We're ashamed to admit it, but we're finding it hard to get too excited about this week's Macworld Expo. Partly it's the fact that we don't get to go, but mostly it's that we're pretty burned out on the pre-Expo hype. In fact, in a more general sense, we're all hyped out; the holiday season is three solid months of hype, and we're just coming down off of that now. This time around it's been worse than ever, because in addition to the usual consumer frenzy known as Christmas, we also had to deal with "millennium" hype-- the dawn of a new era, yadda yadda yadda. And in addition to that, there was all that Y2K hype. Frankly, we're just glad that it's all over and done with. So you can understand why this year we're just a smidge more resistant to Macworld hype than usual.

That doesn't mean, however, that we aren't just a little thrilled about the expected unveiling of Apple's latest PowerBook, code-named "Pismo." Rumors about Pismo's specs have been flying all over the place for several months now, and it's nice to think that we're mere hours away from finding out which rumors were true and which ones missed the mark. Personally, we're keeping our fingers crossed for the specs list published over at O'Grady's PowerPage, because there are some really neat features described there. In addition to everything you'd expect (FireWire, AirPort compatibility, a motherboard based on Apple's new Unified Motherboard Architecture), the PowerPage throws in a few extras that have us intrigued. Try these on for size: a light-up keyboard, a two-button trackpad, IBM's ViaVoice complete with headset, and a new Harman Kardon sound system. (Unsurprisingly, it's the light-up keyboard that really has us buzzed.)

In fact, the only big disappointment in the PowerPage's spec list is its description of Pismo's enclosure. Whereas the rest of the Mac product line is replete with swooping curves, translucent materials, and multiple colors and textures, Pismo is reported to "look just like Lombard," the current PowerBook G3; "word is that Steve wants to keep this machine pretty much black to avoid losing business customers." Say it ain't so, Steve! Could it be that the negative feedback generated by the Power Mac G3's Blueberry-and-Ice casing has actually made Apple's iCEO a little gunshy about "unusual" hues? The Power Mac G4 is Graphite and Ice, and we haven't heard a single complaint about it being unsuitable for a business setting-- surely Pismo could stand some flash and glitz? Personally, we'll be very surprised if Pismo doesn't include at least a few tasteful silver or Graphite highlights. After all, Apple's got a reputation to uphold, here.

Meanwhile, one of the other big announcements rumored to share the stage when Steve makes his keynote address is news of Apple's "corporate rebranding." AtAT first discussed Apple's supposed name change when a little bird told us the news a few weeks back; "Apple Computer, Inc." is dead-- long live "Apple." As for what such a change could imply, well, it could mean a lot of things. For one thing, it may herald a diversification of Apple's business model, especially amidst these cloudy rumors of "MyApple.com" and this mysterious Internet strategy Steve's supposed to reveal. More than likely, though, it's just a marketing tweak to downplay Apple's identity as a computer manufacturer and strengthen its reputation as a phenomenon, a lifestyle, a name rather than a company.

Think about it; what are the two companies Steve is constantly mentioning when he discusses Apple's long-term goals? Sony and Nike. That's a very interesting pair of companies, because they're both pervasive in the broader fields in which they play. Nike isn't "just a shoe company" and Sony doesn't "just make stereos." There's an impression that each is bigger than being a corporation and instead has a real identity that's timeless and omnipresent. So is it a surprise that Apple's going for the same kind of recognition? Steve and the boys already have a head start, after all, given Apple's history and reputation as the individualist in an industry of clones.

For details on this so-called rebranding, check out AppleInsider; in addition to ordering all-new stationery and business cards (ooooooo!), Apple's reportedly settled on five new "gem" versions of its logo in "Apple Corporate Colors", which appear translucent and embossed: "we've taken the same standards of style and innovation that make our products and our design unmistakable and applied them to the company logo," claims the company's "Interim Corporate Identity Guidelines Sheet for Resellers." Hmmm. Somehow we're hoping for more than that from this rebranding, because if Apple's only standards of "style and innovation" in the computer industry involve making something brightly-colored and translucent, we're all in for a world of hurt. But we're willing to wait and see what Steve has to say on Wednesday.

So we thought we'd check back in on "Redmond Justice," whose progress seems to have ground to a slow trudge over the past several weeks. Seriously, if the action moved any slower it'd be an Andy Warhol movie. To recap, after Judge Jackson issued his phenomenally dramatic findings of fact (whose more than 200 pages could easily be summarized by sewing a scarlet "M" to Bill Gates's forehead), he appointed another judge to act as a mediator while Microsoft and the government try to hammer out a mutually acceptable settlement agreement. Since then, not much has been happening-- especially since those settlement talks are very hush-hush.

Anyway, about all that's progressed since is Microsoft's appeal challenging Jackson's appointment of Lawrence Lessig as a special adviser. You remember that whole flap, right? Jackson brought Lessig on as a "friend of the court" due to his knowledge of the computer industry, since Jackson's own knowledge in that area was admittedly pretty thin. Microsoft objected, claiming that Lessig was biased. As proof, they noted his involvement with open-source software projects and how he had (gasp!) traded email with a Netscape employee. Jackson kept Lessig on, and Microsoft filed an appeal. Well, according to a PC Week Online article, that appeal has just been swatted down by Jackson, and thus Lessig remains.

What is that significant? Well, to us it reveals that Jackson shows no signs of wavering, and that if Microsoft doesn't settle, there are going to be a lot of unhappy suits in Redmond once the verdict is issued. More importantly, now that Microsoft has finally gotten Windows 2000 out the door (it's scheduled to ship to customers next month), there's a very real deadline in this case. If no settlement is reached by then, it's apparently quite possible that the government will seek a ban on shipping Windows 2000 until the case is over. If that happens, we foresee a lot of angry NT folks who have been waiting for Window 2000 for several years, now. Hey, c'mon, guys-- what's a few more months? If the case drags out long enough, maybe it'll be Windows 2001 instead.