So now that Apple's got a winning consumer computer (and all indications are that it's simply the first in a long line of iMacs), it's time to start thinking once again about where people can go to buy them. Remember, the iMac is proving to be a popular choice among first-time computer buyers, and those buyers aren't going to be ordering a system from MacWarehouse. They're much more likely to head down to the local retail store. That's all well and good if that store happens to be a CompUSA (or a regional Fry's or Microcenter), but what if Jane and Joe Average want to buy their consumer computer down at Circuit City or Best Buy? Those stores used to carry Macs, but Apple yanked them out when it became painfully clear that those Macs were hurting Apple's sales instead of helping them.

Fear not-- there are whispers going around that Apple's planning to re-enter the national retail space with a vengeance. According to Mac OS Rumors, Apple may already be in negotiations with several national chains about the possibility of selling Macs. The goal is to flood the country with iMacs in time for the Christmas buying season. Given the rumors that the iMac's price may drop to $999 in a couple of months, it actually becomes an even more attractive Christmas purchase than it is now, so Apple wants them wherever people might want to buy one. But Apple's pushing for some real promises that the retailers are going to display those iMacs properly, and in fact is pushing hard for "salon stores" like CompUSA uses.

All we know is, every time we walk through Sears to get into the local mall, we pass through the computer department and smile inwardly at the lack of Macs there. Because while we'd love for Apple to get Macs into as many stores as possible, we want those Macs displayed, maintained, and sold properly-- and we remember the lone Performa sitting there in Sears, with no fewer than six System Folders, no mouse, and what appeared to be a Snickers bar mashed into the keyboard. What a cool thing for Apple to do: yank the Macs from stores who didn't care about them, introduce a kick-ass consumer product that sells itself, and then use that as leverage to bring the old stores back into the Mac fold with contrition in their hearts and dollar signs in their eyes, ready to deal. Make 'em crawl, guys. ;-)