With multimedia on everybody’s lips this week – whether expressed with a smile or a sneer, MacWeek hears that Apple Computer Inc is not going to sit back and let Microsoft Corp erode the lead it has built up. It says that as well as the high-end Cyclone multimedia machine, Apple has a more consumer-oriented multimedia Mac in the works. Cyclone will use the fastest Motorola Inc 68040 Apple can acquire in quantity, built-in Ethernet, Direct Memory Access and all the other go-faster features Apple’s researchers can dream up; the new consumer Mac will be less ambitious but much more affordable. The paper hears from sources familiar with the new Mac that it will have an integrated 14 colour monitor using a Sony Corp Trinitron tube with standard 640 by 480 pixel resolution, and will be driven by a 25MHz 68030. It is also expected to have a slot compatible with the 25MHz Macintosh LC III that is expected to come out in February. Apple currently plans to make the CD-ROM drive optional but built-in stereo speakers, angled to reflect sound off the top of the desk, will come as standard.
