Well, it's clear that eMachines made the "right" move. Future Power made a significant tactical error by pre-announcing their own "ePower" Wintel iMac rip-off months before the system would actually ship, giving Apple plenty of time to file a lawsuit citing intellectual property violations. By the time the ePower is ready for prime time, we're guessing that Apple will have little difficulty securing a preliminary injunction preventing the sale of the system until the lawsuit is resolved. eMachines, however, went a different route, launching a surprise introduction via Circuit City stores last weekend. Their "eOne" is on the shelves and available for purchase right now-- and so far Apple still hasn't sued.

Now, since the eOne actually exists, that means it can also be reviewed, and Retail Week has done just that. Guess what? They practically gush about it, calling this knock-off a "knockout." And lest you think that the reviewer's opinion is purely a Windows-centric one (the detailed review doesn't even mention the eOne's obvious "borrowing" from the iMac playbook until the penultimate paragraph), Mac users are reluctantly impressed, as well-- at least, judging by the mail in our inbox and some of the reactions posted at MacInTouch. So far there isn't enough data to know whether or not the eOne will really sell, but with reviews like Retail Week's, it's hard to imagine that the product won't be a success. We wonder, though, whether the eOne will steal potential iMac customers, or just people who would have bought cheap Compaq or HP systems anyway.

So what's to like about the eOne? Plenty, actually. We can't deny that there are features in the eOne we'd like to see in the iMac, like 64 MB of RAM, a $799 price tag, a second RJ-11 jack to allow the pass-through plug-in of a phone after connecting a line to the modem, two PC card slots for expansion capabilities, the built-in ability to capture video, a scrolling mouse, and even nice little touches like audio CD controls right on the unit itself, under the CD-ROM tray. While we're personally not tempted to buy any system that won't let us run the Mac OS, there are plenty of consumers out there who probably feel otherwise. Here's hoping that the new iMac arrives soon, and that it provides compelling reasons for the Average Schmoe™ to buy one instead of an eOne. Is Apple ready for the competition?

Speaking of the new iMac premiering soon, we've got more rumors to toss on the "when will it ship?" pile. Let's recap what was already in the stack, shall we? Some people are whispering that the next-generation iMac will debut on the iMac's first birthday-- as in August 15th, just a few days from now. Others are saying that it'll take the stage during Steve Jobs' keynote at Seybold at the end of this month. Still others report that there will be no new iMac announced this quarter at all, due in part to Apple's decision not to ship it until it can include Mac OS 9, making October a likely timeframe. It's enough to make one's head spin, especially given how many of these conflicting rumors are coming from "trusted Apple sources." You just gotta love that disinformation, right?

The current rumors encompass mid-August, late August, and all of October. So where's September? Stay tuned, buddy, because here's the latest: a MacWEEK article quotes representatives from several retail chains, including J&R Electronics and Sears, who claim that new iMacs will be arriving in-- yeah, you guessed it-- September. They claim that current iMacs are marked as "discontinued" at both stores-- a fact supported by data over at NoBeige. And now Mac OS Rumors is also reporting a "mid-September introduction" for the new iMac.

So there you have it: you can expect iMacs from anytime between about four days from now until Halloween. Is that specific enough for you? Given the latest information, we have to admit that a Seybold introduction seems more likely now, with product reaching stores within the few weeks following. Sure, Seybold's a professional event and the iMac is a consumer product, but if the new model really includes FireWire as rumored, than an iMac introduction could mesh quite well into a spiel about FireWire's impending ubiquity. Whatever. Here's hoping for sooner rather than later.

There are many, many reasons to attend Macworld Expo: you get to see all the latest hardware coming down the pike, you can play beta versions of games that won't be shipping for months, and you get to do it all in the presence of several thousand other Mac fans from all over the world. And there are plenty of reasons why it's a good idea to shoulder the extra expense and buy a conference pass, instead of just admission to the show floor. First of all, the conferences themselves can be hit and miss, but it's possible to unearth some real gems where you can learn a lot, be entertained at the same time, and even qualify for free stuff. But more importantly, in our estimation, is the fact that a conference pass grants you admission to the keynote address-- which, as long as Steve Jobs remains iCEO, is guaranteed to be a Mac user's greatest thrill ride. New products! Upbeat sales data! The glory of experiencing the fabled Reality Distortion Field live and in person! And every once in a while, we even get new commercials, months before they make it to the airwaves.

This past Expo was one such time. We were so jazzed about the introduction of the iBook, we don't think we ever got around to mentioning the five thirty-second commercials for Apple's new consumer laptop, which publicly premiered to the standing-room-only crowd on the large overhead screens. In case you haven't heard about them, the first four are very reminiscent of the original four iMac ads-- stark white background, product shots from various angles, and Jeff Goldblum reprising his role as the voiceover guy. One introduces the iBook as "iMac Unplugged." Another describes it as "iMac To Go." The third features Mr. Goldblum pondering whether it's possible to fall in love with a computer. (The answer, of course, is yes-- but Mac users have known that for years.) And in the fourth, Jeff steps graciously aside to allow the voiceover talents of Mr. Barry White, doing what he does best; unsurprisingly, that one proved to be the most popular with the Expo audience. The last commercial shown focused on Apple's wireless Airport networking architecture, and featured the UFO-looking base station doing its UFO-looking thing.

So if you missed the show, or if you want to revisit those ads before they show up on TV, you're in luck; iBook Planet has the exclusive on QuickTime versions of those five commercials. Plus, there's a bonus: the short clip that's apparently going to run repeatedly on in-store demo models, which features iBooks flying all over the place while words in several languages play up the product's style, speed, and simplicity. So what are you waiting for? Get downloading! There's no better cure for the empty hole left by the current dearth of Apple commercials on prime time television.