux clients.

Pricing & Availability

Xserve G5 will be available in early March through Apple Authorised Resellers. Xserve will come in three standard configurations or can be fully customised to meet specific customer requirements. The three standard Xserve G5 configurations include:

€ a single 2.0 GHz PowerPC G5 processor with 512MB of PC3200 ECC RAM, a single 80GB Apple Drive Module with expandability for up to 750GB, dual Gigabit Ethernet on-board, FireWire® 800 and USB 2.0, and an unlimited client license of Mac OS X Server for a suggested retail price of $5,299+GST

€ dual 2.0 GHz PowerPC G5 processors with 1GB of PC3200 ECC RAM, a single 80GB Apple Drive Module with expandability for up to 750GB, dual Gigabit Ethernet on-board, FireWire 800 and USB 2.0, and an unlimited client license of Mac OS X Server for a suggested retail price of $7,199+GST; and

€ cluster-optimised dual 2.0 GHz PowerPC G5 processors with 512MB of PC3200 ECC RAM, a single 80GB Apple Drive Module, dual Gigabit Ethernet on-board, FireWire 800 and USB 2.0, and a 10-client license of Mac OS X Server for a suggested retail price that starts at $5,299+GST per cluster node.

Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh. Apple is committed to bringing the best personal computing experience to students, educators and creative professionals and consumers around the world through its innovative hardware, software and Internet offerings.

Apple, the Apple logo, Macintosh, Mac, Mac OS, Xserve, AppleCare, and FireWire are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Apple. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Major Developers Commit Support to Apple¹s New Xserve G5

Oracle

³Oracle Database 10g is the industry¹s first database designed for grid computing and we are in the process of making it available on Mac OS X,² said Mark Milani, vice president of the Platform Technologies Division for Oracle Corp. ³The power of the new Xserve G5 and the flexibility of Oracle Database 10g running on Apple¹s UNIX-based Mac OS X Server will deliver our joint customers a very compelling, cost-effective, scalable and reliable database solution.²

Wolfram

³Building and managing a cluster is a horrible nightmare of knotted cables and tangled software, unless, of course, you¹re building an Xserve cluster,² said Wolfram Research co-founder Theodore Gray. ³Our customers appreciate the power and elegance of Xserve for the same reason they appreciate the power and elegance of Mathematica‹it lets them get to work. One Mathematica on one Xserve G5 is a force to be reckoned with, and multiplying that power onto a cluster of eight, 16, or more G5 processors with gridMathematica on Xserve will give new meaning to the word supercomputer.²

Sybase

³Sybase is the perfect data management system for high-performance, data-driven applications on Mac OS X,² said Dr. Raj Nathan, senior vice president and general manager of the Infrastructure Platform Group for Sybase. ³With Sybase Adaptive Server Enterprise 12.5.1 and Mac OS X ŒPanther¹ running on the Xserve G5, we are seeing very impressive price performance gains, making the two an extremely attractive package for the small to medium-sized enterprise.²

Pearson

³We are pleased to announce our KnowledgeBox digital learning system is now available on the Xserve platform,² said Deb Bonanno, vice president of Digital Publishing for Pearson Digital Learning. ³We expect the new Xserve G5 to give our media sophisticated learners right-now access to the kind of instructional rich content that keeps their attention and meets their educational needs.²

Xinet

³We are incredibly excited by the performance gains expected from the Xserve G5,² said Scott Seebass, CEO of Xinet. ³The Xserve G5 lets small prepress, print and design shops reap the benefits of a powerful server in a compact package.²

Macromedia

³We are excited by the performance gains we expect to see across the board from the combination of Macromedia products and the new Xserve G5,² said Norm Meyrowitz, president of Products for Macromedia. ³This is an outstanding server platform for our professional Mac developers.²

Quark

³Quark is very excited about the speed and reliability of the Xserve G5,² said Jürgen Kurz, senior vice president of Product Development for Quark. ³Our customers demand industrial strength computing power to drive their enterprise applications, and the Xserve G5 delivers. This is going to be another big year for Quark on the Apple platform as we release new versions of Quark Publishing System and Quark Dynamic Document Server for the Xserve G5.²

