In addition to an 80GB Seagate drive, the ASI machine will feature a fingerprint reader, 15.4-inch display, Intel Core 2 Duo Mobile 2.0GHz processor, Nvidia graphics with 256MB memory, 1GB RAM and a DVD rewritable drive, according to ASI.
Apple also didn't mention anything about new hardware with Intel's Core 2 Duo chips, which were unveiled a few weeks ago. Some PC companies have already started shipping systems based on the Core Extreme processor and have talked about their plans...
Even the arrival of the Mac Pro - Apple's high-end workstation equipped with two dual-core Xeon processors - failed to wow the crowd, despite the machines representing the early completion of the company's impressive transition to Intel chips.
That is unlikely to change with the shift announced on Monday from niche Power PC processors to mainstream Intel hardware. So far, it has largely been immune to the worms and viruses that have hit Microsoft-based systems.
The modern Mac is built from components designed and built by third-party manufacturers and the move to Intel processors made the differentiation between Apple kit and those of rival hardware vendors more difficult to determine.
In January, Apple released the first Intel-based Macs with Intel's Duo dual-core chip, making the machines two to three times faster than similar Macs with PowerPC chips. Apple has no desire or plan to sell or support Windows, but many customers...