Apple Computer Inc. is expected to announce Monday that it will begin shifting its Macintosh computer line next year to Intel Corp. chips, people familiar with the situation said.

The move is a major change in strategy by Apple, a high-profile win for Intel, and a potential blow to International Business Machines Corp. and Freescale Semiconductor Inc., suppliers of the PowerPC chips that Apple has long used in its Macintosh systems.

Steve Jobs, Apple's chief-executive and co-founder, is expected to explain the shift Monday during a keynote speech to attendees at the company's annual conference for software developers in San Francisco, the people familiar with the situation said.

Apple had been a particularly high-profile customer for IBM. But the big computer maker has recently had success in convincing Microsoft, Sony Corp. and Nintendo Co. to use PowerPC technology in their next-generation video machines, a business that is expected to dwarf sales for Apple's hardware over the next few years.

Apple last quarter sold 43% more Macs than it did in the year-earlier quarter, quadruple the pace of the industry as a whole. But the company had just 2.3% of new world-wide PC sales in the first three months of the year from 2% the prior quarter. Windows PCs account for the vast majority of the rest of the market.

Apple Computer plans to announce Monday that it's scrapping its partnership with IBM and switching its computers to Intel's microprocessors, CNET News.com has learned.

Apple has used IBM's PowerPC processors since 1994, but will begin a phased transition to Intel's chips, sources familiar with the situation said. Apple plans to move lower-end computers such as the Mac Mini to Intel chips in mid-2006 and higher-end models such as the Power Mac in mid-2007, sources said.

The announcement is expected Monday at Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference in San Francisco, at which Chief Executive Steve Jobs is giving the keynote speech.

We always talk to Apple. Apple is a design win that we've coveted for 20 years and we continue to covet them as a design win. We will never give up on Apple.

[Winning Apple's business has] got to make sense from a business standpoint. We would do what makes economic sense. If we can do that and still get the design win, we'd do it.

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Deer Park Alpha 1 is an alpha release of our next generation Firefox browser and it is being made available for testing purposes only. Deer Park Alpha 1 is intended for web application developers and our testing community. Current users of Mozilla Firefox 1.0.x should not use Deer Park Alpha 1.

These Release Notes cover what's new, download and installation instructions, known issues and frequently asked questions for the Deer Park Alpha 1 release.

The next version of Windows, code-named Longhorn, will feature support for uncompressed digital camera images--which could change the way people view and edit photos.

The company on Thursday [?? --Paul] announced deals with camera companies Nikon and Canon, as well as Fuji Photo Film and Adobe Systems, to let Windows users view, print and eventually edit uncompressed digital camera images--which are stored in what's commonly known as "raw" format.

Sometimes called a digital negative, raw files are pre-pixelized data that comes directly off of a camera's charge-coupled device, or CCD--one of two main image sensors in digital cameras. Eventually, raw files get converted to more common file formats, like JPEG, GIF and TIFF.

Most professional photographers prefer using raw image capture because it offers the highest quality and the greatest creative control. For example, raw data contains more tonal information, and exposure and color can be tweaked after the image has been captured. Microsoft's internal research found that 15 percent of all digital photography users surveyed have tapped into raw files.

Well before the launch of Longhorn, expected in the second half of 2006, Microsoft is expected to roll out Raw Image Thumbnailer--a free download of an updated version of its PowerToys for Windows XP ... The download will be ready in a few weeks, Weisberg said.

"Star Wars: Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith" ... remained the top movie with $70.75 million over the long Memorial Day weekend.

The final installment of George Lucas' "Star Wars" saga grossed $271.2 million domestically in its first 12 days, putting it on pace to soar beyond the $310 million total for its predecessor, "Star Wars: Episode II -- Attack of the Clones."

"Revenge of the Sith" may be on track to approach the $431 million domestic haul of "Star Wars: Episode I -- The Phantom Menace," said Bruce Snyder, head of distribution for 20th Century Fox, which released the "Star Wars" films.

As with "Titanic," the modern box-office champ that brought young girls back to the theater to see it again and again, "Revenge of the Sith" is drawing strong repeat business among young males.

''We've got a lot of kids who already have this picture four and five times,'' Snyder said.

Worldwide through Sunday, "Revenge of the Sith" had taken in $504.4 million since its almost simultaneous debut in most countries beginning May 18.

French voters have overwhelmingly rejected the European Union's proposed constitution in a key referendum.

Almost 55% of people voted "No" and 45% "Yes" on Sunday, according to final interior ministry figures.

The vote could deal a fatal blow to the EU constitution, which needs to be ratified by all 25 members states.

President Jacques Chirac accepted the voters' "sovereign decision", but said it created "a difficult context for the defence of our interests in Europe".

The French leader had campaigned hard for a "Yes" vote.

The BBC's Caroline Wyatt in Paris says the result is a political earthquake, whose reverberations will be felt across Europe.

George Lucas ... has an idea for another add-on to the "Star Wars" movie series : A prequel to "The Phantom Menace" ... tales of the Jedi regaining control of the universe from the many Dark Lords some 88 years before Anakin Skywalker.

Yoda - who was instrumental in the effort - would apparently have a headlining role.

Granted, Lucas, now 60, says he won't be captaining such a ship if it ever happens though. What's the bet FOX is going to lock him in a room, tie him to a chair and request he does anyway though?

The conversation between the scooper and Lucas on which this rumor is based apparently took place at a resort last year, so it's not exactly a current newsflash. What's more important, however, is that even if the report is correct, Lucas wasn't committing to anything, nor was he even suggesting that he had such a film in mind.

What the director was actually asked was which period he thought would be more interesting for future stories in the Star Wars universe – before The Phantom Menace, or after Return of the Jedi. Lucas's reply was that without a question, the pre-prequel period would be more interesting.

He then added that a story about the fall of the Sith lords and the rise of the Jedi 800 years before the prequels would be worth his consideration. According to the report, he also mentioned Yoda as a character that would have played an instrumental role in the campaign against the dark lords.