Starved for Apple-flavored angst in the tedium-soaked wake of yet another bygone Stevenote? Perhaps the new Power Macs aren't providing enough fodder for you. In days gone by, Mac fanatics would jump at the chance to criticize a new Power Mac's speed boost as trivial, laughable, or downright ruinous in the face of the ever-advancing Intel juggernaut, and indeed, one would think that this latest boost to 1.42 GHz would stir all manner of online punditry bemoaning Apple's continuing inability to scare up clock speeds even half of what's available from the Dark Side. But this time? Not so much. We're not sure whether it's because people finally accept the Megahertz Myth, or because they can only complain about the exact same issue about thirteen or fourteen times before it just gets terminally boring; either way, we're seeing a lot less "the sky is falling" stuff ranting about rampaging 3 GHz Pentiums completely demolishing our defenseless little G4s and then setting fire to our villages and stealing our women for the slave trade.

So people are instead extracting their U.S. recommended daily allowance of angst from a slightly less obvious source-- to wit, the new 20.1-inch Cinema Display that Apple foisted upon us a couple of days ago. Apparently there's a bit of a brouhaha in our little community over the display's system requirements, as stated on Apple's own web site and noted by MacFixIt: "The Apple Cinema Display requires Mac OS X v10.2 or later." Given that certain malcontents are already steamed enough that Apple is no longer supporting Mac OS 9 as a bootable operating system on its new Macs, these same folks are understandably frothing at the mouth at the idea that now even Apple's new displays aren't going to play nice with 9.

Admittedly, this sets a somewhat dangerous precedent; while we all understand that it's in Apple's best interest to noodge its user base into making the leap to Mac OS X sooner rather than later, making even basic accessories nonfunctional under Mac OS 9 might be a notch or two over the top. What's next, a new Pro Mouse that, when plugged into the USB port of a 9-booted iMac, melts into a viscous mutagenic goo? Worse yet, since the display reportedly requires 10.2, what about people who are running Mac OS X, but simply haven't shelled out to upgrade to Jaguar? Good thing that at $1299 the display itself is dirt cheap (relatively speaking, of course), because a lot of potential customers might also need to drop a couple hundred ducats just to get their systems up to par.

Luckily, that "Mac OS X v10.2 or later" requirement is reportedly a massive load of hooey. Several MacFixIt readers note that they've seen 20.1-inch Cinema Displays connected to systems booted in Mac OS 9 and working just fine. We suspect that maybe full support is only available in Jaguar, e.g. all those goofy resolutions, advanced Energy Saver settings, the ability to dispense warm maple syrup, etc., but early reports at least confirm that those of you who own compatible Macs but are still riding Horse No. 9 into the ground can purchase and enjoy a 20.1-inch Cinema Display without necessarily invoking the hurty wrath of the Great Jobs Above.

So, what-- an error on Apple's part, or a little white lie intended to goose a few more customers into upgrading to Mac OS X? That's between Steve and his hairdresser; mere mortals such as us can only speculate.

Speaking of the ongoing tussle between Mac OS X and Mac OS 9, remember how Apple announced that all new Macs introduced starting this month would no longer boot into 9? Remember also how Quark is now so late porting XPress, it's become evident that the process is being undertaken by two monkeys with typewriters on loan from the Complete Works of Shakespeare Project and some guy named Lou who once programmed an Excel macro in a business school class with Fred Ebrahimi's nephew? And surely you recall that since XPress is the life's blood to a sizeable segment of Apple's pro customer base, in order to keep its sales from stagnating still further Apple was forced to be a little lenient with its Mac OS X-only plans.

Well, we now know what form Apple's compromise has taken-- and we know just how much of an Obsolescence Tax Apple expects professionals to cough up if they insist upon buying 9-bootable Power Macs. If you wander over to the Apple Store and take a gander at the Power Macs, you'll notice that Apple has added a discreet new link to the right-hand side of the page: "Mac OS 9 Systems. Click Here." Do as it says and you'll find that Apple is offering a 9-booting dual-1.25 GHz system with half a gig of RAM, a 120 GB hard drive, and a SuperDrive for the low low price of only $2499. So if your business relies on Quark (or some other 9-only software) and you desperately need a new Power Mac or two, Apple's got you covered.

Of course, there are a couple of catches. First, this is obviously last year's model, aka the G4 Windtunnel that's taken more eardrums than Smashing Pumpkins and Aerosmith combined; that means that in addition to risking permanent hearing loss, you'd also be forgoing all the architectural improvements in the latest systems, like the Xserve-based system controller, FireWire 800, AirPort Extreme compatibility, internal Bluetooth support, a faster SuperDrive, etc. On top of that, you'll pay a premium for buying older gear: configure a new Power Mac with the same general specs as the Mac OS 9 dealie and you'd pay just $2399-- meaning that, in addition to giving up all the latest toys, you'll have to fork over an extra Bennie for the privilege.

Assuming you can't stick it out with your current gear until your required apps finally get Carbonized, clinging to Mac OS 9 is becoming an increasingly pricey strategy. What we want to know is whether there's really a market out there willing to pay extra for last year's equipment, because we just can't see anyone actually buying one of these things at Apple's asking price. If the idea of purchasing older equipment for more money has you reaching for your checkbook, though, have we got a deal for you: a Power Mac from two years ago, which we'll let go for the special price of just $2699. (We've also got a Macintosh SE that's a whopping thirteen years old, but trust us, there's no way you could afford it without taking out a second mortgage...)

For the love of Pete's knees, teachers sure are getting the sweet end of the Apple-flavored lollipop these days! In addition to qualifying for reduced educational pricing on all Apple gear (as per the usual), you may recall that last October Apple launched the "X for Teachers" program, which sought to distribute copies of Mac OS X 10.2 to all qualifying U.S. and Canadian K-12 teachers for free. And not just "free plus $19.95 shipping and handling," but free free-- and Apple recently extended the program through the end of March, so if you're a teacher and you haven't yet scored your free dose of Jaguary goodness, it's not too late to hop on the gravy train.

But wait, there's more: Apple just announced another new deal, which offers teachers a copy of iLife and Keynote for the ridiculously low price of just fifteen bucks. That's a savings of $133-- or 90%, for the math teachers out there-- off the retail price ($113 or 88% off the educational price), and as far as we can make out, shipping is free, although sales tax is extra. Now, yeah, this may not be as something-for-nothing as the X for Teachers deal, but considering that fifteen clams isn't even enough to score yourself a copy of the Girls Gone Wild: Spring Break video, why not blow it on a suite of digital lifestyle apps and presentation software that PowerPoint can only hope to become in a future life if it saves a busload of blind schoolchildren and nuns from plunging into a ravine?

The point is, if you're a teacher, this is another terrific deal from Apple, whose plan to re-establish itself as the education sales king apparently involves treating educators like royalty; we can only assume that the next deal will involve Steve Jobs coming over every weekend to wash your car. There's just one teensy little flaw with Apple's plan, however: it's not the teachers who decide which computers go into the schools. We know, because about 12.2% of AtAT's weekly mail volume is comprised of rants from Mac-loving teachers who are plotting torture and mayhem against the administrators who just decided that all Macs would be stripped from the classrooms and placed into a large vat of acid, as per the school district's new contract with Dell. While it's always nice to have the teachers on one's side, if Apple really wants to get back in the education game, the company should be bribing the administrators with free operating systems, cheap presentation software, and (ideally) large wads of unmarked bills. Maybe next time around.