Apple's come up with many, many beautiful-looking computers in its twenty-odd years in the business, and we imagine every Apple-watcher's got a favorite. The original toaster-style Macintosh holds a special place in our hearts, as do the latest PowerBooks (which are somehow even sleeker than last year's Wall Street models-- something we hadn't thought possible). Then there's pretty much every Newton MessagePad ever shipped, and even the blue-and-white Power Mac G3s have their own degree of alien charm. Sure, there have been misses, too, like the regrettable boxy blahness of the 4400, but personally, we like to think that the curves and colors of the iMac more than erase the design sins of the past. Yes, to us, the iMac is still the quintessential "beautiful computer." It's like an eye magnet or something.

So if you're one of those people who harbors an irrational dislike for the French, we're going to give you another reason to be ticked off; the French postal service has actually managed to find a way to make the iMac ugly. If you don't believe us, just check out NoBeige, who has a picture of the kiosks being installed as pay-to-surf public 'Net access points in French post offices. Brace yourself-- with its bevy of weird curved wings sticking out in all directions, its boxy angles and soulless slots, and the most hideous combination of yellow and blue we've ever seen since Gemini Jr. High's school colors, it's not for the faint of heart nor the sensitive of taste. And peeking out from within sits a poor, dejected iMac, robbed of its natural right to make the world look just a little bit better. Yuck.

We should note that we are extraordinarily impressed that anybody could come up with such an effective way to transform the world's prettiest computer into something that looks like the hideous anti-creative mental offspring of a gestalt consciousness formed by Bill Gates and every contributor to the Museum of Bad Art. But leaving aside the issue of the kiosk's unfortunate colors and design, we applaud the French government for providing thousands of public Internet access terminals in post offices across their nation, and for realizing that the iMac is ideally suited for such a task-- low cost, low maintenance, high performance, and a terrific overall experience for the end users. Provided that they don't go blind or start projectile vomiting upon seeing the kiosk, that is.

Favorites come and favorites go. Way back in the heady days of the early '90s, we remember when the big debate was over who was cooler: Dylan or Brandon? (Sure, there were a few freaks who thought Steve or David should have been included in the running, but there's just no accounting for taste.) These days, however, "Redmond Justice" is the hip show on the tube, and the race for the title of King of Courtroom Cool would seem to have two contenders way out in front. First, there's David "Smooth-Talkin'" Boies, the black-sneakers-in-court-wearing head mouthpiece for the government's side. A while back, we would have said he was a lock for the win, but recently we're starting to think maybe we should be backing the other favorite, who's been steadily gaining in the last few days: Judge Thomas "Grumpy" Jackson.

See, Jackson has become increasingly impatient with Microsoft's courtroom strategies, and he isn't afraid to say so, leading to some pretty entertaining moments. He's lost countless hours hearing testimony in a case he seems to have decided ages ago, and while his shifty attempts to force both sides to reach an out-of-court settlement so the nightmare can end may not have borne fruit (yet), it was a cool move nonetheless. Anyway, the judge's latest exploits are described in a CNET article, which details how he flat out told Microsoft attorney John Warden that questioning AOL's David Colburn wasn't getting him anywhere: "You have long since exhausted this witness's personal knowledge... let this guy go." In the meantime, Boies didn't do much to increase his own Coolness Quotient; to be fair, though, Boies' recent lack of spark-worthy theatrics is probably indicative of his feeling that the wisest course of action is just to kick back, relax, and watch Microsoft dig themselves into an ever-deepening hole.

Anyway, in these ways, Jackson reminds us a lot of another old favorite TV gavel-banger: Judge Joseph "Grouchy" Wapner, formerly of The People's Court. He, too, wasn't afraid to speak his mind even when he knew the world was watching, he frequently pointed out courtroom stupidity, he didn't take no guff, and he pretty much always looked like he couldn't believe he was wasting his time listening to a couple of idiots arguing over who drank the last soda in the fridge. But if Jackson is looking to unseat Wapner as the Ultimate TV Judge Personality, he's got a mighty big robe to fill. Hmmm, maybe sideburns would help, too...