New and Noteworthy: 2 TB Internal Storage Solution for G5 Dual/Quad Core; Goldman: Apple seen moving away from Mac; more

2 Terabyte Internal Storage Solution for G5 Dual/Quad Core debuts Trans Intl. has announced the immediate availability of the SwiftData200R, which provides Dual and Quad-core Macintosh G5 users over 2 terabytes of internal SATA storage. "The SwiftData200R neatly fits an additional 3 drives inside a Macintosh G5 Dual and Quad-core computer. Combined with the two drives already in the Macintosh G5's SATA internal drive bay ? that?s a total of 5 internal hard disk drives." One free PCI express slot is required for the SATA PCI express. More.

Goldman Sachs: Apple seen moving away from Mac, building on iPod Forbes reports that Goldman Sachs research analyst David C. Bailey maintained an "in-line" rating on Apple Computer but raised earnings estimates for the company, expecting holiday iPod demand and anticipation of upcoming product announcements to continue to drive earnings growth into 2006. "2006 will undoubtedly mark another major year in Apple's transformation, but its new markets bring together tougher competition," wrote the analyst in a recent research note. "If early indications from suppliers prove correct, Apple is likely to move further from its Mac core in 2006, leveraging its brand and building on the consumer success of iPod." More.

Seagate to acquire disk drive rival Maxtor The Miami Herald reports that Seagate Technology, the world's largest disk drive maker, will attempt to purchase its struggling rival, Maxtor of Milpitas, in a stock deal valued at about $1.9 billion "It's the latest merger in an industry that has seen the number of players dwindle over the years amid fierce competition. If the deal passes antitrust scrutiny, it will further boost Seagate's leading position in the consumer hard disk business and give it more of a presence in the storage market for corporations. Maxtor develops drives used in consumer products, desktop computers and in corporate storage systems sold by companies like EMC and others." More.

Apple, Google and Amazon Lead Web Site Growth Daily Research News reports that the number of users visiting Apple's web site grew by 57% in the year to November, while MSN achieved just 2% growth, according to new data from Nielsen/NetRatings. The fastest-growing sites overall are being driven by young web users, with image hosting site PhotoBucket leading the way with 1,492% growth. "Apple's growth was driven by traffic to the increasingly popular iTunes. Longtime leader Yahoo! attracted the largest unique audience, garnering nearly 104m unique visitors during November, and growing 10% during the year." More.

Previously on MacFixIt

• Late-2005 (dual-core) Power Mac G5 (#3): More on audible static or "clicks" through minijack port
• Mini-Tutorial: Deleting old copies of applications (documents opening with the wrong version, program)
• Using "Windows-only" devices with Mac OS X (#3)
• More iDisk Issues: Consuming hard disk space when synchronizing; Failed scheduled backups

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