Apple announces Mac upgrades

Apple refreshed its line of desktop computers yesterday, announcing a new top-end Power Mac as well as price cuts on two LCD screens.

The new Mac features dual 2.7GHz G5 processors, a new graphics card from ATI, and a new 16x SuperDrive that can burn data to double-layer DVDs, PCWorld reports.

Apple also unveiled a dual 2.3GHz G5 model as its midrange dual-processor desktop computer while continuing to sell two models it had offered before.

The new model is priced at R15 000, and the top-end version sells for R18 000 - the same price that the now-discontinued dual 2.5GHz G5 models sold for.

Apple also announced price cuts on two LCDs, with the entry-level 20-inch wide-screen display dropping from R6 000 to around R4 800. The 23-inch display is now R1 800 cheaper at R9 000.

Yahoo has launched a test version of a series of personal search tools that will let people store, search and share the information they look for and find on the Net.

According to BBC, the Yahoo My Web tools work alongside Yahoo`s instant messaging, blogging and e-mail services.

The move puts it into direct competition with rivals such as Google, Ask Jeeves and MSN, which have already unveiled similar tools.

Yahoo`s My Web lets users set up a searchable store of everything they have looked for online. In it they can keep useful Web pages, results of searches and their entire search history.

The pages saved can be annotated with notes and other users can subscribe to the data being collected to get information relevant to them. Saved pages can also be published as a crude kind of blog.

Network equipment maker Cisco Systems will acquire privately held Sipura Technology for R410 million in cash and options, meaning it has now spent more than R12 billion over the past 14 months on acquisitions.

Cisco says the buy is its first acquisition for its Linksys division, which sells wireless and networking hardware for home, small office/home office and small business environments.

Sipura sells consumer voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) technology and is a key technology provider for Linksys` line of VOIP networking devices, reports Computer Business Review Online.

Yesterday`s acquisition is subject to various standard closing conditions, including applicable regulatory approvals. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of Cisco`s 2005 fiscal year ending 30 July.

Once the deal has been closed, Sipura will be integrated into Cisco`s Linksys division.