More good news on the iMac sales front: according to a MacCentral story, ZD Market Intelligence reports that the iMac was the "best-selling desktop computer" in PC superstores for the third straight month last October. The author of the study attributes the iMac's wild success primarily to its "competitive price." (The study itself is available at the ZD InfoBeads site, but we're not members, so we're relying on the second-hand info.) This data, coupled with the just-released numbers from PC Data which showed the iMac to be gaining ground in October, probably has some execs over at Apple dancing a happy little jig.

Now, while trying to reconcile this information with PC Data's sales figures for the last three months, certain questions arise. According to PC Data, the iMac was either second or third in sales for those three months, right? So how does that fit with ZD Market Intelligence's assertion that it was the "best-selling computer" for the same three months? Elementary, my dear Watson-- PC Data is apparently counting sales in all retail storefronts, while ZD's figures only cover computers sold in "PC superstores." "Fred's Computer Hut" need not apply.

So what exactly qualifies a retail sales outlet as a "superstore," anyway? Salespeople who talk faster than a speeding bullet but who can't sell when in the presence of kryptonite? (Personally, we sense that all it takes is a superhuman ability to avoid advertising Apple products and the possession of an Uncanny Reappearing Stocking Ladder, but that's just our natural bitterness shining through.) Whatever it is, we're interested to know if Best Buy makes the cut, and if they do, how their sales will affect the iMac's superstore ranking. We haven't heard very much about the iMac's popularity in Best Buy, but we've sure had an earful of tales of incompetent and unknowledgable salespeople, and also some reports that CompUSA has been stealing iMac customers from Best Buy with their better pricing and more interesting bundles. Still, every little bit helps.

You say MacMate, I say WebMate, let's call the whole thing off. Seriously, speculation has run rampant since Apple killed the Newton and claimed they'd have a Mac OS-based handheld in 1999. When they announced that their product line would include a mysterious "consumer-level portable," things got even more heated. And everything's been just plain nuts since word got out last week that Apple has registered both "MacMate" and "WebMate" as trademarks. Is the consumer portable a full-size hybrid iMac PowerBook, or is it more like a Newton? Which of the trademarked names will it use, and what will use the other one? And so on.

Everyone's got an opinion, so it seems, and Robert Morgan is no exception. In this week's RFI Report, he thoughtfully clarifies all he knows about the missing links in Apple's product line, and to us, the news is good, if it turns out to be true. As reported by other sources, RFI claims that the consumer portable (code-named "P1") is not positioned as a Newton-replacement handheld computer; rather, it's essentially a full-fledged laptop with features and stylings that will make it a compelling product for the home and educational markets. This is going to be called the WebMate. The MacMate, on the other hand, is a separate product entirely; it is the Newton-style handheld PDA thingy that will reportedly run a "Lite" variant of the Mac OS. Details on the MacMate are sketchy, but reportedly it has a better feature set than the MessagePad 2000, and that's good enough for us. And isn't it interesting that the MacMate is being manufactured by modem-maker GVC?

As usual, take it all with a grain of salt, kiddies, because there are no guarantees that any of this is correct. And if it is correct, there are no guarantees that it'll stay correct. But we consider this RFI Report required reading, because it really opens up some fascinating possibilities (in RFI's time-honored self-congratulatory and cryptic manner, of course). After already budgeting for a WebMate next year, now it looks like we at AtAT might have to factor a couple of MacMates into the deal, too. Oh, well-- no one can accuse us of not being good little consumers.

Since "Redmond Justice" is bogged down in yet a fifth day with economist Frederick Warren-Boulton on the stand (somebody wake up the director so we can get this thing moving again!), we thought we'd check into some of the other legal trouble brewing in the tech world. The one nearest and dearest to our hearts, of course, is the Imatec suit. You remember, of course, that a small company called Imatec is suing Apple for over a billion dollars for infringing on its patents in the ColorSync color management technology. Recently, Imatec claimed that Apple did it on purpose, which raises the stakes somewhat-- if found liable, Apple might have to cough up well over three billion dollars, which would very likely cripple our happy heroes. What to do?

First things first-- according to a Reuters story, Apple refused to settle. That's probably a very good sign, as it backs up Apple's claim that the case is without merit and it shows they're willing to fight. Unfortunately, in pre-trial depositions, Apple acknowledged that they have "no policy in place... for verifying if [a] product infringes other companies' patents" before that product hits the shelves. Whoops! Minor oversight there, hmmm? That might have been just enough of a foot in the door for Imatec to decide that it may have a chance of winning after all.

Still, we're confident that Apple will prevail. There's lots of evidence to support the notion that Imatec's just trying to grab the money and run; for more on the "trumped-up lawsuit" angle, check out this excellent MacTimes article, which includes some interesting excerpts from Imatec's latest SEC filing. Basically, we liken the case to having to walk across a three-foot-wide catwalk that's positioned over a thirty-foot drop onto giant steel spikes. Three feet is plenty of space on which to keep your balance, but it you do fall for some reason, well, things get really messy. The first court date isn't scheduled until next March, and any number of things could happen in the meantime. Let's wait and see if Imatec's just bluffing.