Steve Jobs, Apple chief executive, took centre stage last week to unveil a new product range, but perhaps his most interesting comments passed almost unnoticed in the latest Business Week magazine.
There, he was quoted as saying the Mac maker is working "on a handful" of internet appliances - cutdown computers which offer only internet access, without the expensive memory or hard disk requirements of general purpose computers.
The new devices could start appearing next year, the magazine suggested. That would be quite a departure for Apple, which currently markets the iMac -which starts at £649 - as its simple solution for surfing the net.
For now, the new G4 Cube was getting the most applause at the MacWorld expo in New York - for its good looks, if nothing else. It is a stylish 20cm square box with some cute design innovations: instead of having a noisy fan inside, it has a vent on top, next to a toaster-style slot loading CD/DVD drive.
The innards, however, are not so exciting: there is a 450MHz or 500MHz G4 processor, 64MB of memory, a 20GB hard drive, a 56k modem, and the dated ATI Rage 128 Pro graphics card. There are no internal expansion slots.
As we went to press, there was no price for the 500MHz version, but the 450MHz model will cost £1,467, including VAT.
There is also a new range of iMac colours, waving goodbye to the likes of blueberry and tangerine, and saying hello to ruby and indigo.
And, to cheers, the hated iMac mouse and tiny keyboard has been abolished. The new Apples will all ship with an optical mouse (with no moving parts) and a proper keyboard. For details, see www.apple.com/uk.
Flying phone
We've all heard commuters shouting "hi, honey, I'm on the train" down their mobiles on the way home. Soon we could be suffering "hi, honey, I'm on the plane" as we watch the in-flight movie.
BAE Systems, a UK-based aerospace company, has devloped a new system called CabinCall which will allow aeroplane passengers to use their own mobile phones in flight.
The system routes the calls from the plane via satellite or terrestrial networks. With several airlines said to have expressed an interest, the system could start appearing in planes from autumn 2001.
Cabin crews will retain control of the system, meaning that calls can be prohibited during critical times such as take off and landing and - one would hope - night flights.
