It's been over a week since we first got to see the iBook, and despite what the naysayers claim about the reality setting in after Steve's patented distortion field wears off, we're still in love. Okay, sure, when sizing it up for our particular needs, it's got a few flaws. It's big, for one-- bigger than a current PowerBook G3, and heavier, to boot. And there's no video-out. Yes, we know about the USB-based presentation solution, but we're skeptical of the quality, and we're darn certain it's not going to allow the use of an external SVGA monitor. And there's no FireWire, so the only option to expand the included 3.2 GB hard disk is to attach a slower USB drive. We could add FireWire, but there's no CardBus slot. Basically, the iBook is a near-perfect system for many people-- just not for us. Yet still, we're in love.

The single iBook factor that really tests the limits of our devotion, though, is the price. $1599 isn't a bad price considering what you get, and considering how much other laptops cost, but it's still a hefty chunk of change. We know we have to blame something for that price, and the most logical component to blame is that bright, beautiful 12.1-inch active matrix screen. If they'd have used a passive-matrix display instead, they could have held the cost down while driving battery life way up-- but have you seen the 12.1-inch passive matrix PowerBook G3? The only word to describe the screen is "yuck." Actually, there are more, such as "dim," "washed-out," "ghosting," "smeary," "blotchy," and a whole slew of them that aren't suitable for a family-oriented show, but we think "yuck" pretty much sums it up. Clearly, Apple had to use a high-quality screen in the iBook, but the effect on the price is a real shame. It's this darn world-wide LCD shortage; everyone's feeling the pinch.

And that's why, as Electronic Buyers' News reports, Apple's taking action. Our favorite fruit-flavored computer company is reportedly investing $100 million in Samsung Electronics, a manufacturer of those TFT active-matrix LCD screens that are so freaking costly. iCEO Steve Jobs said, "With our new iBook and fast-selling PowerBooks, Apple will need more flat displays than ever going forward," and this is one way to help secure those screens. Here's hoping it works-- and that the LCD shortage dies down soon and translates into lower iBook and PowerBook prices. (As usual, we're not holding our breath.)

Things are looking pretty rosy for Apple these days, right? There all almost too many positive changes to list-- increased market share, reduced inventory, a consumer desktop that still tops the sales charts nearly a year after its release, a consumer portable poised to do the same, a stock price at a six-year high, etc. On top of all this, they've had seven consecutive profitable quarters after having bled about a billion dollars' worth of red ink. In other words, Apple may not be completely out of the woods yet, but at least they've extricated both legs from those rusty bear traps, clawed their way out of the thirty-foot pit, and pried off the various woodland creatures that were chewing on their collective butt. And most people would agree that iCEO Steve Jobs was instrumental in the turnaround.

But is Steve speading himself too thin? Sometimes it's easy to forget that he's CEO of two companies: Apple and Pixar, those wacky computer animators who gave us Toy Story and A Bug's Life. So does that mean that while he's been so busy putting Apple back on its feet, Pixar has had to do without the Magic That Is Steve? Not according to Steve himself, who recently stated he tries to divide his time equally between the two companies; in addition, while he's well-known (and often vilified) for micromanaging every little thing at Apple, his involvement at Pixar is more of a hands-off approach. He may have directed the iBook, but he's not directing Toy Story 2.

But Pixar has recently stumbled on some trouble themselves; according to the Internet Movie Database, the company recently announced that home video copies of A Bug's Life (as well as all those toys and other merchandise) aren't selling nearly as well as they'd hoped. In fact, after Steve announced that only about 21 million copies of the video would be sold-- that's about 12% less than they originally expected-- Pixar's stock dropped over six points to settle at 42. Uh-oh. It's probably nothing to worry about just yet, but if Toy Story 2 doesn't do well at the box office this Thanksgiving, then Steve might well have another turnaround on his hands...

It's been about a week since Steve's Expo keynote, but the echoes remain. The memories are still etched sharply in our minds: Steve sharing the stage with Noah Wyle, the ripple through the audience as they noted the addition of Disney content to QuickTime TV, the audible smiles (if that's possible) following the Sherlock 2 comparison shopping demo, the stunned silence during the Halo demo, the cheers of anticipation and the thunderous applause at that first public glimpse of the iBook. It was a heck of a show. But the funny thing is, one of the most vivid visual memories we've got is the mental picture of the people waiting in line to get into the conference hall. Last year when we showed up about an hour and a half early to get in line, there were only a handful of earlybirds camped out inside the center. This year when we showed up at the same time, we experienced a moment of panic when we saw that the line had already filled up the twisty line-up area inside and extended out the door and halfway down the side of the conference center.

Expo personnel assured us that there were 4500 seats available and that we'd definitely get in, which placated us somewhat and let us watch the line grow ever longer. By the time we actually started shuffling into the auditorium, the line stretched out the front door, all the way along the front of the Javits Center, and around the corner-- at which point it apparently extended up a ramp or some stairs and doubled back on the sidewalk by the street. The end of the line wasn't far from the front, if you're talking point-to-point distance; we could wave to them and pity their chances of getting in to see Steve. But since the whole line followed a weird bent-hairpin pattern, if you stretched it out straight, it'd have been long enough to reach back to Tulsa.

Well, okay, maybe not that far, but according to MacWEEK, the keynote attendance did set a record. Reportedly 5500 people were admitted-- we presume a thousand of them were standing-- which was more than at any Macworld keynote address in the past. That's significant, because "only" about 46,000 people attended this past show, compared to 70,000 at last January's shindig. Apparently that virtual guarantee of the iBook introduction really pulled in the eyeballs, and that bodes well for the future success of the product. Next year we'll have to camp out at dawn to secure the best seats...