Apple Computer Inc yesterday duly extended its notebook and mid-range lines with the new PowerBook 160 and 180 notebooks; its Duo System notebook with docking station; two new mid-range Macintosh IIs and a new 14 colour display. It is also now shipping Macintosh System 7.1, and Version 1.5 of the QuickTime multimedia software. The PowerBook 160 uses a 25MHz and the 180 a 33MHz 68030 processor; each has 4Mb extendable to 14Mb. The video-out supports 16 grey-level monochrome, and 256 colour VGA or SVGA displays. Apple’s EverWatch battery saver is designed to extend battery life by to three hours by turning off components not in use. The 160 has a backlit supertwist display and is UKP1,700 to $2,100. The 180 runs at 33MHz, has a backlit active-matrix display, and a 68882 floating point co-processor; it costs UKP2,700 to UKP2,900. Both are out worldwide and can be used with the new Macintosh PowerBook Express Modem that offers low-power data transfer at 14.4bps; it is UKP240. The 68030-based PowerBook Duo 210 and 230 laptops (CI No 1,984) can be connected to desktop systems via Apple’s Duo Dock and PowerLatch docking technology. Both weigh 4.2 lbs and are 1.4 thick. The 210 runs at 25MHz, has 80Mb hard disk and costs UKP1,700; the 33MHz 230 has 80Mb or 120Mb disk and costs UKP1,930 or UKP2,180. Both have 4Mb expandable to 24Mb, 16 grey-level LCD display and ship with System 7 and AppleTalk software. The Duo Dock, UKP850, connects the notebooks to colour desktop displays up to 16, and to full keyboards with mice. It has an internal floppy drive, 3.5 disk bay, and two NuBus slots. A PowerLatch provides docking through the Duo Dock – without the need for extra cables. The notebooks are out now worldwide; the Duo Docks will ship in November. A 1.25 lbs Duo MiniDock providing desktop connection will be out in December for UKP400 and optional accessories include a floppy adaptor for UKP90. The new 68030-based Macintosh IIvx and IIvi desktops come with 4Mb expandable to 68Mb, have three NuBus slots, a SCSI port and 5.25 expansion bay that can accept CD-ROMs. The 16MHz IIvi, recommended for database management, costs UKP1,580 to UKP1,750 and is available only outside the US; the 33MHz IIvx with maths co-processor and 32K cache is recommended for colour graphical applications. It is available worldwide and costs UKP2,230 to UKP2,600. Configurations of each with ready-installed internal 300i CD-ROM drive, 5Mb RAM, support for 32,000 colours and Kodak CD, and Apple Photo Access Software cost UKP1,980 and UKP2,830. Both support the new 14 Macintosh Colour Display with Sony Trinitron tube, 70dpi definition, 640 horizontal by 480 vertical pixels full-page width by half-page length viewable area. It is UKP400. Apple’s Version 7.1 software now has WorldScript support for double byte character sets. Other enhancements are a new font folder; system enablers for easier upgrading; integrated TuneUp software for improved system and memory management; more secure file sharing; and bundled QuickTime 1.5. with higher compression and support for Kodak’s Photo CD. The Database Access Language is now unbundled. System 7.1 is now shipping with all new Macs; upgrades cost UKP30. A new 64-strong Font Pack, 25 of them new Apple fonts – is UKP60 and there is a new ColorSync colour-matching product for personal computers and any colour input-output device. It ensures that the colour of scanned images matches that of the original.
