Still anxiously awaiting the Power Mac G4? Hey, who isn't? The G3 still has a lot of spunk in it, but with the Intel marketing machine pushing Pentium IIIs running at clock speeds higher than anything available in the Mac world, we have to say, the arrival of the G4 would be a welcome boost. The thing is, all along we'd been hearing that Apple's next-generation motherboard, Sawtooth, was pretty much ready to go, and that the holdup was Motorola and their poky development of the actual G4 processor. In fact, some people had even told us that the Sawtooth offered so many improvements over the current Yosemite design (AGP graphics, higher speed bus, etc.) that Apple wouldn't wait for the G4 to put the Sawtooth to work. We were half-expecting new Power Mac G3s with Sawtooth internals to fill the gap until Motorola got the G4 processor out the door.

But now Apple Insider is telling a different story-- one that's almost the direct opposite. According to their sources, it's Sawtooth that's delayed; Motorola's got the G4 pretty much ready to go, but has held off on formally announcing the new processor at Apple's request. (Basically, Apple wants Power Mac G4s available for purchase as soon as Motorola introduces the zippy new chip to the world. Makes sense.) But with professional Mac users clamoring for faster systems, what's Apple to do now that Sawtooth still isn't ready for prime time? Seybold is just around the corner, Steve Jobs is slated to deliver one of his world-famous keynotes, and Sawtooth is reportedly just too unstable to ship right now.

Enter project "Yikes!", the most aptly-named Cupertino initiative we've yet encountered. "Yikes!" is Apple's attempt to slap a blisteringly fast new G4 processor into a Yosemite-based system. The result is essentially a current Power Mac G3 with a better keyboard and mouse, grey highlights replacing the Blueberry plastics, and a brand spankin' new G4 purring under the hood. So whaddaya think, sirs-- believable? We suppose we'll find out in another week. And while we're disappointed to hear that Sawtooth-based systems probably won't surface until next year, a G4 Yosemite in the interim sounds like a welcome stopgap.

So who's up for a heaping helping of QuickTime? About twelve million people, apparently. At least, that how many copies of QuickTime 4 have been downloaded in the first four months since the software's release-- and that certainly qualifies as what we would call "broad acceptance." So while we haven't seen nearly as much use of QuickTime's new live streaming capabilities as we'd like (RealVideo still seems to dominate the content out there), with such a large user base, it seems only natural that the content will follow. But there are people new to the technology who want to start creating cool QuickTime stuff... where can they turn?

Well, lookee here: it's QuickTime Live! C'mon, you knew it was only a matter of time before Apple kicked off a conference dealing exclusively with its remarkable cross-platform media delivery system. According to their press conference, if you're so inclined, you can join other QuickTime enthusiasts at the Los Angeles Convention Center from November 8th through the 11th to learn "how to implement and manage the entire streaming media creation and distribution process." There'll be sessions geared towards both beginners and advanced users, which will focus on "authoring, editing, and streaming content," soup to nuts, the whole enchilada. (Mmmmm, enchilada.)

So if you're keen to gather with like-minded QuickTime enthusiasts and learn a thing or two, sign up today. Assuming, of course, you can afford to dish out at least $395 to attend the workshops. If you just want to attend the conferences, it's $995. And if you want a "platinum pass" with access to everything, that's $1195 as long as you register before September 15th. (Personally, we'd rather buy an iMac at that price, but QuickTime content isn't really our bag, baby.)