Refurb iMacs from $1,249, MacBooks from $849

Apple's online store is currently offering reconditioned current-generation iMacs for as little as $1,249 and MacBooks starting at $849. The company's current-generation 20-inch 2.4GHz iMac Intel Core 2 Duo ($1,249) includes 1GB of memory, a 320GB hard drive, an 8x SuperDrive DVD/CD burner, and an ATI Radeon HD 2600 PRO graphics card with 256MB of video memory; a 24-inch 2.8GHz Intel Core 2 Extreme model ($1,899) is also available with 2GB of memory, a 500GB hard drive, an 8X SuperDrive, and the same graphics card as the 20-inch model. Apple's supply of previous-generation iMacs includes the 20-inch 2.16GHz model ($1,099) with 1GB of memory and a 250GB hard drive; as well as the 24-inch 2.16GHz version ($1,399) with 1GB of memory and a 250GB hard drive. Apple's stock of refurbished MacBooks includes the White 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo ($849) with 1GB of memory and an 80GB hard drive; as well as the White 2.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo ($999) with 1GB of memory and a 120GB hard drive.

Briefly: Apple big in Japan...

In brief: Apple ranks 15th in Web traffic in Japan, RAM for new MacBooks, MacBook Pros is available, Freeway 5 beta 3 has been released and Switching to the Mac: The Missing Manual, Leopard Edition debuts ... Apple ranks 15th in Web traffic in Japan according to new statistics release by comScore. Apple garnered 15,633,000 unique visitors in Japan in January. comScore reports "January saw increased visitation to education, career, automotive and real estate sites as many people in Japan focused their Internet activity on planning for the New Year. Several news sites, including J-Cast.com, Sponichi.com, and Jiji.com, saw significant gains in January, with elections in Osaka, the Sumo wrestling tournament, and the Chinese food scandal being major topics in the news."

First Look: ScreenFlow, screen capturing...

Every Mac comes with the Grab program, which can capture images of the screen that are helpful for showing others how a certain program should look or what users should see after choosing specific commands. Unfortunately still images cannot always show the complete story, just as viewing a photograph is less enthralling than watching a movie. To fill the void Vara Software offers ScreenFlow, which captures screen activity and stores it as a Quicktime movie file that users can copy and distribute to others. Such Quicktime movies, called screencasts, are useful for creating video tutorials for training or teaching.

iPhone 1.1.4 unlock guide, package manager...

A Mac-only guide describing how to jailbreak Apple's iPhone 1.1.4 and SIM unlock the device has surfaced alongside a graphical user interface port of the Debian APT package management system for iPhone. The new guide, posted on IntoMobile, takes users step by step through the process of jailbreaking -- or gaining filesystem read/write access -- the iPhone and unlocking it for use with wireless carriers other than Apple's exclusive partners.

Twitterrific 3.1 fixes bugs, adds prefs...

The Iconfactory has announced the release of Twitterrific 3.1, an update to the application that enables users to both read and publish posts or 'tweets' to the Twitter community website. The latest release hides the cursor after selecting a tweet, correctly sorts as well as summarizes Growl notifications, adds a preference to control the scrolling of tweets in the window, and includes new keyboard shortcuts. The update also no longer allows the reply shortcut on a direct message, and a new power user preference optionally displays @screenname rather than a full name. Twitterific 3.1 is available for free, and requires Mac OS X 10.4 or later as well as a Twitter account.

KeynotePro releases Om '08 for Keynote...

KeynotePro today released OM '08 for Keynote, a new theme for Apple's Keynote '08 presentation software with a new framework and new master slide options. OM '08 for Keynote features a bold new color/type variation, according to KeynotePro. "The OM themes have been completely overhauled for the transition to Keynote '08, producing a whole new generation of the OM themes that are even easier to use and customize than the original release, all at a fraction of the filesizes of the original." OM '08 for Keynote is available in Standard ($25) and Pro ($35) editions, or bundled with two other themes ($50 for Standard, $75 for Pro).

Apple's cash could benefit investors...

Apple's cash reserve of $18.5 billion could benefit shareholders in a big way moving forward, according to BusinessWeekcolumnist Arik Hesseldahl. The cash amounts to $21 for each share of company stock, and Hesseldahl believes Apple should return some of that money to shareholders in the form of a buyback. "The time to buy back Apple stock is now," he writes. Shares are 40 percent below a historic high, and Wall Street is focusing on concerns that Apple will suffer as the economy slumps.

Apple hiding Safari code from developers...

A Firefox developer who goes by the name Vladimir said on his blog that Mac OS X could potentially have code that enhance Safari's performance. In his blog, Vladimir says that while collecting feedback from Mac beta testers for Firefox 3, several have indicated that the new iteration seems to be anywhere from 50- to 500-percent slower than v2.x. After some troubleshooting, Vladimir reveals that the screen drawing synchronicity engine causes the issue.

Belch launches carbon-fiber iPhone case...

Belch Co. has released its first case for the iPhone, what is also its first product for the modern generation of Apple products. The case is said to be the only one for the iPhone made out of aerospace-grade carbon fiber, giving it extra strength, while keeping its weight down to less than a third of an ounce. The inside is lined with neoprene, which prevents scraping and also acts as shock cushion.

Apple to exercise tight controls on iPhone SDK?...

Apple will announce tight regulation of iPhone applications at its March 6th SDK event, say several anonymous sources. Although the SDK has been hotly anticipated as a means of turning iPhones into handheld computers, Apple will for various reasons restrict how iPhone software operates and is distributed. Users will for instance have to acquire applications through the iTunes Store, instead of through independent websites, where it may sometimes be more convenient.

O2 Ireland defends controversial iPhone plans...

The Irish version of the iPhone remains a good deal, despite its cost, insists the head of O2 Ireland. The device will be unusually expensive in Ireland, costing €399 ($605) for the 8GB version or €499 ($757) for the 16GB one; the latter costs the equivalent of €430 in the UK, or €370 ($499) in the US. Subscribing to the cheapest possible 18-month contract, an Irish iPhone user will have to pay a minimum of €1,209. This will still only net 1GB of data per month, and 175 minutes of talk-time, without any access to Visual Voicemail.