Finally some updates from Apple.

I’ve owned the iMac which I’m typing this on for slightly over a year. Up till now, I’ve always felt that it’s probably the most elegant personal computer around. Obviously, no other IBM PC has come close thus far (and probably none will ever) to beating the iMac in terms of design. After all, it’s hard to beat an all-in-one computer (which Steve has so often touted) with everything packed behind the LCD screen with everything amounting to only 2 inches thick. Those of you PC users who are reading this now, take a look at that huge chunk of CPU in front of you and tell me the iMac isn’t more elegant. Often, I’ve wondered how Apple will outdo itself in terms of design since this was, in my opinion, probably the best possible design for a personal computer

Boy was I wrong:

That’s right, new iMacs have just been introduced recently. They now sport a more iPhone-like look and feel as they’re now made out of aluminum and glass (which Steve repeated several times during the press event) and also sporting a glossy screen. Furthermore, the new iMac is even thinner than the previous one, which is a real technological marvel in my opinion considering how thin the previous iMacs already were. On the inside, you’ll find the usual upgrades to the computer’s RAM, processor speed, etc. I won’t bother listing them here since they’re easily available elsewhere on the web and any Apple fan will have already found the stats before they came to this site anyway.

Furthermore, the rumoured iMac keyboard which I blogged about awhile back turned out to be true (despite me not believing in the rumour). It’s now a much thinner keyboard with keys that resemble those found on a Macbook. I’ve always loved that keyboard since it makes typing a breeze, not to mention Apple has added several function keys to it which makes the keyboard all the more useful. My only gripe with it (which I’ve already stated in the previous post) is that the design of the keyboard looks pretty amateurish, since it seems like plastic keys were just stuck onto a flat piece of aluminum. Alas, Apple has decided to go along with that design anyway.

All in all, the new iMac directly contrasts the model it’s replacing since it’s covered in darker colours as compared to the pure white of previous iMacs. In my opinion, this is definitely a step forward in terms of design of the iMac as looks much more professional now as it’s covered in aluminum mostly, just like the Pro products which Apple has been developing all along.

It doesn’t stop there however, at the event, Steve also introduced both iLife 08 and iWork 08 as well. Usually, they would have been introduced at Macworld at the start of the year. Unfortunately, almost the entire of this year’s Macworld was devoted to the iPhone, thus iLife and iWork updates didn’t get to see the light of day. Finally, Apple has released updates to both it’s digital media hub applications as well as their productivity suite simultaneously. Both iLife and iWork have pretty major updates, with iMovie being a completely new application and Numbers being added to the iWork suite in order to complete it with a spreadsheet program. There are of course tons of other updates that were showcased at the event, and I’m sure there are even more updates within the programs themselves that did not get to be showcased during the event. However, from what has been showcased at the event, I think that I really need to get my hands on a copy of both iLife 08 and iWork 08.

Also, the Mac mini quietly got updated as well, though many don’t really know about it. All that changes is that the cheapest Mac contains a faster processor, more hard drive space and more ram (1gb by default). Other than that, it’s basically the same old Mac Mini. Still, I’m sure that these updates will satisfy many fans as well.

These updates are definitely welcome by all Apple fans (including myself) since the iMac is not only faster but looks even better than before as well. iLife and iWork finally get updated while the Mac Mini gains the usual speed/capacity updates as well.

Now all that’s left is that fabled touchscreen iPod…