Apple rumor mill predicts 'all new Mac'

Apple is planning to release an entirely new Mac by the end of this year, according to a Japanese news 'n' rumor website.

Such is the power of Apple's cult of secrecy that even the flimsiest rumor from a web source with a hit-or-miss record can excite the imaginations of fanbois worldwide.

As far as your humble Reg reporter can determine from his limited Japanese, the assistance of Google Translate, and Babylon.com, Macotakara reported on Monday that their source, an Asian parts supplier, says the new Mac will be "distinctly different" from any existing product.

A somewhat convoluted English translation on the Macotakara page concurs, noting that "Apple seems to be preparing project to release new Mac line-up which is absolutely different from current products."

The website did correctly predict that the arrival of the iPad 2 this March, but that wasn't exactly rocket science. It also published specs for the iPad 2 that were close, but not spot-on.

AppleInsider points out that Macotakara reported this May that Apple was testing an A5-powered MacBook Air. Whether a keyboard-equipped iOS machine is the "Mac" to which Macotakara's supplier source is now referring is a matter for individual conjecture.

The only certainty to the Macotakara report is that if you'd like to get some publicity for your website and the page views that go along with it, just launch an Apple rumor, and the coverage will commence.

Such as this article, we sheepishly admit. ®