Voltaire

³Apple¹s Xserve G5 delivers impressive performance at a very attractive price and is an excellent building block for large high performance computing grids,² said Ronnie Keith, chairman and CEO for Voltaire, Inc. ³Voltaire is pleased to offer complete InfiniBand solutions for Xserve clusters so customers can fully leverage the increased processing power to accomplish complex computing tasks at lightening speeds.²

Mellanox

³Infiniband interconnects the fastest supercomputers in the world. As the leader in Infiniband technology we are excited to support Apple in creating Xserve G5-based supercomputers,² said Eyal Waldman, chairman and CEO for Mellanox. ³With the Xserve G5, Apple will deliver massive computational power quickly and at a fraction of the cost of comparable systems.²

Apple Unveils New Xserve RAID Storage System Delivers Incredible Price Performance & Support for Windows & Linux

MACWORLD EXPO, SAN FRANCISCO‹January 6, 2004‹Apple® today unveiled its new Xserve® RAID storage system, a 3U high-availability, rack storage system that now delivers a massive 3.5 terabytes (TB) of storage capacity, blasing performance of up to 210 MBps throughput and the industry¹s most aggressive price for storage. With the new Xserve RAID, Apple has also introduced support for Windows and Linux-based computing environments, industry standard Small Form-factor Pluggable (SFP) connectors and broad industry support from 11 companies including Microsoft, VERITAS, Red Hat, Brocade and QLogic.

³For the first time, customers running Windows and Linux can take advantage of Xserve RAID¹s incredible price performance and breakthrough technology,² said Philip Schiller, Apple¹s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. ³Less than a year after we shipped the first Xserve RAID, we¹re now offering more power and more storage at an even lower price per gigabyte. With prices starting at just $10,799+GST(NZ $), we¹re offering an incredible storage solution at just a fraction of the cost of Sun, HP, Dell or EMC.²

The unique architecture of Xserve RAID delivers massive storage density and incredible performance. Designed with 14 independent ATA/100 drive channels, Xserve RAID provides up to 3.5TB of storage capacity, while the dual independent RAID controllers offer sustained throughput of over 200 MBps‹high enough to support uncompressed 10-bit HD video editing using protected RAID level 5.

The Apple Xserve RAID has qualified under the Microsoft Designed for Windows Logo Program. Apple successfully completed all of the tests necessary for qualification for the Microsoft Windows Server 2003 operating system.

³This is the first time we are certifying an Apple product on our Red Hat Enterprise Linux platform,² said Mike Evans, vice president of Channel Sales and Development at Red Hat. ³This combination delivers one of the most aggressively priced storage solutions available on Linux today.²

³We are pleased that the Apple Xserve RAID has successfully completed Fabric Aware testing with Brocade fabric switches in multi-vendor SAN environments,² said Jay Kidd, Brocade¹s vice president of Product Management. ²Storage area networks are being deployed worldwide at a rapid rate as a scalable, high-performance networking foundation for storage environments. The Fabric Aware program is an example of our continued commitment to delivering end-to-end interoperability to SAN customers.²

³The certification of Xserve RAID with QLogic SANbox2-64 and SANbox 5200 Fibre Channel switches provides a smart and cost-effective choice for data availability and reliability within storage area networks,² said Frank Berry, vice president of Marketing, QLogic Corp. ³For the first time, customers can take advantage of Apple¹s compelling performance, density and value to deliver networked storage that is simple to set up and manage with Apple¹s legendary ease of use.²

RAID Admin, Apple¹s powerful Java-based management and monitoring utility with breakthrough ease of use, has been enhanced with new features to make administration even easier. RAID Set Slicing allows administrators to partition RAID sets into smaller segments allowing storage to be distributed on up to 16 servers, and RAID Set Expansion makes adding hard drives a simple task with no downtime required. RAID Admin also features enhanced testing and repair tools and a more intuitive user interface.

