Ah, Demo Days... those halcyon events at which rabid mouth-foaming Mac advocates volunteer their precious weekend hours down at the local computer store to educate the unwashed masses about the various and sundry joys of owning a Macintosh. It's a great idea, and we're glad that Apple's kept it in their arsenal of marketing tactics, but it simply doesn't help to push a lot of product that you can't actually sell. Remember how last week's Demo Days event was cancelled at the last minute due to a lack of inventory at the retail stores? Well, we can't say we're overly surprised to find this out, but Apple has officially cancelled all of the remaining Demo Days promotional events that were scheduled for this weekend and next. And according to Apple Insider, the reason behind the cancellations is the same old story: people already want to buy more Macs than are actually available on store shelves.

Okay, so that makes sense; why dedicate manpower-- cheap as it is-- to persuading people to buy non-existent equipment? That is, except for the sheer fun of it. Imagine how thrilling it would be to show off a demo model iMac to a first time buyer. He uses some kind of Windows machine at work, but he's got no computer at home and he figures it's time to join the Internet generation and start "surfing the web." He was leaning towards getting a Wintel, since he's at least slightly familiar with the system, but he's been intrigued by the iMac ever since seeing those TV commercials. Just think of how fun it would be to teach this guy about the Mac's legendary ease of use, simplicity of design, and world-class performance. You show him the included software, show off the games performance, demonstrate Virtual PC in case there are some Windows-only titles he "has" to run, and calm his fears about the lack of a floppy drive. At the end of your breathtaking demo, he's completely won over. "Great, I'll take one in Blueberry," he says, reaching for his credit card.

"Sorry, we're all out," you respond. "Okay, then, Grape?" he asks, expectantly. "Nope, sorry," you answer, slightly embarrassed. The enthusiasm that animated his face just seconds before has started to fade, as he considers for a moment, and finally says, "Well, I suppose Strawberry might be okay." And this sort of thing goes on for another minute or two until, like Michael Palin in the Cheese Shop sketch, you're finally forced to admit that you haven't got any iMacs at all. So what would the guy do? Wait until more stock comes in, or just go ahead and buy a Compaq? Heck, we don't know-- we're just rambling, here. It's just that we think the Mac community gets a sort of users-group we're-all-in-this-together vibe from these Demo Days happenings-- it's a galvanizing influence, a sort of evangelical charge, an Apple-flavored warm fuzzy. And it's kind of sad that the party gets cancelled "just" because the marketing impact is questionable. Oh, well... we're sure that Apple will reschedule these Demo Days when there are stacks and stacks of iMacs and G3's to foist on the unsuspecting public.

Hey, remember way back when "Redmond Justice" was just going into production? While Microsoft head dude and all-around Rich Guy™ Bill Gates wasn't named as a trial witness by either his own company or the government, he was deposed during discovery-- and Microsoft's lawyers made a big stink over trying to keep their boss' deposition a private affair. Despite the Publicity in Taking Evidence Act of 1913, which states clearly that the depositions taken in any federal antitrust case "shall be open to the public as freely as are trials in open court," Microsoft's legal eagles argued that allowing outsiders to attend Gates' deposition would turn the whole case into a media circus. (As opposed, of course, to the staid and dignified affair that it's turned out to be instead.) The judge ruled according to the 1913 law as written, Microsoft appealed his decision, and Gates' deposition was taken in private-- but it was videotaped so that it could be released to the public if Microsoft's appeal was denied. (Are you following all this?)

So that was the deal: Gates was questioned in private, and the resulting twenty hours of videotaped testimony were closed to the public, pending Microsoft's appeal. Oh, sure, the government has shown snippets of the testimony during the trial, to great effect-- Gates came across as baffled, petulant, whiny, and just plain hostile. And while those particular excerpts have been publicly available, the entire deposition has not. However, that's about to change; according to Computer Reseller News, the U.S. Court of Appeals has unanimously ruled that Judge Jackson's decision was correct. Microsoft's appeal was denied, and the full deposition is now a matter of public record.

So what does this mean for the average "Redmond Justice" fan? Well, not a whole lot, admittedly. After all, you'd expect that the government would have chosen the "best parts" of the testimony to show during the trial. We're guessing that the "uncut" deposition will appeal (pardon the pun) primarily to real collectors and die-hard fans of the show, kind of like the people circulating the stolen copy of the Buffy unaired pilot episode. Let's see, twenty hours of Bill Gates fidgeting and dodging questions... It might be a decent sleep aid. Or bars could pop it up on their TV's when they're trying to clear the place out at night. Heck, there are plenty of real-world applications if you look hard enough. And Microsoft's never been one to pass up a potential moneymaker; we wouldn't be surprised if they compressed the whole twenty hours into Video for Windows format (but not QuickTime, oh no siree) and pressed it onto a CD-ROM. Look for Microsoft Hostile Witness 99™, coming soon to a software shelf near you.