This new computer is powered by the PowerPC G5 processor which was co-designed by IBM and Apple, and is purported to be the first personal computer to utilise 64-bit processing technology for memory expansion up to 8GB with 64-bit computation, while running existing 32-bit applications natively. The PowerPC G5 runs at clock speeds up to 2 GHz and can address an unheard-of 18 exabytes (18 billion billion bytes) of memory.

At the same time, Apple has previewed the next step up for its Mac OS X platform. The ’Panther’ (OS 10.3) is the fourth major release of Mac OS X in four years and features more than 100 new features. These include a completely new Finder; Exposé, an application that allows users to instantly see all open windows at once; and iChat AV, a complete desktop video conferencing solution for business, education and consumers. In addition, Panther includes FileVault, a new feature that secures the contents of a home directory with strong 128-bit AES encryption. It is expected that Panther will be available by the end of the year, and with OS X users topping the seven million mark, Apple expects Panther to push this user level towards 10million.

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