Xserve RAID connects easily to any Xserve or Power Mac® using the dual-channel 2GB Apple Fibre Channel PCI Card (sold separately). This high-speed, industry-standard storage interface offers dedicated bandwidth with a throughput of up to 210 MBps. Apple¹s PCI card comes with two high-speed 2.9-meter copper fibre channel SFP-to-SFP cables and accepts SFP optical transceivers for use with fiber-optic cables.

Customers with mixed platform networks and non-Apple servers can now take advantage of the incredible price performance of Xserve RAID. Apple has worked with leading storage network vendors to certify Xserve RAID compatible with popular hardware and software common in heterogeneous storage networks. These certifications include; VERITAS Volume Manager storage management; Candera SCE 510 network storage controllers; Chapparal RAIDar Provisioning Services; Host Bus Adapter vendors LSI Logic and ATTO Technologies and leading Fibre Channel switch vendors Brocade, QLogic and Emulex. Additional supported operating systems now include: Microsoft Windows 2003 Server; Red Hat Enterprise Linux v.2.1 and v.3; and Yellow Dog Linux.

Pricing & Availability

The new Xserve RAID will be available in mid February through Apple Authorised Resellers. Xserve RAID comes in three standard configurations, or can be fully customised to meet specific customer requirements. Build-to-order options can include additional Apple Drive Modules, additional cache memory and cache battery modules.

Xserve RAID for a suggested retail price of $10,799+GST includes: € dual independent RAID controllers with 128MB cache per controller with support for up to 512MB cache per controller; € dual 2GB Fibre Channel SFP ports with 200 MBps throughput per channel; € four 250GB ATA/100 Apple Drive Modules; € 1TB RAID 0 total available storage; and € 8MB on-drive cache.

Xserve RAID for a suggested retail price of $13,449+GST includes: € dual independent RAID controllers with 128MB cache per controller with support for up to 512MB cache per controller; € dual 2GB Fibre Channel SFP ports with 200 MBps throughput per channel; € seven 250GB ATA/100 Apple Drive Modules; € 1.75TB RAID 0 total available storage; and € 8MB on-drive cache. Xserve RAID for a suggested retail price of $19,599+GST includes: € dual independent RAID controllers with 128MB cache per controller with support for up to 512MB cache per controller; € dual 2GB Fibre Channel SFP ports with 200 MBps throughput per channel; € fourteen 250GB ATA/100 Apple Drive Modules; € 3.5TB RAID 0 total available storage; and € 8MB on-drive cache.

Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh. Apple is committed to bringing the best personal computing experience to students, educators and creative professionals and consumers around the world through its innovative hardware, software and Internet offerings.

Apple, the Apple logo, Macintosh, Mac, Mac OS, Xserve, Apple Store and AppleCare are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Apple. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Apple Introduces Final Cut Express 2 Professional Video Editing for Everyone

MACWORLD EXPO, SAN FRANCISCO‹January 6, 2004‹Apple® today introduced Final Cut® Express 2, the next major release of its digital video editing software. Based on Apple¹s award-winning Final Cut Pro® 4 professional video editing software, Final Cut Express 2 delivers powerful new features in an affordable, easy-to-use package for video editors who want a mid-level application that delivers professional results. Fine-tuned for Mac OS® X version 10.3 ³Panther², Final Cut Express 2 features RT Extreme for real-time compositing and effects, an enhanced user interface, real-time colour correction tools and enhanced audio editing capabilities.

³Final Cut Express 2 is truly professional video editing for everyone,² said Rob Schoeben, Apple¹s vice president of Applications Marketing. ³With its winning combination of powerful features such as RT Extreme and a simplified user interface, Final Cut Express 2 is the perfect product for everyone from aspiring film makers to educators.²

Final Cut Express 2 includes some of the most popular features of Final Cut Pro 4 within a simplified user interface. It¹s the ideal product for creative professionals who want a high-quality video editing solution but are not full time videographers; corporate and wedding videographers who handle multiple projects simultaneously but do not need to work with formats beyond DV; teachers and students who are using video more regularly as an educational tool; and video hobbyists who want to have fun while building the skills and techniques to create Hollywood-style videos.

