The newest iMac has a fully-adjustable, flat-screen display with a compact CPU in the base. An apparent snafu by Time magazine has given the world a sneak-peek of Apple's newest machine. The computer is reported to be a pivot-arm, flat-screen, out-of-this-world-looking iMac, which CEO Steve Jobs will officially unveil at the Macworld Expo in San Francisco on Monday. On Sunday, Timecanada.com, the Canadian website for Time magazine, published a story that describes the new iMac, and features a few pictures of the machine. The story is dated Jan. 14, indicating that it was probably meant for future publication.
From the looks of it, the new iMac is like no computer ever seen before. It resembles a desk lamp: there's a bulbous white base that houses the guts of the machine, and attached to that is a swing-arm neck from which the 15-inch LCD screen hangs, seeming to "float in the air," according to Josh Quittner, the Time writer.
Quittner goes on to write that "The machine bears an uncanny resemblance to Luxo Jr. -- the fun-loving, computer-animated swing-arm lamp that starred in a short film by Pixar."
Time's Canadian website was redirected early Monday to its U.S. counterpart, which contains no reference to the Canadian article. Several mirror sites containing photos of the new computer have already gone online.
The new iMac will range in price from $1,299 to $1,800, with the top-of-the-line model featuring Apple's (AAPL) DVD-burning SuperDrive.
According to the Time article, Jobs is (predictably) counting on the otherworldly looks of the machine to convert Windows users into die-hard Mac faithful. The machine is described as chiefly his idea, based on a Zen-like opposition to clutter. It was then embraced by Jonathan Ive, Apple's "it-boy" design guru responsible for of the company's recent models, including the first iMac and the ill-fated Cube. The machine was two years in the making, the magazine reports.
Jobs describes at length the company's "digital hub" strategy to the Time reporter, his theory that if you have a Mac, all your digital equipment, from cameras to PDAs to music players, will work better.
To that end, the new iMac will come loaded with a variety of Apple's iTools consumer software: iTunes, iMovie, iDVD, as well as iPhoto, a brand new photo-editing application that Jobs will also unveil on Monday.
Macintosh fans have long expected a complete revamp of the hugely popular colored-plastic iMacs, which many analysts say saved the company when it was released in 1998. Rumors of a new flat-panel iMac have been swirling for months, gaining ground in early December, when a Morgan Stanley analyst report speculated on the possibility.
Apple itself fueled hype during the past week, when its website featured ad-speak slogans promoting the show. "This one is big. Even by our standards," read one. Another was "Count the days. Count the minutes. Count on being blown away."
As news of the new iMac made it onto Macintosh discussion boards late Sunday evening, it appeared that Mac fans were indeed blown away by the machine.
"I love Apple! When others recede, they refocus, when others slash, they armor, when others go around chanting the end of the world, Apple builds a new one," wrote Darcy, a poster at the Mac news site MacNN.
But many Mac lovers also worried about how Jobs would react to the leak, especially as Apple had been especially secretive about what it would release on Monday.
"I am sure he's having a huge fit right now, and I don't blame him. I take consolation that most of the world isn't checking Mac websites tonight, but still, *Time * screwing up the surprise is a bit of a disappointment," wrote one anonymous reader at MacNN.
