Cupertino (CA) - Apple today launched the second generation of Intel-based Imac computers, which now integrate Intel's mobile Core 2 Duo processor with "Merom" core. There is also a new high-performance model with a 24" screen that lifts the Imac into the price territory of enthusiast systems. Core 2 Duo T7600 in Tom's Hardware's test lab

ATI has published what the company calls "rock-solid" Catalyst graphic card drivers for Windows Vista RC1. The company promises that the new drivers "improve on the leading stability and performance found in previous versions, and introduce new features such as ATI's Powerplay power management technology for improved battery life for mobile platforms." The new drivers are available for download from ATI's website.

Retail chain Office Depot advertised a $99.99 PC package last weekend as a warm-up for this year's Thanksgiving Day sales. Not surprisingly, the PC wasn't quite a powerhouse, but it was a complete system including a monitor and printer. The HP minitower used a Celeron D 352 (3.2 GHz) processor, 256 MB memory, an 80 GB hard drive a CD burner and an "F380" all-in-one printer. There are some strings attached - cuh as the the common mail-in-rebates, which total $330. A reader also informed us that Office Depot asks for a "minimum" $99 shipping charge.

An open source project maintaining a free DOS-compatible operating system commonly used in embedded devices such as cash registers has achieved its first-ever major release.

Lacie has upgraded its biometrically-protected SAFE hard drive line with a desktop edition, adding an internal firmware lock to help prevent data from being accessed if the actual hard drive is removed from the chassis.

Corel was defeated by Microsoft a few years back while competing for the PC software market. Now that it's relisted as a public company and has been reorganized, it faces a tough new rival in Google

Konica Minolta replaces its entry level 2400W printer with the new 2500W. Offering an identical feature set, the new model comes in a slightly revised design for the same price.

Redmond (WA) - Windows Vista is officially out of the beta stage and Microsoft is preparing for the first mass testing of its new operating system. A total of five million RC1 copies will be made available through the company's customer preview program within the next days. Microsoft confirmed pricing and the release dates of the software.

Due to a problem with chipset drivers, motherboard makers cannot start shipping products utilizing Intel's G965 Express chipset, sources at Taiwan's motherboard industry indicated.

Samsung said it has started shipping samples of "MoviNAND" Flash memory modules to "manufactureres of mobile products". The devices combine regular NAND Flash memory with a standard multimedia card (MMC) v.4 controller and onboard firmware. According to Samsung, the technology simplifies the integration of memory into products such as MP3 players, digital cameras and cellphones.

Micro Star International (MSI) recently introduced a series of motherboards based Intel G965/Q965 chipsets.

Market sources say that about 20 million Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) processors will be used in Dell's servers, desktop PCs and notebooks between the fourth quarter of 2006 and the fourth quarter of 2007.

Lite-On IT started volume production of 18x DVD burners in July of this year and expects shipments of such burners to begin to increase next quarter, according to industry sources, who noted that Sony launched a 18x Super Multi model in Europe last month and Pioneer will also offer a 18x DVD burner.

Microsoft took a major step towards the release of Windows Vista on Friday, when Jim Allchin, co-president of the firm's platforms & services division, announced that Windows Vista RC1 is done!"

Sunnyvale (CA) - AMD's quad-core architecture won't be released until mid-2007, but the company is already discussing some features of the new Opterons and Athlons. Power consumption will remain a center piece of AMD's product strategy: Clock speed control of the individual cores will allow the chips to remain in the same power envelope as their dual-core predecessors.

City of Industry (CA) - Shuttle has rolled out their newest small form factor computer built specially for Intel's Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Extreme processors. Running the 975X Express chipset, the Shuttle P2 3700 can support up to 8 GB of RAM and four hard drives. There's even enough space to dual PCI Express graphics cards.

The next generation of USB sticks is knocking on our doors: Pretec is the first company to announce a device that packs 16 GB of storage space into the form factor of a common USB Flash stick. The new I-Disk II can save the contents of more than three regular DVDs or 23 CDs. There is enough storage space for about 10,000 digital images or 4000 MP3 music files. Pretec claims that the memory stick runs at a speed of 166x, offering a data transfer rate of about 25 MB/s.

TDK has announced a prototype Blu-ray disc that can store a massive 200 GB of data. The single-sided, six layer disc can store up to 18 hours of high definition video.

Samsung Electronics may begin quoting its 17" monitor panels at $125 for September, according to sources.