All the models come with six USB ports, sorta: Four on the machine itself and two on the keyboard, then a single FireWire 800 port, built-in iSight camera and MiniDisplayPort. It also comes with a wired keyboard -- sans numeric keypad. If you want a wired keyboard with a numeric keypad, it's free but you'll have to indicate it when doing a BTO order on Apple's site.

Apple seems to be out to make 20" displays a thing of the past as the iMac narrows its line down to the one 20" machine, and the 20" Cinema Display has disappered completely. By introducing a third 24" iMac at the same price of the former high-end 20", Apple is making sure that these larger machines are becoming more affordable.

If you are trying to update your drive firmware with a MAC, you must have an INTEL MAC to allow you to perform this action. If you do not have an INTEL MAC, you will then need to take the drive to a PC, or a MAC with an Intel Processor. If you do not have either, you may need to warranty the drive with Seagate, and the return drive should have the updated firmware upon receipt.

If you have an INTEL MAC, you would simply need to burn the ISO file to CD using the burning utility that you have installed on your system. Once you have the CD created, you will then need to reboot the system with the newly created CD in the CD ROM bay while holding the "C" key on the keyboard to tell the system to boot to the CD rather than the internal hard drive. Once you have booted to the CD, simply follow the onscreen prompts to complete the firmware update. Older Macs that are PowerPC (PowerMac G3,G4,G5, iMac G3,G4,G5) based can not bootup to the FreeDOS. FreeDOS is the operating system that is booted to when booting to the firmware update CD. Please keep in mind that you should always backup the data on the drive before doing the update in case there is data loss. In most cases, the data on the drive should remain in tack and unaltered; however, things happen, and its always better to be prepared in case we come across any obstacles with the integrity of the data on the drive.
Instructions for updating firmware on a Intel based Mac.
1. Download and burn the Firmware ISO that has been provided to you by Seagate for your drive/s
2. Burn the ISO to a CD (how to: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=Mac/10.5/en/8729.html)
3. Insert the freshly burn CD back in to your Mac.
4. Reboot
5. After the Chime press and hold the Option key on the keyboard.
6. Once you see the Apple with the spinning gear beneath, release the Option Key.
7. At this point the system will come to a screen with pictures of hard drives and a CD, the CD should be named Seagate.
8. Click on the CD
9. Click on the arrow pointing to the right.
10. At this point FreeDOS will boot and the on screen instructions should be followed.
Once again, I want to thank you for your business.. If you still need further assistance, or the information provided was not of good use, please feel free to contact Seagate Technical Support at 800-SEAGATE ( 800-732-4283).

All day on December 25, TUAW presents "Now What?" We've got first steps and recommendations for all the Apple gifts you (hopefully!) found under the tree today. Happy holidays!

It was probably the biggest box under the tree (unless you really splurged on the anniversary edition of the Radio Flyer wagon); now that you've got your new, speedy iMac unpacked and plugged in, what's next?

USB + Input

Despite a full set of three USB ports on the back of the iMac, you're inevitably going to need more ports up front at some point. A hub that makes a fashion-forward statement -- or a retro one -- will be a nice add-on for your machine. If you're going to be importing loads of holiday pictures from your new digicam to your iMac, a standalone SD card reader will be faster than using the camera's tethered upload.

If you're feeling restricted by the included wired Mighty Mouse, you could spring for the wireless Bluetooth version... but believe it or not, Microsoft makes a snazzy Mac-friendly wireless mouse too.

Storage

If you've already got a Time MachineCapsule or other outboard storage, you're all set to begin backing up your new iMac; otherwise, a drive for backup should be first on your post-Christmas shopping list. Western Digital's MyBook Studio Edition matches your iMac's aluminum finish and provides quad-interface storage for backups and more. If you forgo the Firewire, you can find USB-only 1TB drives for around $100US -- no excuse not to get the storage you need. Of course, if you need lots of storage, there is another way.

The NPD data for November retail sales have arrived, and the news is not that cheery: year-over-year Mac sales were flat last month, while Windows PC sales grew 7 percent over 2007's total. Desktops on both platforms got hammered, with 20% drops across both platforms -- Windows machines down 15% and Mac desktop sales down a dramatic 38%. Some of this may be attributable to the long-idle Mac mini (soon to be refreshed, we hear), static feature set of the iMac, and reduced purchasing of Mac Pros and iMacs by education and corporate customers, but consumer buying is clearly down for the desktop.

The tables are turned on the portable side: year over year, Mac laptop sales grew 22 percent for November vs. a Windows increase of 15%. This is good news for Apple's refreshed portables as customers do seem to be taking to the unibody models. It's not clear from the report whether the blossoming netbook category, which includes a sizable chunk of machines shipped with a flavor of Linux, counts entirely as Windows laptop sales or if it's chopped up by the shipping OS -- I'll try to find out. Update: NPD tells me that the Linux netbooks were included in the Windows sales number, but those configurations didn't make a material difference to retail sales.

Did your microeconomic purchasing plans for year's end get derailed by the macroeconomic circumstances? Let us know below.

It's not even December, yet Macworld rumors are starting to fly. Digital Times is reporting that Apple is among the vendors ready to use Intel's new 65W low-power desktop CPUs, specifically designed for all-in-one computers. The lower heat output makes these great little chips for the iMac.

Additionally, these chips would come with a faster bus, and even run a bit cheaper than the dual core chips Apple is currently using - the 2.33GHz, 2.66GHz and 2.83GHz chips cost $245, $320 and $369, respectively, according to Digital Times.

The iMac has been the star of many Macworld keynote speeches, and we expect the same this year. See you in January!

[Via Electronista]