Apple’s first family of active-matrix digital displays, that is.

Nestled comfortably between the breathtaking 22-inch Apple Cinema Display (now available for $2499 MSRP) and stunning 15-inch Apple Studio Display (now available for $599 MSRP) is the newest flat-panel in the family: the new, $999 (MSRP) 17-inch Apple Studio Display.

A sight to behold, the new display supports a resolution of 1280x1024 pixels, desktop real estate equivalent to that of a 21-inch CRT display.

And because it’s all-digital, the new 17-inch Apple Studio Display delivers distortion-free images all the way to the edge of the screen while supporting 16.7 million colors, a wide viewing angle (160 degrees horizontal and vertical), and lightning-fast pixel response.

Now, when you order any new Macintosh computer, you’ll receive the ultimate engine for the digital hub — Mac OS X.

That’s because you’ll find Mac OS X on every Macintosh leaving our factories after May 21. iBook, PowerBook G4, iMac, Power Mac G4 Cube, Power Mac G4 — all will come out of the box with Mac OS X preinstalled. (If you purchase a Mac on or after May 21 that doesn’t have Mac OS X installed, you can get Mac OS X for free via our Mac OS X Up-To-Date program)

For now, a Mac shipping with both Mac OS 9.1 and Mac OS X preinstalled will start up in Mac OS 9.1. But all systems are built to take advantage of the power and elegance of Mac OS X, and we’ve made it incredibly easy to run both Mac OS X and Mac OS 9.1 side by side or to choose which one you’d like to run solo.

What if we told you that you could have it all—a server that offers an incredibly comprehensive suite of network services and, at the same time, is as easy to set up and maintain as, well, a Macintosh?

If it sounds too good to be true, it’s not. We’ve just described Mac OS X Server.

Designed for teachers, media designers, network administrators, and professional webmasters, Mac OS X Server is a breeze to administer, supports clients running the Mac OS, Windows, UNIX, and Linux, and offers a panoply of services, including:

WebObjects—Apple’s award-winning application server software—is now written in the language of the Internet: Java.

As a result, the solutions you build in WebObjects 5 (whether they’re designed to be used on the web or in a client/server environment) can now run on virtually any Java 2 platform, making it far more cost-effective to develop, deploy, and maintain database-driven applications for publishing:

Like to take a Mac to college with you this fall? Looking for a bundle that will offer you the computing power you need and the ability to mix your music and take it with you when you need a study break?

Then check out our latest promotion—designed expressly for the college bound. Choose the computer of your dreams—iBook, iMac, PowerBook, or Power Mac—and for just $199 more, you’ll receive an extra 128 MB of memory and an EPSON 777i color inkjet printer (complete with USB cable). And, here’s the best part, you’ll also get a free Rio 600 portable MP3 player.¹

Talk about a great combination—with iTunes and the Rio 600, you’ll be able to take high-quality digital music with you wherever you go.

So what are you waiting for? Our College Bound promo is available only until July 8.

Last week, Microsoft released Internet Explorer 5.1 Preview Release Update for Mac OS X. Optimized for Mac OS X, the updated version offers improved stability and reliability (including better downloading), gives you more control over browser behavior, sports an improved Aqua interface, and provides support for:

A raging fire engulfs an apartment building. A lone figure on the third floor cries out in distress. Firefighters arrive on the scene and enter the building, saving the stranded man within minutes.

How were they able to get to the tenant so quickly? Thanks to QuickTime VR and Interactive Tactical Group’s Virtual Floor Plans, firefighters and other emergency personnel can consult a virtual representation of a building’s interior and figure out exactly how to handle a crisis situation.

This lifesaving idea is the brainchild of ITG founder Michael Quan, who says: “I think that on the Internet it’ll be fairly standard to visualize places that you haven’t seen and to understand environments that you haven’t experienced through the use of QuickTime virtual reality.”