Okay, this is the last day we're going to spend on those alleged G4 spy photos, we promise. We've already made it clear that, personally, we're skeptical, but we lean towards the "authentic" side of the fence, based mostly on little more than raw gut feeling. All around us, however, the debate has risen to a fever pitch, and we won't be surprised to hear that riots are breaking out across the world as Apple watchers pummel each other with bloody fists while shouting "REAL!" and "FAKE!" All we're going to do today is point out a little more data so that you can build a more informed opinion before beating the bejeezus out of some poor sap who happens to disagree with you.

On the "fake" side of the argument, faithful viewer Shayon Ghosh pointed out that one of the threads in Ambrosia's forums includes "conclusive proof" that the photos are fake. Basically, some eagle-eyed gent posting as oasamostexianu rustled up some official PR images of the current G4 that are suspiciously similar to the alleged spy photos, and even composited them together to show just how perfectly they align. The idea, presumably, is that the "spy photos" were simply doctored versions of the official pictures. For the record (and we're well aware we'll get flamed for this), we're not convinced by the comparison, since in our opinion the photos just don't align perfectly enough for one to have been generated from the other. The three-quarter perspectives look to be slightly different angles. And anyway, it's not that much of a stretch to consider the similarities a coincidence. After all, if you were taking a spy photo of an unreleased product, wouldn't you try to get one shot straight-on and another from a generic three-quarter perspective? Still, consider the evidence on its own merits; it may land you solidly in the "fake" camp.

On the other hand, if the pics are fake, then why is Apple's legal department so bent on getting them pulled? MacOSX.org claims to have received orders from the mothership to yank its pictures (and has since even pulled its text description of the new systems' front panel); true, the site could have been lying about that to perpetuate the hoax, but yesterday we linked to two other sites who had posted the images: MacAnonymous and macGuardians. Today faithful viewer Ian informed us that both of those sites have also been gagged by Apple Legal. So unless all three sites are part of a vast and far-reaching hoax conspiracy, it's a safe bet that (for whatever reason), Apple doesn't want people looking at those pictures. The most obvious explanation is that they're legit photos of a pre-release prototype.

Meanwhile, if you'd like a more cut-and-dried example of fakery to cleanse the palate, faithful viewer Martin-Luc Girard pointed out that Go2Mac has linked to a different photo of the new G4-- but this one is clearly bogus, having obviously been pieced together from an image from Apple's web site and isolated elements from the alleged spy pics. Still, it's nice to get a break from the controversy for a while, isn't it? It gives your knuckles a chance to cool down a little.

What with all the uncertainty over the look of next week's new Power Macs, it sure is nice to know that at least we're going to get LCD-based iMacs, right? Sigh... Well, we hate to burst your bubble, folks, but apparently it just wasn't meant to happen. You may recall that this past Monday we received word from a talking pile of fake internal organs (don't ask) that next week's new iMacs "aren't much different from what's out there now." At the time we hoped to ignore that frightening possibility, but as of today, we find ourselves compelled to take it as gospel.

As faithful viewer Jerm pointed out, MacMinute is now reporting that "next week's Macworld Expo... will not see the debut of a flat-panel iMac." And if you choose not to believe MacMinute's sources, we should add that we broke out every intentional and unintentional method of reliable prognostication we've yet experienced (little birds, Alpha-Bits, foreboding dreams, etc.) and all of them-- every single one of them-- agrees with MacMinute, and with the talking entrails that visited us on Monday. In other words, our hopes of a flat-panel G4-based iMac have been dashed against the rocks of despair, at least for now. Honestly, we were praying that Julio Ojeda-Zapata was right to expect such a system next week, but right now it doesn't look good. (By the way, apologies to Julio-- when we first addressed his lament that there's no $800 iMac (which got him flamed to a crisp), we didn't realize he had been given a spending limit by his editors. Our bad.)

That said, we're still expecting a new iMac, but it's not going to blow anyone's socks off. By pulling random letters out of a Scrabble bag, running the results backwards through a Captain Midnight secret decoder badge, and translating from Esperanto into English, we think we've pieced together that next week's consumer desktop will simply be the same old CRT-based model with faster G3 processors (what are they at now, 600 MHz at the high end? Let's say 700 or 750 MHz, then), DVD/CD-RW combo drives available in some configurations, and new colors. Given the rest of Apple's recent product line, we're with the Scrabble bag when it predicts white and titanium-- and maybe something else for people who want a splash of actual color. (Forget about Flower Power and Blue Dalmatian, though.)

Man, what a bummer. We suppose it's possible that Steve has somehow found a way to confound the mystical forces of nature that generate these predictions, but as of now, we're expecting to be spectacularly underwhelmed when those new iMacs hit the floor. At least we can still look forward to new Power Macs starting at 733 MHz, right? The Scrabble tiles are a little unsure about the top speeds, however; they seem to think that 866 MHz will be available immediately, with 1 GHz showing up in a month or two, but our Magic 8-Ball indicates that even if the 1 GHz boxes aren't ready to ship, Apple will happily take preorders-- meaning they will at least make it into the product line-up. Still, all we can say is, with letdowns like the iMac will probably turn out to be, Steve's "one more thing" better be a killer. Apple handheld, anyone?

Bummed about the unlikelihood of an LCD-based iMac at next week's Macworld Expo? Well, cheer up; at least Motorola's losing a ton of money. Oh, wait... that's not good news, either, is it? Man, tough week. Well, sad as the news may be, it's true: despite the company's frequent waves of layoffs and other cost-cutting measures like forced vacations, Motorola just reported its quarterly results, and there's so much red ink spattered all over, the place looks like a slaughterhouse.

Faithful viewer Steven C. Den Beste forwarded us an EBN article about the latest installment in Motorola's ongoing tale of woe: the company's semiconductor division (yes, the folks that make the G4, as well as a bunch of PowerPC variants for "embedded" use) lost $381 million last quarter. Motorola's CEO Chris Galvin blames the bleeding on a "decline in communications equipment orders" that's "worse than many in the industry first believed." Translation? Motorola's orders last quarter dropped a whopping 51% across all products, with sales of "wireless and network and computing" products down "significantly." Yeeks.

This can't bode well for future development of the PowerPC; R&D takes money, and Motorola's leaking the stuff at an alarming rate. Keep your fingers crossed that Motorola's continuing pain doesn't hold up the release of future G4s and G5s too much, because Apple can't afford to lose its momentum now. Look on the bright side, though; if the rumor about Apple having the option to buy Motorola's "entire PowerPC assets" for $500 million next year is true, then come January Steve might be talking to one seriously motivated seller. Apple gets total control over its own chips; Motorola get half a billion in cash and sheds a money-losing business; and everyone lives happily ever after. Now that's the kind of fairy tale ending we need to lift the mood around here...