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Jobs is expected to unveil new Power Macs based on IBM's PowerPC 970 processor. The G5 chip will break new ground in Mac performance, not only in raw power - said to be up to 2GHz - but also by providing 64-bit addressing. This feature alone should vastly increase the amount of data that the processors can handle in any single moment.

Unfortunately any element of surprise has been lost, since someone at Apple inadvertently leaked details of the new Macs' specs on the company's website.

Jobs will also present the first public viewing of Mac OS X 10.3 - codenamed Panther. According insiders,it is expected to provide support for 64-bit processors. There would be little point in that unless Apple has a 64-bit machine up its closely guarded sleeve.

Although Apple has, as ever, remained highly secretive about new features in Panther, some screenshots - since removed at the behest

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of Apple's lawyers - have been posted on the Internet. These show a new Expose tool, video conferencing in iChat, a revamped DVD player, Activity Monitor - a renamed and improved Process Viewer, Folder Actions and a redesigned, brushed metal Finder.

No mention is made of Piles, the ability to stack files and folders into groups, though that doesn't mean the facility will not be there. The new Finder, as well as sporting the brushed metal interface common to iTunes and the like, reintroduces colour labels and sports a new layout. Labels will undoubtedly be popular, unless you've forked out for Unsanity's Labels X software; messing around with the Finder interface may not be so welcome.

Expose looks to be a handy features that allows you to display all your open windows at once, allowing quick and easy selection of the one you want. It includes a censor feature, preventing designated windows from being shown.

Power Macs and Panther aside, Jobs is also expected to announce that the 15in PowerBook, the only member of the line-up still using the old titanium casing, is being rehoused in aluminium, in line with the 12in and 17in models. The new 15in may also have a slightly larger screen; any other changes to the specification are a matter for speculation.

Jobs' keynote kicks of at 5pm BST today, and you can catch the whole thing afterwards via the QuickTime stream. MacUser.co.uk will, of course, be bringing you all the news as it happens.