Which rumors to believe? That's always been the conundrum when following Apple, especially these days; crafty Agents of Steve are disseminating false information on purpose in an attempt to isolate leaks in the Silicon Curtain and dilute the real secrets that slip through the cracks. Then again, the disinformation campaign's very existence is yet another rumor that may or may not be true-- and if it's not true but Apple is spreading the rumor that it is, then you've got one of those perplexing logical paradoxes that always made the computers self-destruct on Star Trek. So what's a rabid Apple fanatic to do?

Why, sit back and enjoy it, of course. Whether or not Apple is deliberately leaking fake info, these last couple of years have yielded some of the greatest rumors ever, and the false ones are often the most entertaining. C'mon, you've heard that a Disney buyout of Apple is "a sure thing" several times now-- but doesn't it still make your heart beat a little faster when that rumor resurfaces? And remember that whole "Columbus" thing? Sure, we know now that Columbus was the code name for the iMac's motherboard, but a couple of years ago in the press, Columbus was everything from a portable DVD movie station to a TV set-top box to an Apple-branded food processor. Did all the contradictory data make you angry? No. So don't get twisted out of shape about the recent Sawtooth rumors, either.

We refer, of course, to the rumor we discussed yesterday regarding a possible delay in the delivery of Apple's next-generation professional motherboard, known as Sawtooth. Sawtooth was meant to debut with the PowerPC G4 processor in Apple's desktop line, and while earlier consensus appeared to be that Sawtooth was done and waiting for Motorola to play catch-up, Apple Insider recently claimed that Motorola's sitting on a G4 availability announcement at Apple's request, while Cupertino elves toil endlessly to try to work the remaining bugs out of the Sawtooth product. In addition, Apple Insider claims that Apple may be forced to debut G4s in systems based on the current Yosemite motherboard until Sawtooth is finally ready next year.

So if Sawtooth is postponing the party, what's up with Mac OS Rumors' recent series detailing their "one week with a G4"? Faithful viewers Ian McLeod, Nils Carlson, and Peter Gulvin all noted that MOSR's hitch-free week with a Sawtooth-based G4 unit (via videoconference) seemed rather at odds with Apple Insider's latest juice. It's tough to imagine that there are enough problems with Sawtooth to push it to a 2000 release date if MOSR's reports can be believed. So what's up-- dueling rumors sites? Not likely; we seem to recall that Apple Insider and MOSR have collaborated on at least a few occasions. While it's certainly possible that Apple Insider is the victim of a hoax, MOSR's latest installment in its in-depth saga promises "new revelations about the possibility of G4s before Sawtooth" coming soon. So it'll be interesting to see if (and how) all this info hangs together. Meanwhile, we're just enjoying the possibilities.