Apple Moves to Quash Rumors About New iMac

Threats of legal action from Apple Computer persuaded several Macintosh-oriented Web sites to remove purported images of the company’s latest iMac, code-named Kihei (after a city on the Hawaiian island of Maui).

The new model will reportedly be announced Tuesday by Steve Jobs, the Cupertino, Calif., company’s interim chief executive.

In the sizable community of avid Macintosh fans, scooping Apple’s announcements has become something of a cottage industry. Dozens of Web sites in Europe and the United States attempt to gather intelligence from sources in the know--either Apple employees or partners of the company--and spread the latest rumors.

Those rumors often prove false, but in this case Apple’s legal crackdown--the company says the photos in question violate its copyright and disclose trade secrets--has lent them unusual credibility.

The threats may seem more dramatic than the new iMac itself, however. If the rumors are accurate, Kihei is a slightly souped-up version of the current model, featuring 350- to 450-megahertz G3 microprocessors compared with today’s 333 megahertz, plus some added memory. The premium versions of Kihei reportedly will add storage capacity, compatibility with wireless networking equipment, high-speed “FireWire” ports for connecting peripheral devices and a DVD drive in place of a CD-ROM.

The withdrawn images of the new iMac, seen by The Times, look nearly identical to the current model, although a new color will be added: gray, to match the company’s Power Mac G4 desktop computers.

Industry analyst Tim Bajarin, president of Campbell, Calif.-based Creative Strategies, said his sources substantially confirm the rumors. He said that users who have been clamoring for an iMac with a 17-inch display, compared with the current 15-inch size, might be out of luck. But Bajarin cautioned that Jobs is famous for surprise announcements.

“My gut [tells me] that the way Steve does this, there’s still something up his sleeve,” he said.

Apple will no doubt hope that its new iMac will offset problems with its supply of processors for the G4 machines. The shortfall, combined with anticipated component deficits related to earthquake-damaged suppliers in Taiwan, caused the company to downgrade its earnings estimates and sent the company’s stock reeling in recent weeks.

Apple shares lost $1.59 Friday to close at $61.72 on Nasdaq, off 23% from its all-time high of $80.13 touched Sept. 20.

Apple, which declined to comment on the rumors, is also expected to release Tuesday the latest version of the Macintosh operating system, OS 9, which features a range of new Internet tools.

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Times staff writer Charles Piller can be reached at charles.piller@latimes.com.