Things have gone a little further than yesterday; thessaSOURCE is now reporting that Steve Jobs has already told Apple that he will in fact become permanent CEO. The announcement is expected next week, and as early as Monday to try to reverse Apple's recent massive stock slide. (We at AtAT are willing to bet that the stock will open quite a bit higher on Monday even without an announcement, based purely on the speculation.)

This rumor certainly makes the report that Apple has halted its CEO search a lot more reasonable. Why would they halt the search before Steve announced a decision? Why not keep looking in case the answer is a firm "no?" So it appears that Steve's Hawaiian vacation may be so he can gear up for a tough job ahead.

If this is true, we're glad that Steve has finally decided that he's sick of being a weekly guest star, and wants to be listed as a full-time castmember (and according to our ongoing survey, apparently most of you agree). As far as we're concerned, it couldn't happen soon enough. After all, didn't it take Heather Locklear a couple of years to move up from "special guest star" status on Melrose Place?

Just yesterday, MacOS Rumors told the world that Steve Jobs was considering naming the new high-end Powermac line, hitherto known by its code name "PowerExpress," the "Power Macintosh G3 Extreme." Well, only twenty-four hours later they are saying that the decision appears to be final.

Despite its less-than-inspiring name, the available options are impressive: who here wants a 2nd-generation DVD drive? How about a Zip Plus? Or a Jaz 2? Well, apparently these options and others are within reach, as Apple moves to its direct-marketing scheme which includes custom configurations.

Unfortunately, we won't have these puppies at January's MacWorld Expo, as has been previously reported; apparently they will now not be available until February or March, as Steve-O is demanding some more power, such as a 66-83 MHz system bus (instead of the originally-planned 50 MHz one), etc. Sigh. Guess we'll have to wait...

Scripting.com has posted a memo that Bill Gates recently sent to Jim Carlton, the author of Apple: The Inside Story of Intrigue, Egomania and Business Blunders. Bill was interviewed by Jim for the book, and this memo is his reaction to having read the finished product. Bill gives a thumbs up, as have many Macophiles, including Guy Kawasaki.

Unquestionably the coolest part of the memo is where Bill says, "I think I am treated unfairly on pages 27 & 326 (great satan, gangly, deer caught in headlights, cold blooded killer, going for the jugular, wanted to dominate not change the world, secured control, leveraging, trained to smile, Chung story wrong)."

It almost makes him likeable. ;-)