New & Noteworthy: Power Mac G4 Dual 1.25 GHz ships; Apple "losing ground" in education; Corel sponsors festival

Power Mac G4 Dual 1.25 GHz ships Yesterday Apple began shipping the Power Mac G4 Dual 1.25 GHz according to a CNET report. "Although the Power Mac has received several speed boosts, the change in architecture is the first major upgrade to the line in about 18 months. The 1.25GHz model sells for $3,299 and comes with 512MB of memory, a 120GB hard drive, ATI's Radeon 9000 Pro graphics card as well as a 'SuperDrive' that can burn both CDs and DVDs." More.

Apple "losing ground" in education Writing for BusinessWeek, Charles Haddad reports that Apple's grip on the education market is slowing slipping. "The handwriting is on the chalkboard. Apple is losing its long-held dominance in schools. More Macs are still in place than PCs, but that lead is eroding like a sandcastle in the rain. Apple's sales are falling farther behind as schools increasingly choose PCs over Macs." More.

Corel sponsors animation festival Corel Corporation announced its sponsorship of one of the world’s leading animation festivals, set to take place next month in Ottawa, Canada. "Founded in 1980, The Ottawa International Animation Festival (OIAF) is North America's largest and most important animation festival and the second largest in the world. The Festival is a gathering place for those in the business of animation and highlights the work of the talented artists that drive animation’s future." More.