Being the caring and compassionate souls that we are, we still feel just a wee bit guilty about having inadvertently sent dozens of highly-strung Mac fans to their self-inflicted deaths by mentioning that there are a couple of people in this world who aren't sure that the Power Mac G5 will be done in time for WWDC. As restitution, we'd like to send our viewing audience (the segment that's still breathing, that is) hurtling into the weekend with a fresh supply of Hope on a Rope. It's the least we can do.

Actually, no-- the least we can do is sit around eating grapes and watching "Family Guy" on TiVo. And we could also opt to do harm instead of good by pointing at the grieving families of the deceased and giggling. So you have to admit, we're being pretty darn saintly, here.

So here's our good deed for the week: faithful viewer Bill Brown informed us of a CNET article which we're in turn passing along to you. It cites "sources" who claim that Apple plans to "discuss how it will incorporate HyperTransport, a rapid chip-to-chip communications technology, into future computers later this month at its developer conference." Yes, that's right, friends; contrary to popular belief, HyperTransport is not the name of Federal Express's new same-hour delivery service. Like the article says, it's actually a super-zippy chip-to-chip communications architecture that can move data at positively stupid rates of speed.

Now, the fact that Apple is going to stick HyperTransport into future Macs isn't really much of a revelation, seeing as the company became a founding member of the HyperTransport Consortium almost two full years ago, and the Apple logo is plainly displayed right on the consortium's home page. But the fact that HyperTransport can shuttle data between chips at the ridiculous rate of 12.8 gigabytes per second certainly implies that at least one of the chips involved in that transfer should actually be able to do something with a data stream that fast. According to noted authority Mr. Chip Guy, since HyperTransport would almost certainly be overkill for the current G4 processors available (whose processing pipelines, he claims, can be saturated by two tin cans and a piece of string), the implication is that if HyperTransport Macs are unveiled at the conference, they'll almost certainly have PowerPC 970s inside. (Note: Mr. Chip Guy is actually a hand puppet and has no credentials whatsoever.)

Then again, note that the article just says that Apple plans to "discuss" how it "will incorporate HyperTransport... into future computers," which we suppose you could interpret as meaning that Apple hasn't actually incorporated it yet into any computers that exist on this physical plane, and that HyperTransport and the 970 aren't going to come to the Mac until sometime well after-- No, wait, we didn't say that! Put down the pills! PUT DOWN THE PILLS!!

Ah, whatever. Where'd we put those grapes?

Say, remember when were musing that Microsoft might be looking to drop Internet Explorer for the Mac? Well, faithful viewer Sledgehammer Smythe tells us that it just happened. Since we suspect that some of you wouldn't just take some guy's word for it (Sledgehammer, man, they're dissing your credibility! Attack! ATTACK!!), we made the extra effort to dig up confirmation in the form of a MacUser UK article, which reports that "Roz Ho, the general manager of Microsoft's Mac Business Unit, has confirmed that no future versions of Internet Explorer will be released for the Mac."

Now, this revelation may well give you the heebie-jeebies, since it's a sign that things aren't necessarily as peachy-keen between Apple and Microsoft as the two companies had previously insisted. We witnessed widespread hand-wringing among the Mac faithful last year when Microsoft's 1997 "Don't Sue Us And We'll Buy A Wad Of Your Stock And Promise To Keep Developing Office For Your Platform For Five More Years" agreement with Apple was set to expire-- hand-wringing that was only partially assuaged by assurances from both sides that such a contract was no longer necessary. Quoth Phil Schiller at the time: "It's not an issue today... They have shown us in many ways their commitment to the Mac." "Our business is absolutely continuing," said then-head of Microsoft's Mac Business Unit Kevin Browne, as he "pledged Microsoft's intent to continue developing Mac versions of Office and IE."

Of course, that was fourteen months ago, so it's not terribly surprising that Microsoft has bailed on that so-called "pledged intent," at least as far as IE is concerned. (In our book, a Microsoft promise isn't worth squat unless it's in writing-- and even if it is in writing, it's probably written on toilet paper.) Of course, things are different now, since Apple has Safari, which, in our experience, is eleventy-seven times better than IE in every way, shape, and form, provided you aren't visiting a web site that's so assimilated into the MicroBorg way of life that it tells non-IE browsers to get bent. The question, however, is this: is Microsoft dropping IE because Apple developed Safari, as Ms. Ho claims? Or did Apple develop Safari because it knew that Microsoft was dropping IE?

Either way, we doubt that many Mac users will bemoan the lack of future IE updates now that Safari's around and improving fast-- and even if you somehow really do prefer IE to Safari, don't worry about losing the use of your favorite browser; Microsoft says it will support the existing version of IE "for the foreseeable future." (What you should worry about, however, is your appalling lack of taste.) But if Microsoft is dropping development of IE, doesn't that imply that its "pledged intent" to keep developing Office may also be just so much hot air? Not that we, personally, would miss Office either, but that product leaving the platform really could cause some problems. Assuming, of course, that Apple doesn't have a professional office suite of its own in the works-- something a little more businesslike than AppleWorks...

You know, what with all the hubbub over the alleged Power Mac G5 probably surfacing in a week and a half, a lot of people are forgetting that there's another unannounced Mac whose chances of a WWDC intro are, if anything, even more assured. We refer, of course, to an updated 15-inch PowerBook, whose current incarnation lags behind its 12- and 17-inch brethren in features such as DDR RAM, built-in Bluetooth, and support for AirPort Extreme-- not to mention its oh-so-2001 titanium enclosure, when everybody knows that these days it's all about the aluminum, baby. As if it's not hard enough to be the middle child without being dressed in fashions two years out of date...

If the 15-inch PowerBook's lagging feature set and outdated enclosure aren't enough to convince you that it's due for an imminent revamp, there's also the fact that the channel is reportedly so dry it technically qualifies for state and federal drought aid. Still not convinced? Then take a look-see at this DigiTimes article which reports that Apple has ordered the production of its "first 15.4-inch wide-screen notebooks" from manufacturing firm Compal. Seeing as the current PowerBooks use a 15.2-inch display, whatever Apple has on order is clearly a new addition to the zoo.

So, yeah, new 15ish-inch PowerBooks are pretty much a dead cert at this point, although there's a teensy little catch: DigiTimes reports that Compal will start shipping Apple's new 15.4-inch PowerBooks "in the second half of this year." That's a pretty vague timeframe, if you think about it-- it sounds like something the cable company tells you when you ask when the repair guy will be there-- but if taken literally, it implies that the earliest anyone's going to get their hot little hands on one is a week after the Stevenote. Not that July 1st is all that far away, or anything, but if you were hoping to snap up an aluminum 15-incher at an Apple retail store scant minutes after Steve's June 23rd extravaganza, you may have to wait just a little longer than that. We recommending biting down on your wallet to avoid swallowing your own tongue until the convulsions pass.

Trust us, the wait for a 15.4-inch model will be worth it; as you all know, sometimes an extra fifth of an inch makes all the difference. And no, we don't mean that dirty. Sheesh.