New & Noteworthy: OS X Server hardware enhanced; quarterly results due today; holiday sales prediction; more

OS X Server lineup enhanced Yesterday Apple quietly bolstered its server hardware lineup with a dual-processor unit. In addition to the existing single processor 733 MHz offering, the dual processor model comes in two configurations. The $ 3799 'base' config is a Dual 800MHz PowerPC G4, 256K L2 & 2MB L3 per processor, 256MB RAM, and an 80GB hard drive. The top end configuration boosts the RAM to 1 GB and the drives to 2 80 GB drives.

Will Apple find holiday cheer? From CNET: "As Apple Computer prepares to offer its forecast for holiday sales, analysts are eager to hear the company's take but worry that no one can accurately foretell what the end of the year will bring." More.

Macs on Tour On Apple's website, From Janet Jackson to the Grammys takes a look at musician's Macs behind the scenes on major concert tours and in the studio.

Mac scripting weblog established Brent Simmons' Macintosh scripting weblog covers news and information on AppleScript, PERL, and much more of interest to Mac scripters.

NEC intros $399 15-inch flat panel monitor The new NEC MultiSync LCD1550V sports a 15 inch flat panel display at 1024 x 768 and a VGA connector.

IOGEAR USB 2.0 2.5" portable hard drive enclosures The ION is fully backward compatible with USB 1.1, priced at $119 (MSRP), and will be available November 10th.

Lawmakers push IT-equivalent of National Guard From InfoWorld: "To drum up corporate support for creating the IT equivalent of the National Guard, U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden has been lobbying technology leaders and plans congressional hearings on the topic in the coming weeks. In the wake of the Sept. 11 disasters, Wyden (D-Oreg.) put forth the idea of establishing NET Guard, or National Emergency Technology Guard, as a central way to 'mobilize' the technology community during crisis. More.

Mission: Domination of the Internet From CNET: "If there is any doubt about Microsoft's determination to expand its Internet strategy through Windows XP, consumers may be reminded of it no fewer than five times as soon as they try the new operating system. In the second through sixth attempts to connect to the Net, Windows XP will implore consumers to sign up for something called Passport--an identification technology that, in many ways, is a key to Microsoft's future." More.