Mac Mini, iBook may be Apple's latest in Intel line

Apple Computer, maker of iPod music players and Macintosh computers, may add versions of its Mac Mini and iBook laptop with Intel chips next week.

American Technology Research analyst Shaw Wu predicted the computers and a new portable stereo for the iPod after Apple sent out an e-mail invitation Tuesday to a "fun" product announcement Feb. 28 at its Cupertino, Calif., headquarters.

The computers may help limit sales lost as Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs switches all Macs to chips from Intel. The shares have fallen 19 percent since a Jan. 13 peak, pushing the company's market value to $58.6 billion from more than $70 billion, on concern Mac sales may slow as customers hold off purchases until the Intel transition is complete.

"It's in their best interests to migrate as many of their machines to the Intel processors as soon as possible," Wu, who is in San Francisco, said Tuesday. He rates Apple's shares "buy" and said he doesn't own them.

"Come see some fun new products from Apple," spokeswoman Natalie Kerris said Tuesday. She declined to provide more details about the invitation-only event.

Jobs is switching the Mac to faster chips from Intel. He has introduced three systems since January, including an iMac desktop and two versions of the MacBook Pro notebook.

An updated version of the $499 Mac Mini and iBook consumer notebooks may be next, Wu said. Jobs promised last month that all Macs will sport Intel chips by the end of this year in a switch from processors from International Business Machines.

Jobs may also use the event to introduce accessories including an iPod-based "boom box" or portable stereo, Wu said. Apple last month added a $49 FM radio tuner that works with the latest iPod models, including the pencil-thin Nano and the video iPod.

ThinkSecret.com, a Web site that features speculation about the company, said this month that Apple is developing an iPod video player with a 3.5-inch diagonal screen, larger than the 2.5-inch screen Jobs introduced in October.

New worm targets Mac computers

The new worm, called OSX.Inqtana.A, spreads through a vulnerability in Apple's OS X operating system via Bluetooth wireless connections, anti-virus company Symantec said.

Bluetooth is a wireless technology used to transmit data among devices at short distances.

The latest virus follows OSX/Leap-A, which was identified last week and believed to be the first such virus targeting the Mac platform. That worm attempts to spread via Apple's iChat instant-messaging program, which is compatible with America Online's popular AIM instant-messaging program.

If a Bluetooth connection is made, the worm attempts to send itself to those remote computers. However, the worm itself does not appear to pose an immediate threat.

The latest worm was identified Friday. Both worms are ranked a Level 1 threat on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the most severe, Symantec said.