The confusing media hoopla surrounding Apple's top-secret "Columbus" project continues in a diminished capacity. As there's a limit to how much the mainstream media will talk about a project about which there are no solid facts (yes, that fact surprised the bejeezus out of us, too), the continuing buzz tends to surface primarily in the Mac-specific news and rumors sites. Of course, if Apple Recon's fears prove true, there may not be a Columbus/AMP project to speculate about for much longer.

Now, first of all, the context is important, here-- Recon's take on the AMP differs from the opinions set forth by Mac OS Rumors and MacInTouch, in that they claim the AMP is not just an all-in-one Mac, nor is it the Apple NC. Recon's AMP is a set-top box, similar in format to the WebTV, or Apple's ill-received Pippin; it's apparently a low-cost unit that can play DVD's and enhanced CD's, as well as surf the 'net-- at least, that's the ultra-condensed Reader's Digest version. And whether or not you think this is a good idea may be moot, given Recon's report that Apple may be killing the project before it gets a chance to surface.

Most people would receive this rumor with a mild shrug of the shoulders, but Recon seems to think that such a move on Apple's part would be tantamount to suicide: we quote, "'Requiem for AMP' might also become the funeral dirge for the hope that has been revived regarding Apple Computer." Evidently Recon believes the whole future of Apple rests on the shoulders of a set-top box; they also seem to think that if the AMP is killed, Apple will almost certainly be bought out by Disney. To be honest, Recon's plotline is getting harder and harder to follow; with their twists and turns, we think they're our only serious competition in the "Corporate Drama" category of the Web Emmys.

While Steve Jobs continues his one-man power trip and holy crusade to restore Apple to its former glory, his Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak quietly remarks to the press that Apple got taken when Gil Amelio agreed to pay Jobs over $400 million for NeXT in an attempt to buy a basis for its future operating system. Jobs and the Woz are still friends, but that's not stopping Woz from publicly stating that Jobs may well have taken financial advantage of Apple in the NeXT deal. Details are in a Cox News Service report.

The article also flashes back to a soap opera moment that allegedly occurred in Apple's prehistory, but has since achieved legendary status: Wozniak confirms the veracity of the story in which Jobs cheated him out of some money in a deal with Atari by claiming that the price of the deal had been dropped, and then hoarding the extra cut for himself. (Bad Steve! No vegan doughnut!) Woz, however, denies that the incident ended the friendship between the Apple cofounders, as reported in Gil Amelio's recent tell-all, On the Firing Line: My 500 Days at Apple.

The $430 million figure seemed large to many of us at the time, given the rumors that Apple was considering buying Be for maybe $200 million, tops. And while Apple execs justified the higher price for NeXT based on such factors as longer experience, a more mature operating system, and other non-OS technologies such as WebObjects, the rest of us know what the extra cash really bought Apple: Steve Jobs, and all Reality Distortion technologies included within. In AtAT's book, it's still a good investment; after all, that one deal engendered more entertainment material than any other possible. As the article states, "maybe the real solution to Apple's troubles is for the company to sell its story to network television as the plot line for a daytime soap opera." Sorry, guys, get in line-- we were here first.

The Ladder Conspiracy continues! After we told you about the Thinking Different article which reported that CompUSA Apple sections routinely had huge stocking ladders blocking access to Macintosh hardware and software for no good reason, we received a barrage of feedback from faithful viewers who observed the same phenomenon in their local stores. We're talking about reports from literally a dozen or more different states in which the Ladder Effect had been observed. Theories about the motive for this apparent sabotage of the Apple stores-within-stores vary wildly, but few are claiming that this phenomenon doesn't exist.

That's why we're thrilled to see that Susan Howerter, one of our favorite writers over at My Mac magazine, is continuing the campaign of public awareness of this bizarre and recurring theme. In a new Thinking Different article, she reports that after travelling 150 miles to her "local" CompUSA to check out the Apple section, she was in fact able to confirm a stocking ladder stuck directly in front of the Mac software she wanted to purchase. Apparently it had previously been blocking the G3's, but the Mac-friendly salesfolk at the store had moved it to a slightly less intrusive location. (Why they didn't move it in front of the Compaq systems we'll never know.)

The problem is both widespread enough and absurd enough for us to consider starting an official AtAT Ladder Patrol, whose members would pledge to visit their local CompUSA's on a regular basis to move all Mac-blocking ladders into other store sections. Of course, that would require both organization and drive, neither of which we currently possess in any great quantity. Perhaps after the quarterly "Beat the Analysts" contest, probably going live tomorrow night...