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Fontainebleau Resorts plans to provide an Apple iMac computer in each of the 5,300 rooms at its soon-to-reopen, remodeled Miami flagship and $3 billion hotel-casino being built on the Las Vegas Strip. The $15 million investment in the sleek 22-inch computers is the marquee feature in an effort to add high-tech touches throughout the resorts, says Fontainebleau majority owner Jeffrey Soffer. The Macs are Apple's first major venture into the hospitality industry.

From their hole-in-the-wall office in Doral, Fla., brothers Rudy and Robert Pedraza are waging war on Silicon Valley. The 24- and 22-year-old computer whiz kids are undercutting Apple by building "clone" computers with Mac software and selling them for less money than the tech behemoth. The daring move -- cloned PCs are old news, but Apple has been vigilant against Mac imitations -- has sent shock waves through the techie world. With little business experience and nothing to lose, the two South Florida brothers are relishing their revolutionary moment.

Apple has upgraded its all-in-one iMac line by adding faster Intel Core 2 Duo processors, the fastest of which will cruise along at up to 3.06 GHz. The processors come with 6 MB of L2 cache and a faster 1,066 MHz front-side bus, with 2 GB memory standard in most models. The high-end 24-inch iMacs already flirt with performance suitable for professionals, but the $2,199, 3.06 GHz model -- with an Nvidia GeForce 8800 GS graphics processor sporting 512 MB of memory -- might become a less expensive alternative to a decked-out Mac Pro.

Macolytes around the world were buzzing this week with news that an online hardware vendor called "Psystar.com" is selling a US$555 PC called the "Open Computer" that runs the Macintosh OS X Leopard operating system. In fact, for about the same price, you can buy the machine with Windows or Leopard installed -- or buy it for $400 with the open source Linux operating system. For Mac lovers accustomed to paying the Apple premium, this would be a major breakthrough -- at the very least, a cheap source for the second or third computer they can't afford at Apple's prices.

Macolytes around the world were buzzing this week with news that an online hardware vendor called "Psystar.com" is selling a US$555 PC called the "Open Computer" that runs the Macintosh OS X Leopard operating system. In fact, for about the same price, you can buy the machine with Windows or Leopard installed -- or buy it for $400 with the open source Linux operating system. For Mac lovers accustomed to paying the Apple premium, this would be a major breakthrough -- at the very least, a cheap source for the second or third computer they can't afford at Apple's prices.

By far the biggest news this week has been the return of the Mac clones, courtesy of a tiny company in Florida doing business under the name "Psystar." While Psystar has sparked the imaginations -- and disdain -- of Mac lovers by offering a $399 PC capable of running Mac OS X, it hasn't been the only blog-worthy topic. It turns out that Amazon.com is not taking over iTunes customers; rumors continue to swirl around an iPhone nano and even an iPhone shuffle; Nvidia is shipping the coveted GeForce 8800 GT graphics upgrade kit, and Apple updated Safari to plug four security holes.

A small Miami-based business has jumped into the deep end of the pool -- the one controlled by Apple in Cupertino -- by offering Macintosh clones to everyday consumers. Pystar's Web site has regular PC hardware capable of running Mac OS X Leopard unmodified for a measly $399, according to early reports. Perhaps "had" is a better word, because as of Monday morning, the site was inaccessible. Now that all new Apple Macs run on Intel's processors, which are also widely used in the PC world, it's fairly easy to get Mac OS X up and running on non-Mac hardware.

A small Miami-based business has jumped into the deep end of the pool -- the one controlled by Apple in Cupertino -- by offering Macintosh clones to everyday consumers. Pystar's Web site has regular PC hardware capable of running Mac OS X Leopard unmodified for a measly $399, according to early reports. Perhaps "had" is a better word, because as of Monday morning, the site was inaccessible. Now that all new Apple Macs run on Intel's processors, which are also widely used in the PC world, it's fairly easy to get Mac OS X up and running on non-Mac hardware.

One-piece computers -- in which the display and the PC are in the same case -- are nothing new. In fact, some of the earliest systems were designed this way. Names such as Osborne, Kaypro and, yes, Compaq come to mind. However, the current leader in all-in-one offerings is Apple, with its iMac line. Given that the very first Macintosh was a one-piece system, that makes sense. The sleek all-aluminum iMac is a major part of Apple's resurgence.

The presence of Salvation Army bell ringers tells us the time of year. Since more gift ideas are in order, why not start with Apple's iMac desktop computers? Apple's desktops, the new, sleek, shiny ones, are excellent gifts. I've used the next-latest version at home, but the more recent versions, out several months without reports of major hassles, are slimmer, more powerful, and feature a very nice, compact keyboard and the Apple mouse. Starting at $1,199 for a 20-inch display-sized model, even the "low-end" model might be all some users need.