It looks like the new Mac rumor mill is starting to grind again, as several web sites are reporting that Apple is close to releasing updates to several parts of the product line. Joachim noted the rumors on the 24th, and here's an update.

The first rumor is something I've personally been waiting for -- an update to the iMac line. French Mac site Mac4Ever [translation] is citing tips indicating that a new iMac, possibly quad-core powered, is in the works for a possible release before the holiday season. Like the MacBook Pro line, the new iMac would feature an SD card reader. There's also the thought that a high-end iMac could even pack in a Xeon processor. AppleInsider also thinks an iMac boost is in the works, although they're not speculating on quad-core or Xeon processors, and even reports that a new, slimmer design has been churning off Taiwanese assembly lines for the past two weeks.

While a bump to the iMac line would be nice, I personally think that Apple would concentrate on reducing the cost of manufacturing to maintain their margins while making it possible to reduce prices to consumers. This could help Apple's share of the personal computer market continue to climb while keeping Wall Street analysts happy.

The second rumor, also from AppleInsider, points to a less expensive and slimmer white polycarbonate MacBook. If Apple is able to reduce the price of the low-end laptop below its current US$999 level, it could stem the tide of sales of low-cost Windows and Linux netbooks.

Regardless of what actually happens, design updates to these two lines are long overdue. The iMac has essentially been the same since August of 2007, while the MacBook has remained unchanged since May of 2006. It should be fun to see what Jonathan Ive, Steve Jobs, and the tireless Apple engineers who design this equipment have in store for us.

[Original photo credit: © Glenn Francis, www.PacificProDigital.com, through Wikimedia Commons]

MacRumors.com's Arnold Kim writes that a few of the participants in his website's forum are eagerly awaiting the arrival on March 29 of a new Nehalem-based Intel Xeon processor -- suitable for use in the fastest Mac Pro desktops.

What do these new chips bring to the table? Raw power: TechRadar found that 2.8GHz Nehalem Xeon processors scored a SPECfp benchmark of 160, compared to the current Penryn-based Xeon processors that scored just 90.

Kim makes a good point -- part of the reason we haven't seen much movement lately in the Mac Pro line is because of the popularity of Apple's notebook lines: something Apple admitted in its first-quarter conference call on January 21. What that means for the final release date of any new Mac Pro models is anyone's guess.

Once the processors are available for sale, anecdotal evidence would suggest it's just a matter of time before Apple includes them in new Mac Pro models. That's not a guarantee, though.

Last year, when Apple last updated the Mac Pro line, they offered a single highly-customizable build-to-order option, rather than a range of trim levels.

[Via IGM.]

After a very brief bit of downtime for the store, Apple whipped out the big guns this morning: quad-core and 8-core Xeon workstations. The quad-cores are two dual-core "Woodcrest" Xeons inside, in the 2.0GHz, 2.66GHz, or 3.0GHz flavors. The 8-core monster is a duo of "Clovertown" Quad-core Xeon's-- and you only get it in 3 GHz. Naturally there are a zillion* options to go along with all this hot'n'steamy power, but the cores make the Mac, as they say.

*actually 33 million configurations, according to Apple's product page.

Apple, of course, boasted how fantastic of a deal they're offering on stage with these new Xserves, but it's always prudent to hear it from the actual community these products are targeted at. Fortunately, reader Jonathan Fingas pointed us towards just such an article from IT Jungle that analyzes the offering and opportunities of new 64bit, Intel-based Xserves that can run Not only Mac OS X and Linux, but now Windows as well. They do their own price breakdown between other Enterprise server software offerings, as well as a hardware match up with a (somewhat) comparable HP server. They conclude that Apple has quite a killer offering on the table, no matter how you slice it.

Check out the IT Jungle article for yourself, and since most of us aren't exactly Enterprise gurus, keep tips like this rolling in, as they're a great window into how this particular community is reacting to Apple's big changes.

"The fastest, most configurable Mac ever" indeed. Today at WWDC 2006 (check out our coverage and the chatcast) Apple introduced the Mac Pro, and it might as well come with a pair of hot pads with all-new features like this:

• Two 2.66GHz Dual-Core Intel Xeon "Woodcrest" processors
  
• 4MB shared L2 cache per processor
  
• 1.33GHz dual independent frontside buses
  
• 1GB memory (667MHz DDR2 fully-buffered DIMM ECC)
  
• NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT graphics with 256MB memory
  
• 250GB Serial ATA 3Gb/s 7200-rpm hard drive1
  
• 16x double-layer SuperDrive (DVD+R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)

And the fun doesn't stop there. You can stuff up to 16GB of RAM in these beasts now, along with 2TB of storage. With over 1,000,000 available BTO configurations, we wouldn't be surprised if customers have a hard time simply deciding on which Mac Pro they want to throw down their credit cards for.

Also notable: gone are the two or three configuration options from the PowerMac Mac Pro's page in the store. It simply offers the base configuration, which now starts at $2499, and beckons you to click 'configure'. Just try not getting lost in options on your way to the checkout.