Apple to show new wares

Leopard might not be spotted

All eyes will be on Apple on Monday 8 January when the firm kicks off another Macworld Expo conference in San Francisco.

As usual there is no shortage of speculation about what chief executive Steve Jobs will announce in his opening speech, with media interest particularly intense this year after Jobs recently found himself in the news over Apple’s handling of stock option payments to executives.

Most observers expect Jobs to keep his role at Apple despite the firm being tangled in legal red tape, while Macworld attendees are more likely to be interested in new and forthcoming products. Rumour sites have suggested everything from the iTV personal video recorder to monitors with more advanced integrated cameras and the long-awaited debut of a mobile phone from the company. However, business users could also be rewarded, with some watchers forecasting ultra-thin and ultra-portable MacBooks as well as Mac Mini desktops based on Intel dual-core chips and Mac Pro desktops and XServe servers equipped with quad-core Xeon chips.

Perhaps less likely is an early release of the next version of Mac OS, codenamed Leopard, that some watchers say is not ready for commercial availability judging by the latest code builds. Scheduled to arrive in spring, Leopard packs the ability to run Windows on a Mac and features automated backup as well as enhancements to imaging applications.

Apple is stoking enthusiasm with a teaser on its home page that reads: “The first 30 years were only the beginning. Welcome to 2007.”