Just how different can Apple think? According to Don Crabb in a MacCentral "Rumor Reality Report," pretty darn different indeed. In an attempt to bypass the "No Macs Allowed" purchasing policies becoming more and more common in the corporate world these days, Apple's teamed with a couple of third-party resellers to paint its G3 Powermacs as Unix workstations-- which are often much more welcome in many companies.

The G3 Unix Workstation, currently offered by Hughes Data Systems and SciTech International, is a standard Powermac G3 bundled with Tenon's PowerMachTen version of Unix for PowerPC, as well as Connectix's VirtualPC and your favorite and mine-- Mac OS 8.1. Since the system is not sold as a Mac, or as an Apple system, and most big companies don't question the purchase of Unix workstations, your purchase order may slide right through your ordering department. And no, this isn't dishonest: the PPC 750 in the Powermac runs Tenon's Unix formidably; it just happens to run the Mac OS pretty darn well, too, not to mention Windows. Sounds like a dream come true for a mixed-platform environment. If you want more information on this delicious loophole, head on over to the Joint Solutions Website.

This is not a rumor-- these boxes are available now, according to Brian T. Coleman of Apple's Business Development Marketing Group. And while we're a little concerned that the only way some people can smuggle Macs into their workplace is to run Unix on them, we've got to admire the way that Apple's selling Macs to people who want to buy them-- any way they can. Next, we propose that Apple launch a few "spin-off" companies to sell computers to corporate buyers. For names, may we suggest Gaitway 3000, Bell, and Compak?

The initial rumors of Oracle sniffing around Claris' popular FileMaker Pro database product seemed to come to naught; instead of selling off the application, Apple recently stripped Claris of all its products except for FileMaker and Home Page, laid off several hundred employees, and rechristened the remains "FileMaker, Inc." to reflect the unit's new focus on its flagship product. Now, however, Mac OS Rumors is saying that Oracle may be interested in buying the whole newly-spun-off company in an attempt to grow its database business beyond the corporate world in which it currently makes its living and into the home/small office market, which is growing rapidly.

Indeed, the implication is that the reorganization was performed expressly for the purpose of readying the product for a selloff. One of Rumors' sources inside FileMaker claims that there's widespread talk of Oracle and Apple lawyers secretly roaming the halls of the FileMaker headquarters. (Does that remind anyone of the reports of Lee Iaccoca touring the Apple campus a few months ago, which spurred the rumors of Iacocca taking the CEO spot? It seems that these "mysterious tours" by outside entities are always followed by rumors of big changes.)

From a financial standpoint, it would perhaps be unwise for Apple to sell off FileMaker; as the best-selling database product for Macs and the second-best-selling database for Windows, it's consistently profitable and continues to get better with each release. Well, okay, version 4.0 was pretty anemic, but we hear incredible things about 5.0... All we are saying is give Pro a chance.

This just in: another conspiracy theory from a faithful viewer whom we'll keep anonymous to protect his welfare. Let's just call him, oh, I don't know... how about Brian Pickerill? Anyway, "Brian" reveals the real story behind the recently-reported x86 performance bug:

The whole x86 performance bug "issue" is just an attempt by Intel™ to save face in light of Apple's recent snail ads. Sure, you can "document" this with some hacks, but what that doesn't show is that there is no way to implement this as a performance boost for current PC users. :) I'd bet that if they try to rewrite the compilers, a lot of the speed boost would evaporate.

As for "Brian's" friendly speculation as to the possible "chemical origins" of AtAT's unusual and oft-perplexing subject matter and writing style, we promise that AtAT's writers steer clear of all illicit drugs, alcohol, and tobacco products. People who have long wondered what the extraneous 'X' in our URL signifies may want to read up on the amorphous doctrine known as "straight-edge." And besides, everyone knows that Microsoft is lacing the country's marijuana supply with a foreign substance that makes Windows seem useable. (When last we checked, one particularly interesting side effect of this contaminant is the onset of the conviction that Internet Explorer is inseparable from Windows 95. Scary, hmmmm? Just say no, kids.)