Features

SAN JOSE – Apple Computer Inc. has resurrected the cathode-ray tube for the retail desktop market with a new computer that was originally intended only for schools. 

Citing customer demand, on Tuesday Apple introduced an “eMac” model for consumers. It is similar to its education counterpart that was launched in April, featuring a 17-inch cathode ray tube monitor and 700 gigahertz G4 processor. 

A half year ago, the Cupertino-based computer company declared that bulky CRT monitors were history when it introduced a new iMac with a flat-screen liquid-crystal display. 

“We still think the flat panel is the future of our desktop line, but the costs of flat panels are still not as low as we’d like,” said Phil Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide product marketing. 

In March, citing rising component costs, the company raised iMac prices by $100 — to a range of $1,399 to $1,899. 

The eMac — priced at $999 and $1,199 — was a lower cost alternative for the education market, and consumers have since “pounded on the table demanding to buy the eMac,” Apple chief executive Steve Jobs said in a statement. 

Also Tuesday, Apple released a public preview of the latest version of its streaming media software, QuickTime 6. The software features MPEG-4, one of the newest video-compression technologies.