These screenshots (and the build in general) are probably what we’re going to see in the final shipping OS next month, and I’m excited. Lots of features, lots of eye candy, and lots of solid visual design. Excellent.

^^^click^^^

And check that out — locked/unlocked icons for Wifi signals in the Airport menu dropdown. Cool. I’ve been using the wonderful but $8 Wifind by Tastyapps.

So I wandered into my local CompUSA yesterday and of course headed straight to the Mac section. I start telling my friend, who had very graciously accompanied me and let me rant to her about Macs, about how a good virtual buddy of mine, that would be Keef, had uncovered all this info about the new iMac screens. She seemed suitably impressed and as a recent Mac convert herself actually looks forward to when I have something Mac related to say.

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AppleSwitcher moderator Keef makes a case for why you should avoid the new 20″ iMacs. If you care about screen quality you should read this. I noticed and remarked on the poor viewing angle of the iMac’s display while briefly using a new 20 at an Apple Store. Alternatives: get a last-gen iMac 20″ or the current-gen iMac 24″.

Early adopters who bought iPhones at $499 and $599 will get a $100 store credit, says Steve Jobs in a letter released today.

Job’s letter, below, comes on the heels of a $200 price drop — and ensuing online firestorm — announced yesterday on both iPhone models. Only those who bought the phone within 14 days (30 if bought from ATT) are eligible for a refund of the difference.

To all iPhone customers:

I have received hundreds of emails from iPhone customers who are upset about Apple dropping the price of iPhone by $200 two months after it went on sale. After reading every one of these emails, I have some observations and conclusions.

First, I am sure that we are making the correct decision to lower the price of the 8GB iPhone from $599 to $399, and that now is the right time to do it. iPhone is a breakthrough product, and we have the chance to ‘go for it’ this holiday season. iPhone is so far ahead of the competition, and now it will be affordable by even more customers. It benefits both Apple and every iPhone user to get as many new customers as possible in the iPhone ‘tent’. We strongly believe the $399 price will help us do just that this holiday season.

Second, being in technology for 30+ years I can attest to the fact that the technology road is bumpy. There is always change and improvement, and there is always someone who bought a product before a particular cutoff date and misses the new price or the new operating system or the new whatever. This is life in the technology lane. If you always wait for the next price cut or to buy the new improved model, you’ll never buy any technology product because there is always something better and less expensive on the horizon. The good news is that if you buy products from companies that support them well, like Apple tries to do, you will receive years of useful and satisfying service from them even as newer models are introduced.

Third, even though we are making the right decision to lower the price of iPhone, and even though the technology road is bumpy, we need to do a better job taking care of our early iPhone customers as we aggressively go after new ones with a lower price. Our early customers trusted us, and we must live up to that trust with our actions in moments like these.

Therefore, we have decided to offer every iPhone customer who purchased an iPhone from either Apple or AT&T, and who is not receiving a rebate or any other consideration, a $100 store credit towards the purchase of any product at an Apple Retail Store or the Apple Online Store. Details are still being worked out and will be posted on Apple’s website next week. Stay tuned.

We want to do the right thing for our valued iPhone customers. We apologize for disappointing some of you, and we are doing our best to live up to your high expectations of Apple.

Steve Jobs
Apple CEO

http://www.apple.com/hotnews/openiphoneletter/