With its integrated editing, compositing and effects tools, Final Cut Express 2 allows users to easily take a project from start to finish with professional results. Now featuring RT Extreme, Final Cut Express 2 provides instant editing gratification with real-time effects, transitions and video layers or the ability to composite up to five simultaneous DV streams. The enhanced user interface is more elegant with customisable buttons, dynamic window resizing, user-defined window layouts and a new timeline with adjustable track heights. The real-time colour correction tools allow users to interactively adjust and correct colour balance between shots and create unique colour effects.

Featuring enhanced audio tools, Final Cut Express 2 provides multitrack audio support; real-time volume and audio filter adjustment; solo and mute controls in the timeline for auditioning individual tracks; and scoring markers for use with Soundtrack, Apple¹s professional audio-looping software. The improved capture tool saves time by automatically capturing across time-code breaks and incrementally naming clips when recording breaks are discovered.

Final Cut Express 2 projects can be exported for use in Soundtrack, iDVD� and DVD Studio Pro® 2, saved back to tape or exported to any QuickTime® format, including the industry standard MPEG-4. Final Cut Express 2 offers a smooth migration path to high-end video production because everything learned in Final Cut Express 2 is directly transferable to Final Cut Pro 4.

Pricing

Final Cut Express 2 will be available through Apple Authorised Resellers for a suggested retail price of $549+GST with an upgrade price of $165+GST for current Final Cut Express customers. Final Cut Express 2 requires Mac OS X version 10.2.5, a Macintosh® computer with a 350 MHz or faster PowerPC G4 processor (with AGP), built-in FireWire®, 384MB of RAM (512MB required for RT Extreme), 40MB of available disk space for installation and QuickTime 6.4 or later.

Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh. Apple is committed to bringing the best personal computing experience to students, educators and creative professionals and consumers around the world through its innovative hardware, software and Internet offerings.

Apple, the Apple logo, Macintosh, Mac, Mac OS, Final Cut, Final Cut Pro, iDVD, DVD Studio Pro, QuickTime, Apple Store and FireWire are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Apple. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Mac OS X Users Approach 10 Million More Than 10,000 Native Applications Now Available

MACWORLD EXPO, SAN FRANCISCO‹January 6, 2004‹Building on the already record breaking success of Mac OS® X version 10.3 ³Panther,² Apple® today announced that there are now over 9 million active users of Mac OS X and the company expects to cross the 10 million user mark later this quarter. Additionally, there are now over 10,000 Mac OS X applications that run natively on the platform.

³Panther is the fourth major release of Mac OS X in three years and we plan to reach 10 million active Mac OS X users this quarter, which is 40 percent of our entire installed base,² said Philip Schiller, Apple¹s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. ³This is a major milestone in the successful adoption of the world¹s most advanced operating system.²

Developers including Microsoft, Adobe and Macromedia announced second or third generation products for Mac OS X at Macworld Expo, with many including ³Mac-first² and ³Mac OS X-only² features, while other companies joined the Apple developer community with new products supporting Mac OS X.

³Microsoft is thrilled to announce Office 2004, the most innovative version of Office yet, and our second release of Office for Mac OS X,² said Roz Ho, Microsoft¹s general manager of the Macintosh Business Unit. ³Office 2004 is packed with Mac-first features‹some of which are not available on any other platform. We look forward to continuing our 20 year tradition of developing innovative products for the Mac with the upcoming release of Office 2004 and more in years to come.²

³Panther builds nicely on the fundamental strengths of stability and performance that Apple has established with the Mac OS X platform,² said Jack Moran, vice president of Product Development, Macromedia. ³Macromedia delivers all of its core development products in Mac OS X versions to ensure our Mac developers and designers are running their development tools of choice on their platform of choice.²

