The folks who trade in insider Mac information must be more than a little frustrated with Apple's anti-leak protection-- namely, the alleged "disinformation" campaign. The claim is that Apple execs are actually feeding false information to their underlings on purpose, which is supposed to accomplish three things. First of all, if different false info is given to different groups of employees, it's a simple matter for Apple to weed out the loose lips just by noting which falsehoods start appearing on the web. Secondly, if those employees know that their "indiscretions" are now more traceable, it might make them clam up to avoid risking their jobs. And thirdly, even if anyone manages to smuggle real confidential info out from behind Cupertino's Silicon Curtain, none of us know what to believe, since the truth is camouflaged amongst all the lies; "trusted sources" who had the goods in the past might be passing along fake data that they totally believe to be true. It's really a neat trick, don't you think?

Now, we don't know for sure whether or not MacInTouch's news about a Power Mac G3 speed bump last week was disinformation or not, but one thing is verifiably true: the speed bump didn't happen. The Apple Store still lists Apple's pro desktops with processor speeds of 350, 400, and 450 MHz-- just as they've been since the last speed bump in June. When the new models didn't appear, the fact that both Apple's internal and external Power Mac special promotions end around September 25th led us to speculate that we'd see the next speed bump sometime around then. Well, apparently that speculation was tantamount to taping an "X" an the window and shining a lamp on it, because suddenly we started getting information from a plethora of various shadowy sources, both known and unknown. And while not all the information hangs together perfectly, the overall picture that emerged was a pretty clear one.

It sounds as though there won't be any more speed bumps for the Power Mac G3 line. Instead, the little birdies are all chirping about the advent of the Power Mac G4; the chorus pretty much agrees that Steve Jobs will unveil it at Seybold at the end of August, but there's some disagreement as to when the new systems will actually become available-- some say immediately following the announcement (which sounds pretty early, given Motorola's chip production schedule), while other say towards the end of the calendar year. So is this just more disinformation? Maybe. But isn't that what makes all of this so gosh-darned fun?

So one of the many rumored announcements that never surfaced during Steve Jobs' keynote address a couple of weeks ago was the advent of a new Apple online service-- sort of like eWorld, only hopefully destined to be more successful. People were guessing that Apple would give the $1199 iMac a little sales boost by bundling, say, a free year's worth of Internet service. But no mention of "MyApple.com" was made, and furthermore, in a post-keynote interview, Jobs flatly stated that there would be no such thing as a "free" iMac, referring to the latest fad in the Wintel world of giving away a cheap PC when customers sign up for three years of Internet service. And we consider that a good move, given how strong the iMac's sales remain, even as these so-called "free" PCs are becoming available.

But there's no question that a lot of people don't have $1199 to fork over, and maybe some of those same people don't feel like giving up their three pizzas a month to get an iMac. (More likely, they don't feel like spending close to $2000 for that iMac, especially since they'd still be making payments on it in 2005 under Apple's consumer loan plan.) And one of the biggest reasons to get an iMac is to get wired to the Internet, which costs an additional $20 a month or so; if they'd be paying that anyway, why not sign up to get a free computer in the bargain? So there's probably demand for a "free" iMac program-- and that's just what FreeMac.com is banking on. According to a CNET article, their goal is to "give away" a million iMacs-- to people who sign up for long-term ISP contracts, of course. If everything goes according to plan, it's good news all around; people who want their "free" iMac can get it, and since everything's happening through a third-party company, Apple doesn't have to mess around with ISP contracts or overhead or any of that. Plus, they get to sell a million more iMacs-- which is half the total number sold since the little blue guy first debuted just over a year ago.

One of the criticisms of Apple that we hear repeated most often these days is that when the "novelty" of the iMac wears off (it's been "novel" for a year and is still going strong), there's no way Apple can compete in a market where people are demanding free computers. If FreeMac.com can succeed, then Apple doesn't have to. But don't get your hopes up too high; things that seem too good to be true often are. Lots of these "Free PC" programs never get off the ground, and when they do, customers often find they've gotten what they paid for-- as in, a free PC that never shows up. Heck, this isn't even the first time a company's tried the "free iMac" gig; remember last February when Shopss.com claimed they were going to give away 25,000 iMacs? No? Well, that should tell you something...

Remember when the iMac first came out? It didn't take very long before the Bondi Blue wonder was making guest appearances on TV shows, in commercials, in comic strips-- pretty much anywhere you looked, really. It didn't hurt that Apple was running its own iMac commercials during prime time and plastering translucent space-egg contours all over billboards, buses, magazines, etc. A year later, we bet that the iMac has a recognition factor among "average shmoes" on par with the new Volkswagen Beetle. Face it: the iMac is a star.

And Apple's betting that the iBook will be a protege worthy of its fruit-flavored lineage, just as good at stealing the spotlight and being the center of attention. So far, the iBook's off to a nice start; its decidedly "out there" look has been the subject of countless editorials in just the last two weeks, with arguments about its bold colors and smooth curves cutting both ways. And that's good-- possibly better than if everyone loved the iBook. Controversy is the smoke that proves the fire of attention... and attention sells. Love it or hate it, the iBook may well be the next computer that everybody will recognize. Gotta love that mind share, right?

So the iBook, which won't even ship for another couple of months, is already snagging cameos and guest appearances. According to an Apple Hot News page, Bloomingdale's managed to score a pair of pre-production iBooks to use in its "Back To Cool" window display-- complete with blue- and orange-haired mannequins. Michael Fisher, the creative director at Bloomie's, decided to cast the iBook for his window display as soon as he realized "what a cool accessory you'd have to go back to school with." Of course, it's a bit unfortunate that people won't actually be able to buy an iBook in time for the start of the school year, but hey, nothing's perfect, right?