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Pre-MWSF Complete Rumors Report

As Steve Jobs' keynote address looms near on Wednesday January 5th at 9:00 AM Pacific Time, many wonder just what the devious iCEO has up his sleeve. Never before has the rumor crystal ball been so cloudy with different swirling product announcements. Below is a roundup of each rumor and how likely we think it is to happen.

Pismo

Apple's Lombard PowerBooks are the last of Apple's four major hardware products to be updated. It is the last Apple machine to not be based on the UMA motherboard. It's also the last to not have AirPort. Thus, Apple was rumored to be introducing an update to the PowerBook at MWSF. However, what was once a sure thing has turned into more of an unlikelyhood according to our reports. There's the chance Steve might preannounce the product, much like the original iMac introduction, but don't expect to see Pismos in stores until Mid-February at the earliest. Chance of announcement: 30%

Mystic

At one time, Apple had a multiprocessor Mac, based on the 604e processor. There were no multiprocessor G3 units, but with the G4's new architecture, that possibility has now been realized. Codenamed Mystic, dual processor capable G4 units from Apple are expected to be announced at MWSF. Though the current Mac OS is somewhat limited in what it can do with two processors, certain current Mac OS applications (Photoshop etc) can take advantage of the increased power, as well as Mac OS X Server. Expect these offerings to be targeted at the server market, though will almost certainly not ship immediately. Chance of announcement: 70%

New/Graphite iBooks

The iBook is just now beginning to show up by the truckload in the marketplace. Thus, we don't expect Apple to end-of-life this product and introduce a new flavor or update the hardware. However, Apple Insider, arguably the best Mac rumors site, thinks that a graphite iBook may be introduced to 'replace' an announcement of a new PowerBook. We have no information either way on this one, though we deem it unlikely. Chance of announcement: 20%

17" iMac

Again, this is an annoucement that, if it occurs, will be dead-on prediction by AI. No other site has any word of the "P7A" machines. If this is announced, it's not supposed to be even finished until later in January, so the likelyhood of this is unclear. Chance of announcement: 50%

Mac OS X

Though hardly anyone expects a full introduction of Mac OS X at the current time, expect Steve to use this last Expo before its expected introduction in early summer to drum up interest and press coverage of the modernized OS. As is his custom, Steve will trot out several luminaries of the technology world to pledge their support of Mac OS X. There will be a good bit of the keynote speech devoted to Mac OS X, and expect some surprises. Chance of announcement: 100%

Other Details

Steve will show the 22" Cinema display in most of his demos, we're sure. Also, expect to see a few new games for the Mac OS, he's announced that at every past Expo keynote. Lastly, a hint at Apple's upcoming financial results is also a norm for his San Francisco keynote.

This roundup is to serve as a guide for what could happen as Steve takes the stage on Wednesday. Be sure to check back here at the PB Zone on Wednesday for a full show-floor report as we cover the show live. If you're not able to watch the keynote via a QuickTime stream, we'll have a realtime text update available.

Back to the main page for the rest of today's PowerBook news.