It was an eventful Apple Expo 2000 last week in Paris, with the company's chief executive Steve Jobs rolling into town to unveil a test version of the new Mac OS X and a series of more powerful iBook laptop computers.

The event was marred by a flood in the main exhibition hall, caused by a faulty fire sprinkler system, which left many booths - including Apple's - under two inches of water.

The new iBooks laptops don't float, but are beefed up after criticism that previous versions have been short on power. The processor on the entry level iBook is now a 366MHz G3, with a 10GB hard drive and 64MB of memory as standard.

A special edition version has a faster 466MHz G3 processor, high-speed FireWire port and DVD drive. All versions come with the video editing package iMovie 2.

The standard iBook costs £1062, and the special edition £1275, ex VAT.

Following the pattern of the recently revamped iMac desktop range, the new iBooks are available in new colours - indigo and lime. The special edition comes in graphite or lime.

Also unveiled was the first beta version of the new Mac OS X, a complete re-write of the Mac operating system which will radically change the way the machines work and look on screen.

Unlike many beta versions which are free, the Mac OS X beta will cost £24.95. It will also need a mammoth 128MB of memory to run, which may cause some upset among Mac users. Even the latest Macs only have half the necessary memory fitted as standard.

The new OS is expected to be realised in its final version in the first quarter of next year.