Many people had their doubts when it was first unveiled, but with seven and a half months of sales history behind it, few will argue that the iMac turned out to be a phenomenal success. PC Data's monthly sales statistics have shown that the iMac has managed to stay in the top five list of computers sold at retail outlets ever since it first hit the shelves last August-- a feat made all the more remarkable by how few retail outlets actually sell the things. Oh, sure, there are plenty of local and regional resellers that carry Mac equipment, and savvy customers won't have much trouble buying an iMac if they want one, but remember that the iMac is targeted at consumers who have never owned a computer before-- and more specifically, at people who've never used a computer because they're nervous about the complexity of the things. For them, an iMac may be simple to set up, but it's not quite so simple to buy.

In addition to Apple's network of independent and regional authorized resellers, there are only two nationwide retail outlets that carry the iMac: CompUSA and Best Buy. After a fairly shaky start, the Mac shopping experience at the average CompUSA seems to have improved enough such that the shouts of rage and gnashing of teeth we grew accustomed to in the early months of the "store within a store" partnership have mostly quieted down these days. Best Buy is another story; the most positive shopping experience we've ever heard from someone who tried to buy an iMac at Best Buy was that it didn't completely suck. And these days, of course, you couldn't get an iMac at Best Buy if you wanted to; they're pretty much all out of stock following their extended bickerfest with Apple over issues of mandatory sales staff training and stocking all five flavors. All told, those computer-shy first-time buyers may have a really tough time actually getting an iMac into their homes. Just consider it more fallout from the Performa days, when Apple eliminated just about all of its national resellers due to gross incompetence. It was a good move, in our opinion, but we can't help feeling that the iMac would be selling even better if shoppers could actually find them anywhere.

So we're more than a little ambivalent about the latest rumors that Sears may be climbing back aboard the Apple ship, as dished by Mac the Knife. iMacs on display in every Sears store would definitely be a good thing, and we bet that sales would fatten up nicely. But we can't shake the memories permanently etched into our grey matter from back when we'd walk through Sears and see that lonely Performa 6400. It was in a state no demo Mac should ever be forced to endure: no mouse, five distinct System Folders, hard disk named "DCMXIZOIXOZZ," not a software demo in sight, etc. (Oh, the horror... The horror...) Here's hoping that Sears has mended its ways, and that this whole proposed reseller partnership doesn't pull a "Best Buy." If the Knife is right, look for iMacs in your local Sears sometime this summer.

Face it: the iMac isn't just a computer... it's a full-fledged phenomenon. We've seen the iMac's immediately recognizable contours appear in a number of nationally syndicated comic strips. People dressed their kids up as iMacs for Halloween. There's something about the shape of the machine, its elegant curves and mix of textures, the whole "iMacness" of it all that's absolutely archetypal. Mark our words: someday you'll awaken from a daze to discover you've been sculpting iMacs in your mashed potatoes only hours before the human race establishes contact with a visiting alien race who will arrive in big, glowing, iMac-shaped ships. Heck, we wouldn't be surprised to hear that someone had just discovered cave paintings made millions of years ago that depict primitive man worshipping a delicately curved mound of blue and white, which bestoweth knowledge while it intimidateth not.

Don't believe us? Well, that's your prerogative, but how else can you explain last Friday's iMac sculpture contest at MIT? After being tipped off by faithful viewer Andrea Parent, we eventually stumbled across a CNN story which tells how Apple and the school co-sponsored a contest to see who could build the "most realistic" iMac out of-- and we swear, we are not making this up-- Jell-o. There are photos of a couple of the entries, which illustrates that while Jell-o may possess the ideal translucency index for an iMac sculpture, it lacks the structural integrity necessary to do justice to the iMac's subtle curves. On the other hand, when you sculpt a Lime iMac, you get a Lime iMac.

Sadly, the article makes no mention of what, if any, prizes were bestowed upon the creators of the most realistic gelatinous iMacs, but we assume that real iMacs may have been offered in exchange for the jiggly ones. For future competitions, we admit, we're hard-pressed to come up with a better medium for an iMac sculpture contest than Jell-o. Perhaps Jolly Ranchers? Now that's a challenge.

The "Redmond Justice" hiatus is still weeks away from conclusion, as Microsoft and the government try to hash out a settlement that would cut the trial short. But there's good news for entertainment junkies hooked on the courtroom drama: neither side seems to be trying very hard. Indeed, while the details are still hush-hush, Microsoft's first settlement proposal was rejected by government representatives, who called it "minimalist," "far from adequate," and "unacceptable." So now it's up to the government to come up with a counter-offer to propose during settlement talks on Tuesday-- and even though Microsoft is arguably so likely to lose the case that they should jump at any settlement they can get, we're doubtful they're going to go for what the government is expected to offer.

According to a Reuters article, state attorneys general are planning to propose that Microsoft agree to put Windows up for auction. The plan is apparently to sell Windows intellectual property rights to the two or three highest bidders, who would then be allowed to develop their own operating system products based on Windows. An alternate government plan is to get Microsoft to turn Windows into an open-source project, which would allow anyone access to the Windows source code. Given that Microsoft has in the past guarded their source code like grim death, we can only assume that they aren't going to jump at this chance to concede their precious monopoly power. If these are the offers and counteroffers being bandied about, you can set your VCRs now, because this trial will probably be fought through to the bitter end.

"Redmond Justice" is scheduled to go back on the air sometime in April, but it appears that an even longer delay might be in the cards due to Judge Jackson's involvement in another case, which may run long. We can only hope that news of the settlement talks proves entertaining enough to hold our attention until then. In the meantime, we can't wait to hear what kinds of happy "compromises" emerge from the smoke-filled room...