The arrival of the flat-panel iMac earlier this year, with its striking design but relatively high price, initially seemed to show that Apple was relinquishing its traditional stronghold in the cost-conscious education market. But the company kept the less expensive CRT-based model around for education buyers whose budgets run more in the $799 to $999 range rather than $1,299 and up. And now Apple has released the eMac, a new CRT-based desktop that will be sold to only the education market, with a modified design and a moderate price.

The eMac blends old and new. Like the CRT-based iMac, it has a teardrop-shaped design, though it's somewhat boxier. However, Apple has increased the diagonal size of the display from 15 to 17 inches--thereby boosting maximum resolution to 1,280x960 from 1,024x768. And because this bigger CRT also comes in a flatter tube, it occupies about the same amount of desk space as the old iMac.

The eMac takes a step toward the new flat-panel iMac, however, by using the same 700MHz PowerPC G4-based core and imitating its snow-white exterior. It also includes the same complement of ports: three USB, two FireWire, video-out, 10/100 Ethernet, headphones, and audio input. Interestingly, the entry-level $999 model, with a CD-ROM drive, does not have a modem jack; you'll have to upgrade to the $1,199 model, which includes a DVD-ROM/CD-RW combo drive, to get that feature. Both models come standard with 128MB of memory and a 40GB hard drive.