So another Halloween has come and gone. How was yours? All Hallow's Eve at the AtAT offices is typically a sedate affair; we generally work on perfecting our "Couch Potatoes Watching Too Much TV" costumes and wait for the little neighborhood gremlins to ring the bell. By far the best costume we saw this year while doling out the Twizzlers and Nerds belonged to the kid who showed up as Chef from South Park, although there were plenty of runners-up, like the girls dressed as Wine and Cheese and the little hula dancer who didn't quite understand the whole trick-or-treat concept-- after we opened the door, she tried to come inside. All told, it was a pretty good year; we didn't run out of candy and no one set our car on fire, plus Silence of the Lambs was on TV. We consider ourselves blessed.

In fact, the only thing that could have really made things even better would have been if a little trick-or-treating iMac had shown up at the door. There had been lots of talk swirling around that some people were going to attempt putting together an "iCostume," and according to NoBeige, this Halloween did not pass Bondi-less. Let's not dwell too long on the report of two buxom females dressed in translucent blue and white costumes (this show is still rated for general audiences, after all). Instead, let's give a moment of silence to the brave soul who built a full-body wooden-framed iMac costume, complete with built-in speakers that played real music. Unfortunately, he broke two important things: 1) the cardinal rule of school dances ("Never enter the mosh pit while dressed as a consumer computing appliance"); and 2) his left arm in a subsequent fall to the ground. Hey, at least it makes for a cool story.

For actual photographic evidence of an iMac costume, though, you'll have to trek over to faithful viewer Aaron Swartz' home page, which shows his brother Ben's awesome creation. It's amazing what a couple of determined individuals can do with an old mail carton, some paint, and a keen eye for good design. If Jonathan Ives (the veep of Apple's Industrial Design Group, and the man primarily responsible for the iMac's distinctive look and feel) is watching, he should keep an eye on the brothers Swartz-- they seem to have bright futures in that line of work.

Remember how the iMac was the number two selling computer for the month of August? That was a real coup, especially since it debuted halfway through the month and still came in second. There were some real concerns, however, that those fantastic sales couldn't continue; after all, once all of the Rabid Mac Faithful™ ran out and bought their iMacs in the first two weeks (and no, that's not a slam of any kind-- heck, the AtAT staff drove to New Hampshire to buy three on the first morning they because available), would "normal" people continue to buy the cute blue lumpy things?

So the most recent PC Data numbers are pretty good news. For the month of September, the iMac remained in the list of the top five best-selling computers, clocking in at number three. Webintosh notes that the iMac was outsold only by two different Hewlett Packard Pavilion models. It's hard to say how the September numbers relate to current iMac sales, but all reports from the field indicate that those orange and white boxes are still moving out the doors of CompUSA at a pretty solid clip.

Now, the fact that the iMac was the highest-priced computer in the top five (with its average price of $1267) is going to prompt a lot of talk that Apple needs to drop its price to be more competitive. However, there are a couple of factors to consider. First of all, as noted by the MacReport, yes, the iMac is over $200 more expensive than the other models in the top five, but it's also the only system that includes a monitor. And it's a great monitor. Secondly, if sales are so strong at the $1299 price point, doesn't it make sense to keep the price steady and pull in a higher profit? This isn't to say that AtAT is opposed to an iMac price drop-- indeed, we'd love to see it sold for $999 in time for the holiday buying season, because right now Apple's in bigger need of market share than profits. But if sales are really staying so brisk-- and if Apple is really about to unveil a Your:)Ware-style "buy an iMac for $29.95 a month" program as rumored-- then a price drop might not be warranted just yet. With Thanksgiving less than four weeks away, we're anxious to see what Apple has up its sleeve.

While we at AtAT were a tad disappointed that "Redmond Justice" didn't have a special Halloween show (like we're one to talk!), that's not to say the show isn't as entertaining as ever-- especially now that Apple guest stars are getting some screen time. Boy-wonder Avie Tevanian, former NeXT and current Apple software guru, has submitted written testimony in the case, and according to the Washington Post, all is not rosy between Microsoft and our Mac-making protagonists.

It doesn't get any clearer than this: "Microsoft does not hesitate to use its operating system monopoly power and application program dominance to try to eliminate competition, acquire control of new markets and block innovation that could challenge its position." Wow. According to Avie, Microsoft threatened to cancel Office for the Mac unless Apple made Internet Explorer the default web browser for the Mac OS, and Apple of course "reluctanctly agreed" to do so for a minimum of five years. (Microsoft claims that Apple made the choice based on Internet Explorer's superior technology-- which makes us chuckle, when we think back to IE 3.0.) Avie claims that Microsoft also tried to get Apple to drop development of QuickTime for the Windows platform, and when Apple refused, "Microsoft's response conveyed a simple message: Microsoft would drive Apple out of the multimedia business." Harsh stuff

Not that this all hasn't been heard before, but we're still a little surprised by how anti-Microsoft Avie's testimony turned out to be. Sure, he's a witness for the government, but given the supposedly buddy-buddy situation between and Apple and Microsoft for the past year, we expected something just a little less acrimonious. Of course, if what Avie's saying is true, that supposedly buddy-buddy relationship was merely the public facade masking some unpleasant anticompetitive business dealings. The full text of Avie's written testimony is available from the Department of Justice website, if you're interested in such things. We're more interested in how well Avie will stand up to cross-examination. This is, after all, a man used to dealing with high-pressure software engineering deadlines; it'll be interesting to see if that experience translates into poise on the stand.