Well, I’ve been wondering [see last post] and here’s what I think the iMac 2 will be… this will be the end of the speculation, I promise:Apple need a breakthrough Macintosh, and I think the iMac 2 will go some way to reaching the level impact the original iMac had when it was released. One thing that is definite about the keynote speech next week is that Steve Jobs will say that the iMac 2 will truly be the ‘centre of your digital lifestyle’. However, there has been a problem with this campaign over the past few months: lifestyle doesn’t just mean sitting infront of a desktop machine, or hunched over an iBook on the train to work. We all aspire to a lifestyle of activity and health and Apple want to bring their digital products into this. The iPod was one step towards this; a small, pocket-sized mp3 player that you can take with you and use anywhere. This is why I think the iMac 2 will be a computer based on a series of portable modules:

• There will be a compact desktop machine, one which will run the latest applications at lightning speed and this will form the hub of the modularised iMac.

• Connected to this machine will be a flat screen LCD display which could double as a portable tablet to be used with a pen, although I think this is unlikely.

• More likely is the introduction of another module which interfaces with the main desktop machine. This will be the PDA bit, a smaller tablet and pen device that you can take away on your travels. This could be a wireless networked device with a unique protocol for connecting with the main module of the machine at home.

• Home movie making has always been a selling point of the Macintosh range ever since the original iMac was introduced. But there was always a problem: lack of screen space. Those 15 inch monitors don’t have enough screen resolution to fit a video viewer, browser, timeline and capture bin on screen all at once. This is why I think the PDA will double as an extra monitor to provide more space for windows etc.

• The iPod will take its place as another module of the iMac 2.

• This new machine will share the same colours, materials and overall aesthetic of the iPod.

• Apple will start to produce more digital devices to interface with the main module.

So… there are my predictions. Even if I’m a mile out, I’ve had fun thinking about it.