³Adobe and Apple kick-started the desktop publishing revolution and today Adobe Creative Suite and Mac OS X are entrenched as mission critical platforms for creative professionals worldwide,² said Jim Heeger, senior vice president of Creative Professional Products at Adobe. ³This week we announced InDesign CS PageMaker Edition, designed to take advantage of Mac OS X Panther and Apple¹s latest Power Mac G5 Systems‹and simply the easiest way to upgrade to a next-generation publishing platform.²

³We are looking forward to seeing the next generation of LEGO Interactive games appearing on the Mac platform,² said Garry Edwards, business development director for LEGO Interactive. ³Macs offer a great gaming experience thanks to Apple¹s cutting edge technology, support of high end graphics cards and their new Mac OS X Panther operating system.²

Mac OS X active user numbers are based on Apple estimates. Customers can search and learn more about the applications and software available on Mac OS X by using the online Macintosh Products Guide at http://guide.apple.com

Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh. Apple is committed to bringing the best personal computing experience to students, educators, creative professionals and consumers around the world through its innovative hardware, software and Internet offerings.

Apple, the Apple logo, Macintosh, Mac and Mac OS are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Apple. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Apple Previews Xgrid Technology Uses Rendezvous to Make Cluster Computing Easy MACWORLD EXPO, SAN FRANCISCO‹January 6, 2004‹Apple® today previewed Xgrid�, a computational clustering technology from Apple¹s Advanced Computation Group (ACG). Xgrid helps scientists and others working in compute intensive environments to fully utilise all IT resources, including desktops and servers, by creating a grid enabled ³virtual² IT environment that takes advantage of unused computing capacity to run batch and workload processing. Available as a free beta download today from www.apple.com , Xgrid brings Apple¹s legendary ease-of-use to computational clustering by providing the easiest way to run compute intensive applications, such as the popular gene-sequencing application BLAST, on multiple Macs using Apple¹s Rendezvous� networking technology.

³Xgrid makes it easy to turn your Mac cluster into a supercomputer,² said Philip Schiller, Apple¹s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. ³The new Xgrid software agents use Apple¹s breakthrough Rendezvous networking technology to automatically discover, connect and manage tasks across available systems in a Mac cluster.²

With Xgrid running on Xserve® G5 servers (also announced today) in a 42U industry-standard rack, up to 84 Power PC G5 processors can be clustered to create a supercomputer with 1.5 teraflops of processing power dedicated to solving compute intensive problems. Management is simple with Xgrid. The Xgrid Console has an intuitive Aqua interface that makes it easy to execute UNIX commands, run shell scripts or feed applications across a cluster. Xgrid ships with built-in support for the popular gene-sequencing application BLAST and comes with a software developer kit that makes porting custom compute intensive applications to Xgrid easy.

Customers from NASA, Genentech, Simon Fraser University, Reed College and Virginia Tech have been testing the new technology on clusters of Mac® desktops, portables and servers.

Mathematical researchers led by Dr. Peter Borwein at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, British Columbia, have used Xgrid in their exploration of the difficult problem of finding low autocorrelation binary sequences. With the help of Xgrid, the group has harnessed the computing power of machines in student labs at the university to create a system capable of processing data at more than 30 GHz.

³The Xgrid BLAST application enables bioinformatics researchers to perform distributed BLAST searches on a cluster running the Xgrid software,² said Richard H. Scheller, Ph.D., senior vice president of Research, Genentech. ³We tested Xgrid BLAST by querying DNA sequence files for matches against multi-gigabyte genomic databases on a cluster of four dual-processor Xserves.²

Xgrid was tested at NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. The FORTRAN-based jet noise prediction code ³Jet3D² was run across a distributed cluster of Power Mac® G5, Power Mac G4 and Xserve G4 systems. A total of eight G4 and two G5 processors were run, resulting in performance of approximately 32 gigaflops.

Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh. Apple is committed to bringing the best personal computing experience to students, educators, creative professionals and consumers around the world through its innovative hardware, software and Internet offerings.

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