New & Noteworthy: New Apple server hardware; new laptop power adapter; iServices; Red Roaster cafe; iBooks in elementary s

New Apple server hardware released Apple has quietly released a new server, replacing the models dropped last week (see previous) for a single 733 MHz QuickSilver unit. The lack of multiprocessor models would tend to suggest that there is more over the server horizon, yet to be revealed. The unit's specifications are available at The Apple Store.

New laptop power adapter released Lind Electronics has announced a new smaller, lighter 60-watt Auto/Air Power Adapter specifically designed to power Apple's new iBooks and Titanium G4 laptops. The $79.95 DC Power Adapter is available now.

Apple iServices growth spurt Macuarium reports that Apple's iServices group, which delivers consulting services to organizations, is spreading its reach beyond North America.

Neighborhood Nerve Center Apple Hot News covers a not-just-another-cybercafe: the Red Roaster Internet Café at the corner of Fulton and Divisadero.

iBooks Are Elementary An Orange County elementary school experiments with iBooks for third, fourth, and fifth graders. From the LA Times: "Teachers were delighted to discover that most children already have excellent computer skills. And they were amused to see that some already were trying to run DVDs or computer games while appearing to be working away at their lessons." More.

MacFest photos Macworld UK has photos from the recent MacFest at Leeds and Birmingham. Mac EvangeList also has coverage.

Instant messaging evolves double time From Cox News Service: "As instant messaging becomes a way of life for a growing number of consumers, the Internet's major players, AOL, Microsoft Corp. and Yahoo, all are making the technology the centerpiece of their Web offerings. Indeed, they are counting on souped-up instant-messaging services to lead the troubled Internet sector to better economic times by attracting new members and revenue." More.

States Press U.S. to Take Tough Stand on Microsoft From the New York Times: "The states also served notice that they were willing to break with the Bush administration and pursue Microsoft on their own if they think the steps the Justice Department is to suggest do not go far enough to foster competition in the software industry." More.

Windows XP: Microsoft's New Look for Fall From the New York Times look at Windows XP comes this all too familiar quote: "Windows XP couldn't look much more like Apple's Mac OS X if you ran it through a copying machine." Also from the Times, a look at the current state of the lawsuit, given recent concessions by the Justice Department. And from Newsweek, an analysis of the post breakup-threat landscape from Steven Levy, titled Look Ma, No Breaks. From the Newsweek article: "Ballmer and Gates must accept that they will have to make serious changes in the way they do business. Otherwise, the products that they're developing today—even Windows XP—might require a hard reboot."

Privacy concerns in Federal Court From the Wall Street Journal: "When judges of our circuit discovered this surreptitious monitoring, we were shocked and dismayed. We were worried that the practice was of dubious morality and probably illegal." More.

Federal Court reverses position on privacy concerns From Inside: "In the face of a blistering campaign by federal judges crying invasion of privacy, the administrative body responsible for running the court system on Thursday appeared to have backed down from its sweeping recommendation that the government is entitled to monitor anything read or created on office computers." More.

New Copyright legislation in the works From Wired: "Music and record industry lobbyists are quietly readying an all-out assault on Congress this fall in hopes of dramatically rewriting copyright laws. They hope to embed copy-protection controls in nearly all consumer electronic devices and PCs. All types of digital content, including music, video and e-books, are covered." More. The complete text of the proposed bill is available from this page.

Star Wars: The Phantom Edit From the Washington Post: "The Phantom Editor...has never worked for Lucasfilm and did the editing work on the comparatively modest machinery of a 400-megahertz Power Macintosh G4, using Apple's Final Cut Pro video-editing software." More.