Apple Rumors

The presence of Salvation Army bell ringers tells us the time of year. Since more gift ideas are in order, why not start with Apple’s IMac desktop computers? Apple’s desktops, the new, sleek, shiny ones, are excellent gifts. I’ve used the next-latest version at home, but the more recent versions, out several months without reports of major hassles, are slimmer, more powerful, and feature a very nice, compact keyboard and the Apple mouse.

Starting at $1,199 for a 20-inch display-sized model, 1 gigabyte of RAM and a 250 GB hard-disk drive, even the “low-end” model might be all some users need. And, of course, the IMac now comes with the Mac OS X Leopard operating system, and is built on an Intel Corp. processor. That means you can, if you want or need to, run Microsoft’s Windows using Apple’s Boot Camp software. In other words, it’s like getting two computers for the price of one.

If you must get a Windows-based PC, there are some excellent models from Hewlett-Packard Co. at area stores such as Costco. The models I’ve seen tend toward having nice-sized screens (19- and 20-inch LCD displays) included in the package. Frankly, HP is my preferred brand for desktop computers these days. Dell, after more than a year of promises, hasn’t delivered anything to review. The sound of music has rarely been easier to attain, either on your computer or via Apple’s superpopular IPod.

Two products from Bose Corp. will come in handy. The Bose Computer MusicMonitor speakers, for example, will connect to either an IPod’s headphone jack or a computer’s sound output jack. The music you will hear is nothing short of astonishing. The sound, as mentioned here not too long ago, is full and vibrant. I’m thrilled with it. Equally impressive, and connectable to both a computer and an IPod, is the Bose SoundDock, a portable speaker system that boasts a rechargeable lithium-ion battery.