So is everybody rejoicing over the news that the iBook is finally shipping? As most of you know, Steve Jobs just announced that the first consumer portables off Apple's assembly lines (or, perhaps more accurately, off the lines of the third-party firm actually building the things) have started on their merry way to retailers all over the country, as well as to customers who placed pre-orders at the Apple Store. According to a MacWEEK article, representatives from just about every Apple-selling chain expect to have iBooks in stock and ready to move starting on or about the 26th of this month.

But if you're expecting to wander blithely into your local CompUSA on September 26th and be able to slap down some plastic, sign by the "X," and walk out with your very own Blueberry or Tangerine portable fashion statement, think again. Remember those 160,000 pre-orders? If you think Apple's going to ship more than 160,000 iBooks in the first delivery, you may have been left on the Tilt-A-Whirl a bit too long when you were a baby. If you've waited this long without placing an order, you may just have to come to terms with the fact that, come iBook Day, you're probably not going to be the first one on your block to show off your kicky new handle-sporting laptop down at the local Dunkin' Donuts. For instance, a rep at the Apple Store says that the customers who placed the very first pre-orders will be getting their iBooks soon, but anyone ordering one now won't take delivery until "late October." (Which means, incidentally, that the "45 days" lead time quoted at the Apple Store is apparently accurate, though we think that may just be a coincidence.) It's first come, first serve. You snooze, you lose. And any other clichés you can think of to express the sentiment "if you wanted one of the first systems, you should have pre-ordered back in July."

Now, that's not to say that, come the end of the month, you definitely won't be able to buy an iBook at retail for ready money. Remember the iMac launch last year? The AtAT staff was lucky enough to find an authorized Apple dealer just two hours away across state lines who actually had more iMacs delivered than pre-orders taken, so we (and some friends and family) did in fact get an iMac on August 15th, 1998 without having pre-ordered. Who knows? Maybe you'll get lucky this time around. Perhaps Apple has learned something from their last wildly successful consumer product launch and has upped the ante on number of units to ship. Seeing as we didn't pre-order an iBook, either, we're kind of hoping for a healthy first shipment.

Meanwhile, everyone's favorite new computing munition continues to strike awe into the hearts of those who witness its gigaflop performance first-hand. The Power Macintosh G4 even sort of looks like a weapon, with its "graphite" color reminding us quite a bit of gun-metal grey. But even though Apple's G4 commercial plays up the fact that the system is too powerful to ship to several "sensitive" countries, the company is apparently more than willing to give up that dubious distinction in exchange for the ability to sell the G4 to anyone who wants to buy one.

According to an InfoWorld Electric article, during his keynote address at Apple Expo in Paris, General Steve noted that Apple is indeed "working toward getting the U.S. authorities to lift the export restrictions" that prevent the G4 from legal export to the over fifty countries who, according to the government, might turn the awesome power of the G4 against us. Nor is Apple the only entity pushing for an update of what appear to be antiquated export laws; lots of people in the computer field note that, well, a gigaflop just isn't all that fast anymore. Yes, it's blazingly fast for a personal computer like the G4, but modern supercomputers (by industry standards, not government standards) reportedly run about a thousand times faster than Apple's fastest system, and therefore the restriction criteria should be bumped up accordingly. Proponents of the proposed changes hold that the very fact that anyone's released a $1599 personal computer that can't be exported to several countries shows just how behind the governmental "supercomputer" definition really is.

So let's say Apple et al are successful in getting the export restrictions relaxed a bit. That would mean the "Tanks" ad pretty much goes out the window. On the other hand, just imagine what Chiat-Day could do if the G4 turns out to be instrumental in altering government export policy. "G4: The Power To Cut Through Red Tape." "G4: Fast Enough To Change The U.S. Government." It could be sweet...

Okay, let's see... Apple's got four product lines. The "Consumer Portable" line was just launched in July, with the debut of the iBook, which is now shipping. The "Consumer Desktop" is the iMac, which has been refreshed with better pricing and/or new features no fewer than three times in the year since its introduction, and a fully-revamped "iMac 2" code-named "Kihei" is reportedly due for unveiling some time next month. Then there's the "Professional Desktop" line, which has just turned the world on its ear by replacing the already-speedy Power Mac G3 with the weapons-class G4, available now in a low-end configuration, with higher-octane versions due over the course of the next two months. So is there nothing left for rumor junkies to speculate about?

Hey, don't forget the "Professional Portable"! The Powerbook G3 got a speed boost and a crash diet plan last May when the "bronze" models replaced the originals: G3 processors running at 333 and 400 MHz in an enclosure that's nearly two pounds lighter and 20% thinner, with longer battery life, to boot. And while May wasn't that long ago, it's far enough back to shift the Mac community's powers of speculation to focus on what's next for the Powerbook. Enter Mac OS Rumors, with their super-early preliminary "absolutely subject to change" specs on the Powerbook G4, assumed to be gearing up for a debut next May. Here's the short list: G4 running at 400-550 MHz, 100 MHz bus, 14" or 15" screen, even thinner than the current "bronze" G3 by another 25%, lighter by at least a pound, 2x AGP Rage Mobility graphics, on-board FireWire, and all starting at just $1899.

Now, as far as we know, these specs might be nothing more than pie-in-the-sky semi-educated guesses instead of anything based on actual fact. But that's how this game is always played; expect the Powerbook G4 rumors to grow and spread, and as the release date draws ever nearer, the specs will start to solidify into something reasonably close to what Steve reveals on stage. We've got at least seven months yet, so don't get impatient. By the way, if the U.S. doesn't alter its export restrictions by the time the Powerbook G4 ships, does that mean a business traveler couldn't tote his new "portable supercomputer" on business trips to "sensitive" countries?