Mac Rumour Roundup Years ago, former Apple CEO Gil Amelio told the world - via, we seem to recall, an internal meet with staff - that he wanted the company to be the Maglite of the computer industry. Amelio's successor at last seems to be making it happen - almost literally.

The idea that Apple offers better computers than the rest, for which punters are willing to pay a premium, is well established, at least as a strategy if not in actual fact. However, the Maglite comparison goes further. Maglite torches come in a variety of metallic hues and, according to MacOS Rumors, so too will the PowerBook G4.

Right now, we have the silvery one. In the next revision of the notebook - the date for which isn't yet known - it will be joined by blue, green and red versions. The latter is said to be only a possibility since Apple is having problems getting it to work, but if Maglite can do anodised red metal flashlights, Apple can do it with notebook shells. Apparently, purple and black have been suggested as possible colours too.

The Web site cites "reliable Apple sources" for its claims, which are certainly an obvious way for Apple to drive sales of its new notebook. At the recent MacFest show over here in the UK, the product that most consistently drew interest was the PowerBook G4, though we note that many resellers said supply issue were preventing them from satisfying the demand.

MacOS Rumors also notes a planned shift to a 600MHz CPU, the addition of a CD/RW drive in place of the DVD unit - again, obvious moves on Apple's part - and replacing the graphics sub-system with Nvidia's GeForce 2 Go chip. ®

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MacOS Rumors' colour PowerBook G4 story