Once again, Apple's apparently cutting it really close with this whole "let's completely clean out our inventory before introducing new computers" scheme. The idea, of course, is to try to avoid the overstock problems of the past, where they'd be stuck with warehouses full of aging and unwanted Performas while customers clamored for the latest and greatest. Those overstocked models depreciate faster than a Lambourghini in the Bad Part of Town™, so it's important for the new, responsible Apple to make sure that their modest profits aren't eaten up by unsold stock. Still, when CNET articles start talking about Mac resellers not having "any products to sell at the beginning of January," we start to get a little nervous.

According to CNET, several resellers have told them that "a variety of systems are already in short supply." Given that the most recent rumors indicate a late January ship date for the new Yosemite systems, the fact that current Power Mac G3's are already running dry is sort of scary. Add to that the potential nightmare of some kind of glitch during Apple's holiday upgrade to a whole new production control system, and, well, you've got the makings of a really fine blockbuster suspense film. (Hmmm, is anybody from Pixar tuned in?) And what's this? The Apple Store is now reporting that they're all out of Power Mac G3's, except for the entry-level desktop 266 MHz models. The note claims that new systems will be available "in early January." We're on the edge of our collective seat.

Don't get us wrong-- we're big fans of the new, "inventoryless" Apple; their inventory levels at the end of the last financial quarter were among the best in the business. We just find it a little unnerving that for the next month or so, people who want pro-level Power Macs just may not be able to buy any of them. Far be it from us to start a run on the bank, but if you're going to need a new Mac within the next month or so, you might want to start calling around.

Here we thought that Apple's legal department would have its hands completely full with the $1.1 billion Imatec lawsuit, the Mac customers suing Apple for dropping free lifetime customer support, the various suits filed as fallout from the ending of the First Era of Mac Cloning, etc. As it turns out, they're apparently a very organized and productive little bunch, because Apple's lawyers still found time to take legal action against unauthorized Mac resellers, also known as "grey marketers." According to a MacWEEK article, Apple hasn't forgotten about those guys, and they're enlisting the help of the courts to keep unauthorized Mac sales at a minimum.

It seems that Apple has just filed injunctions in federal court barring several of the larger grey marketers from their arguably-shady activities. Basically, grey marketers make their money by purchasing Apple equipment from other resellers, often overseas, and then selling the products at a profit. The easiest and most common method of doing this was by buying Macs that were meant for sale overseas and then selling them in the U.S.A. at prices lower than authorized resellers were able to offer. Customers who buy grey-market equipment occasionally find themselves with, for example, a Swedish keyboard or the like. And getting service on grey-market stuff can be next to impossible, since Apple records show that the equipment is supposed to be in Belgium, or wherever.

We don't particularly want to get into an argument about whether or not the grey marketers have the right to do what they do-- many people feel strongly one way or the other, and we're not denying that several grey market resellers offer not just low prices, but good, solid service and support. The fact of the matter is, though, that Apple intends to do whatever they can to make sure that their customers get the quality buying experience they deserve (no cracks about Best Buy, now-- that wouldn't be nice). This latest move shows that they haven't let the matter drop since they stepped up their anti-grey-market activities last June...

Okay, so we weren't going to mention the whole "Palm Auto Theft" thing, even though it was a cute little tale. However, the story apparently has legs-- people keep mentioning it to us, and then it even showed up as a story in one of the local evening news shows. Odds are you've heard about this: according to the Industry Standard, a computer journalist for the New Scientist in England discovered that he was able to use his Palm Pilot PDA to break into his friend's car. You know those new keyless-entry deals, right? The feature in some snazzy new cars that lets the owner unlock the vehicle by means of an infrared-emitting keychain? Well, the Pilot's IR port is programmable-- and so this journalist was able to record the proper IR signal from his friend's high-tech keychain and then use his Pilot to unlock the car.

We're not really sure why this is news; as far as we know, people have been able to record specific IR signals into, say, a universal remote control for a long time now. We're guessing that since the Pilot is actually a computer (you know, one of those evil things in movies with the flashing lights), the collective psyche pricked up its ears at the first faint sounds of a "technology running amok and the ensuing breakdown of society" story. Really, all the Pilot method shows is that if you have access to a keyless-entry keychain doohickey, you can use your Pilot to unlock the corresponding car. You'd still have to hotwire the thing to actually drive it anywhere, and if you did, odds are that when the police ask your buddy if he suspects who might have stolen his shiny new luxury vehicle, he's going to say something about his shifty-eyed friend who was mucking about with his keys and one of those evil little palmtop computers a few hours ago. Not much of a threat, really, and we doubt that professional car thieves are now rushing out in droves to buy Palm PDAs.

Which is where we think Apple can clean up. Let's assume for the moment that the rumors of an Apple/Palm partnership are false, but that Apple's promise to release a Mac OS-based handheld computer in 1999 is true. That would mean that Apple will be in direct competition with Palm, the heavy hitter in the handheld market. Well, there's no doubt that Apple is IR-happy-- just look at the IR port in the PowerBooks and the iMac. So Apple's handheld will definitely sport an infrared port. What if Apple can differentiate its product by making it the very best PDA for automobile theft on the market? Perhaps it could come pre-loaded with a signal that would unlock 80% of the keyless-entry vehicles on the roads today, and a complete electronic assistant that would provide detailed instructions on how to locate and cross the ignition wires in every car made since 1985. (Optional "knowledge packs" for classic cars of the 50's and 60's would be available as shrink-wrapped add-ons.) With that software running on a backlit display, and the addition of a few basic lockpicks to the standard stylus for pen-based input, Apple might have a real contender. It's the theftMate™, coming soon to a less-reputable back-alley electronics outlet near you. Tell 'em Steve "the Wrench" Jobs sent you.