Apple ready to roll out new retail service

That secret meeting for Apple retail employees we've been hearing about? The agenda might not be nearly as exciting as some would hope.Apple store employees have reportedly been asked to sign non-disclosure agreements in advance of a meeting this Sunday night. Boy Genius Report says it's heard that the big secret employees will learn at that meeting is a new small-business-oriented IT support service called Joint Venture.BGR says it's "an extension of Apple's current Genius Bar services" but that's aimed at small-business owners and "prosumers." The service will cost money, but it will reportedly enable subscribers to either go into the Genius Bar for hardware and software troubleshooting, or simply call up a Genius--the latter is not a service Apple offers to anyone currently.Apple has made other moves recently showing it is targeting the small- and medium-size business crowd. It canceled its line of Xserve servers used by large corporate clients last month and in its place offered the Mac Pro Server. It's a setup large companies would be hard-pressed to use but that could be adequate for smaller businesses.

Apple ready to launch new iMacs, report says

Apple is getting ready to launch new iMacs, according to a new report.Fox News' Clayton Morris is reporting today, citing several sources, that Apple will soon update its iMac line. According to Morris, the computers will come with Intel's Ivy Bridge processors, as well as better graphics and USB 3.0.Apple's iMacs have been in desperate need of a refresh for some time. The all-in-one computers, which were last updated in May 2011, come in the customer's choice of 21.5- and 27-inch models. The iMacs currently offer quad-core Intel Core i5 processors.The word from Morris' sources that the iMacs will launch with Ivy Bridge follows a report that surfaced in May from benchmarking site Geekbench. A benchmark test was found on the site for an iMac 13,2, a new model that has yet to be released. It was believed at the time that the iMac was a new 27-inch model.Although we're still in rumor territory, some signs do tend to point to a 27-inch model launching soon. CNET examined Amazon's iMac listing, and found that while the 21-inch model is available for purchase, the 27-inch version is "temporarily out of stock." Apple's online store, however, is showing the 27-inch model as in-stock.CNET has contacted Apple for comment on the Fox News report. We will update this story when we have more information.