Whither the lowly iMac? When Uncle Steve first took the wraps off his Bondi Blue baby back in '98, we never thought we'd be describing its linear descendents as "lowly," but in a way, it's an apt description; funky patterns and CD-burning capabilities aside, today's iMac isn't the earthshattering sales phenomenon it once was. Remember when the iMac was so paradigm-breaking, pundits got into bar fights with broken bottles over whether the system would save or sink Apple? Remember when "to floppy or not to floppy" was a raging philosophical debate? Remember when the iMac was consistently listed among the top five best-selling personal computers at retail? These days the iMac is certainly no slouch, but it's largely the same little guy it was three years ago-- and consumers just aren't that jazzed anymore.

So what Apple-watchers have been waiting for is not the iMac's next evolution, but a revolution: something that'll generate the same kind of buzz and interest that Apple created when it threw a translucent blue space egg into a world full of beige boxes. There has to be something about the next iMac so completely different from what people expect in a home computer that it once again breaks from the rest of the herd-- and AppleInsider happens to think that the next iMac will boast not one, but two differentiating factors. The first is obvious: Mac OS X, which will make what's on the iMac's screen stand out more than ever before. The second, though, is the thing that'll get passersby doing double-takes to stare at the new iMac in the first place: the screen itself.

Yes, while there are the usual caveats about the rumor being "unconfirmed by sources who can be considered reliable" (and let's not forget that mere hours before the last iMac was unveiled, AppleInsider reported that it would ship with a CD-RW/DVD combo drive-- whoops), one of the next iMac's "highly rumored features" is a widescreen display, à la the PowerBook G4. Now, see, that would turn heads. It doesn't much matter whether the new iMac boasts an integrated 15.2-inch 1152x768 LCD identical to the PowerBook's, or some crazy custom super-wide CRT (like the one pictured in the "iMac 2" mockup at the end of a Terminal 34 article kindly forwarded to us by faithful viewer Michael)-- in either case, a widescreen display would get people's attention.

While we don't want anyone to get too excited over unsubstantiated reports, we don't mind telling you that the mental image of new widescreen iMacs running Mac OS X, iMovie, and iTunes pulling window-shoppers into a chain of Apple-owned and -operated retail stores "to get a closer look" has us grinning like idiots. Not that we've ever particularly feared for Apple's future in the first place, but the very thought of new iMacs running Mac OS X and a line of retail stores that will actually demonstrate and sell them competently has us very happy to own Apple stock. Buckle up tight, kids, because we have a feeling that come July, this drama's going to move mighty fast...

Okay, we're going to have to revisit this whole "iPhoto Studio" brouhaha for a moment, so bear with us. Once The Mac Show Live spent fifteen minutes surfing the web and making a few phone calls to determine that the not-so-mysterious "iPhoto Studio" (mentioned as a topic in an upcoming Apple-cosponsored seminar) is simply a third-party workflow management service for professional photographers, we figured the burgeoning yet misguided speculation that it's actually Apple's Next Big iApp would have ground to a halt. Not so.

Instead, AppleInsider jumped in right where Mac OS Rumors left off. Whereas MOSR has apparently pulled its "iPhoto" story entirely, AppleInsider is now reporting that "iPhoto" will indeed be the next horse in Apple's stable of "digital media editing products" that currently includes iMovie, iTunes, and iDVD. Reportedly Apple's iPhoto software will "interface seamlessly with the company's FireWire In/Out technology, allowing the application to instantly rip and process images from many of the latest professional digital cameras." Hmmm... that doesn't sound very consumer-oriented to us.

Moreover, AI claims that iPhoto will hook up with another "Apple-branded digital image solution" (called, enticingly enough, "Studio in a Bag") to form "an Applescriptable workflow environment that incorporates ColorSync technology to easily process photos with color clarity for digital media or print." Again, that doesn't exactly sound like something Grandma's going to want to use to crop the hairballs out of her snapshots of Mr. Whiskers-- and indeed, that was sort of our whole point yesterday: that it would be a strange departure from Apple's "iApps are for consumers" tradition for iPhoto to be a professional tool. (Of course, now that we know that iPhoto Studio isn't an Apple product at all, the whole thing's moot.)

Note that we're not saying that Apple isn't working on an iMovie-like application that will let consumers edit their digital stills; we're just saying that iPhoto Studio isn't it, and that once the service is demoed this Friday at Apple's seminar that fact will become all the more glaringly clear. And now that the name "iPhoto" is taken, just what will Apple call its hypothetical image-editing iApp? Well, we won't know for sure until the product actually surfaces (don't forget that iMusic turned into iTunes), but faithful viewer David Marcantonio noticed that if you search the U.S. Patent Office database, you'll find that Apple registered the trademark/service mark "iPicture" less than a month ago-- and that it falls under the categories of "computer software," "treatment of materials," and "Internet-based services; on-line applications; storing, enhancing, distributing, editing, manipulating of data." Let the knowing looks and rampant speculation begin!

We wouldn't exactly consider it "news" as much as "something you knew was going to happen anyway but it's still really nice to hear it confirmed," but Apple just issued a press release announcing that none other than Steve Jobs himself will be kicking off next month's annual Worldwide Developers Conference. But wait! This isn't just any ordinary keynote address: instead, Steve will launch the geekfest with a "fireside chat." Holy Hannah, Uncle Steve is channeling FDR! We always suspected that Steve possessed supernatural abilities, but now we've finally got proof.

So far, there's been no indication that Steve's WWDC performance will be webcast, so if you can't risk the possibility of missing His Mercurialness enter a trance, host the restless spirit of ol' Franklin Delano, and prattle on endlessly about the New Deal and the various achievements of the 73rd Congress, you're going to have to get yourself a ticket to the real thing. So clear your calendar for the week of May 21st through the 25th, book a round-trip ticket to San Jose, and don't forget the $1595 entrance fee.

What's that, you say? You think $1595 is a mite steep just to see Steve channel the spirit of some dead guy who likes to talk about the Works Relief Program? Well, that's as may be, but don't forget that after Steve's seance, you'll have five glorious days in which to learn everything there is to know about writing software for Mac OS X. In fact, we hear there are even some odd ducks who are paying for the conference and consider the Stevester's spirited antics a mere bonus! Go figure. In any case, if you're a Select member of the Apple Developer Connection, you've still got a couple of days left in which you qualify for $200 off; if you're not a member, you can join now and get $300 off, instead. And best of all, if you're a Premier member, you even get one ticket for free. So don't delay; the ghost of FDR is waiting.