Brand: MacNews

A Register article discusses the Nite-Surfer keyboard, a conceptual, illuminated keyboard that uses a “state of the art material” to illuminate the keys of the keyboard without the use of LEDs or other light sources that can cause glare on the computer screen. If the keyboard is produced — distributors are currently being courted — the company expects the device will sell for US$50 to $150.

A brief ON24 report discusses Apple’s new iBook, describing the improvements that it offers over its predecessor. The article also notes that sluggish sales of the previous iBook contributed to Apple’s revenue shortfall last quarter, and IdeaAdvisor expects the new iBook will do little to boost Apple’s bottom line this quarter. IdeaAdvisor remains neutral on Apple, but expects shares to climb to US$22 over the next 1-2 weeks. Apple closed at just under $20 yesterday.

Handspring plans to release the Smartcom, a springboard module for its Visor PDAs, in as early as October. Similar to the VisorPhone released in the US late last year, the Smartcom will combine both wireless connectivity and add cell phone support to the Visor. Handspring hopes to move 100,000 of the units per year, which it anticipates will sell for 10,000 to 15,000 yen, or US$84 to $126.

The latest column by Business Week’s Charles Haddad discusses the appeal that the Cocoa programming environment for Mac OS X will have for new developers. “Scott Forstall, a senior Apple engineer, demonstrated Cocoa’s ease-of-use before thousands of developers at WWDC. He fashioned a video editor in three minutes. ‘Imagine what you can do in 90 days,’ he teased his audience. It’s talk like that sends tingles down the spines of developers.”

The recovery of IBM during the 90s, attributed much to the success of the now-outgoing CEO Louis Gerstner, is “nothing short of miraculous,” says an article at The Standard that discusses the company’s turnaround. Today, IBM is a leader in several fields and manufacturers countless products, including PowerPC chips and hard drives used by Apple.