apple ads

Now I'm not saying anyone should actually feel bad for Microsoft or anything like that, but the reaction to its new operating system, Vista, must be more than a little frustrating to the software giant. The old version, XP, is still performing well, and retailers have even requested that Microsoft keep it bundled in new computers for longer than originally planned. On top of that, an independent firm says that a planned upgrade to Vista still doesn't perform as quickly as the latest version of XP. Oh, and then there are those Apple ads.

In other Microsoft news, the company is reportedly considering constructing a new data center in Siberia.—Gregory Mone

A few more tantalizing rumors were making their way around the web last week regarding Apple's scheduled announcement yesterday, but the debut of the revamped iMac computer is still exciting news.

First of all, the new all-in-one model, which comes in 20- and 24-inch versions, is cheaper than its predecessors. Apple cut $300 off the price tag of the larger version, and $200 from the smaller one.

And on the features front, Apple added some new tricks and enhanced capabilities to its iLife suite of apps, particularly with photo management and video. And to appease the workaholic PC devotee so brilliantly depicted by John Hodgman in those Apple ads, the company also added Numbers, a new spreadsheet program. The company hopes the new models will further boost sales, which have been outpacing the rest of the PC manufacturers for a while now.—Gregory Mone

A
year ago this week, we sent John Hodgman, along with his pal and our contributing troubador Jonathan Coulton, to the E3 videogame conference to do some podcasting for us. The results were hilarious [download them here, here and here], and apparently people noticed. Today Hodgman is not only the "Resident Expert" on The Daily Show but also stars in Apple's latest "Get a Mac" TV ads, in which he plays a hapless PC to a younger, hipper Mac. Oh, and he was recently profiled in Time magazine as one of the most innovative comedians today. OK, maybe Hodgman's best-selling humor book, Areas of My Expertise, helped fuel his meteoric rise to fame, but at least we can say we knew him when. —Mike Haney

More Coulton and Hodgman podcasts: Best of What's New Showcase, CES2006

New Apple ads [apple.com/getamac/ads]