Apple unveils 'twice as fast' iMac

Apple has taken the wraps off the first desktop Mac to be powered by an Intel processor. The new iMac runs on a Core Duo chip said to be twice as fast as the PowerPC G5 that it replaces. It includes the new iLife '06 suite of applications, which with its Universal Binary code is optimised to run natively on the new hardware. ...more

Dell plans to open two retail stores

Dell has announced plans to open two retail stores later this year, abandoning its adherence to Internet and mail order sales. The Austin-American Statesman reports that the computer maker will open a store in Dallas, close to its Texas home, and one in New York in bid to capitalise on rising consumer sales. The company has always insisted that retail stores would be loss making, but Apple's success in generating over $1bn worth of sales in a single quarter through its network of more than 100 stores appears to have presaged a change of heart. ...more

Apple Inc and Apple Corp settle

The war of the Apples is over as Steve Jobs' Apple Inc and The Beatles' Apple Corp reach a new agreement. Apple Inc will now own all of the trademarks related to 'Apple' but will license some of them back to Apple Corps. 'We love the Beatles,' said Steve Jobs, Apple Inc's CEO, 'and it has been painful being at odds with them over these trademarks. ...more

UK games chart: Need for Speed is the New Year's number one

Unsurprisingly, the post-Christmas games market is a bit sluggish, according to this week's ELSPA UK games chart. It's a New Year but EA's multi-format street racing game Need For Speed: Most Wanted remains in pole position. Despite all the simian-based hype around the Kong movie, no amount of dinosaur stampeding can lift Ubisoft's multi-format spin-off, King Kong: Official Game of The Movie up from second place. ...more

UK games chart: Pro Evolution Soccer 6 is number one

Konami's Pro Evolution Soccer 6 (PC, PS2, Xb360, DS, PSP) goes straight in at number one in this week's ELSPA UK games chart. Playing its way to the top of the charts, the football gamer's football game offers greater player control and more accurate simulation. Specifically in the latest version, player AI has been upgraded, with players running into space when not in possession of the ball, and defenders learning to back off slightly to prevent being turned by opponents. ...more