A second report has come out of Taiwan claiming Asus has won the contract to manufacture Apple's upcoming Intel-based iBook, expected to ship as the MacBook.

Apple's upcoming Intel-based iBooks - now firmly believed to ship under the MacBook brand - may see the company once again offer the product in a range of coloured cases not seen now four more than four years.

Windows Vista has been booted on an iMac, according to a poster on the OSx86 Project forum yesterday. Previous attempts to install and run Vista - currently available in pre-release form - have been unsuccessful.

US software company Parallels has posted a pre-release version of its upcoming virtualisation tool for Intel-based Macs. Coming in response to the release of Apple's Windows XP-oriented Boot Camp utility, the Parallel product eliminates the need to choose which operating system the users at start-up. Instead, users can flip between operating systems at will.

Apple has formally given its thumbs-up to attempts to install and run Windows XP on Intel-based Macs. It has posted a tool called Boot Camp that allows iMac, MacBook Pro and Mac Mini owners to run the Microsoft OS more easily. The company also confirmed the next major Mac OS X release, Leopard, will integrate the twin-OS technology.

Asus has reportedly won the contract to manufacture Apple's upcoming Intel-based iBook - aka the MacBook - which will be the first consumer-oriented notebook from the vendor to incorporate a widescreen display.

Apple has posted Mac OS X 10.4.6, the latest update to its 'Tiger' operating system. Released as both PowerPC and Intel versions, the new software incorporates the customary array of tweaks and fixes, but most notably incorporates a major revision of the OS' iSync tool. Indeed, Apple warned iSync users to synchronise their PDAs and/or mobile phones before installing the new release.

Apple vs Apple It's the logo, stupid. That, at least, is what the Apple vs Apple case centres on if opening arguments made by Apple Corp. lawyer Geoffrey Vos QC are anything to go by. It's not about Apple Comp. selling recorded music, it's about the Mac maker promoting the business with its logo, Vos said.

Apple is planning to open at least two more Apple Stores in the UK, with shops set to open in Manchester and Southampton in the company's current fiscal year - by the end of September, in other words.

Want the fastest Windows XP Core Duo notebook? Then buy a Mac. According to benchmarks carried out by website GearLog, Apple's MacBook Pro running Windows XP is a better Adobe Photoshop rig than any other Core Duo laptop on the market.

Mouse maker Razer has apparently announced a keyboard with an integrated universal iPod dock - the first product of its kind, ever, the company claims. The Pro|Type Multimedia Keyboard also provides a set of media keys for controlling iTunes, along with ten macro command hot keys and a picture zoom in and out control. The keyboard has two USB ports on board for connecting mice and other peripherals. It's also got line-out audio ports. There's not word yet on availability or pricing. ®

Sony will next month extend its line of dual-role displays - they operate as a TV and as a computer monitor - with a 20in widescreen HD model capable of being wall-mounted and has a 3D sound capability.

The $13,000 prize for whoever gets Windows XP to dual-boot on an Intel-based Mac has been won, according to the website created to promote the competition. At this stage it's not clear who's going to walk off with the cash, or whether their code will make it to a wider audience.

Apple's co-founder, one of its former CEOs and an ex-Apple CTO have formally announced their partnership in a technology acquisition company a month after reports they were planning just such a move and eight months after the firm was founded.

Bid farewell to the PowerPC-based iMac G5, ladies and gentlemen. Apple has dropped the 20in model from its online stores in the UK, Europe and Japan, though the machine remains on sale in the US. Not for long though, we'd guess.

Analysis For worse, the online media market continues to fracture into the haves and the have nots - those that have partnered with Apple and those that have not.

Media companies baffling the public with their ineptitude is nothing new. Apple had to drag the labels kicking and screaming to iTunes. Now, Apple has had to show the mogul crowd how to do a subscription service right by this week offering a discount on TV shows (The Daily Show and The Colbert Report) and letting consumers keep their programs. Why Napster, Real and the RIAA think making music disappear at the end of an expensive subscription will prove attractive is anyone's guess.

First UK Review It's been some years since I used a desktop Mac so as a PowerBook user, I've grown accustomed to working on a flat keyboard without the benefits of a numeric pad and a full array of function keys. Having used Logitech's new wireless S530 keyboard and mouse combo, however, which not only granted me the freedom to sit back from the screen, but gave me larger, more typing-friendly keys, I may find it hard to go back...

There's an upside to Apple's decision to use bog-standard PC chips. Mac owners don't have to wait for the aftermarket to produce custom boards to rev their machines. And they don't have to sit idling in front of roadblocks set up by Apple, either.

Apple UK doesn't believe PCs are as naff as its Stateside parent company does. Don't believe us? Just take a look at the company's TV adverts for Intel-based Macs. In the original, US-oriented ad, Apple takes a dig at "dull" PCs, but in the version cleared for UK audiences the d-word is peculiarly absent.

Apple released a security update on Wednesday that fixes multiple vulnerabilities, including a critical flaw in its Safari web browser that created a means for hackers to attack vulnerable systems.