The relationship between Apple and Microsoft has always been strained, awkward, and soap-operatic, with a buddy-buddy smile worn for public appearances. What else would you expect, given the nature of their business positioning? Since Microsoft makes both operating system software that directly competes with Apple's Mac OS and application software that runs on the Mac OS, things are unsurprisingly confusing and full of mixed messages. Steve Jobs may have declared the Operating System Wars over back in August of 1997, but as evidence he pointed to that historic (and now infamous) agreement between the two companies which has since been revealed via "Redmond Justice" to be no more than a smiley face slapped on a high-tech extortion racket. At least, if Avie Tevanian's public airing of dirty laundry is to be believed, the real thrust of that "agreement" was that if Apple didn't agree to settle its patent disputes and also make Internet Explorer the default web browser for the Mac OS, Microsoft would cancel Office 98 for the Macintosh.

Well, now you can get your own user license for that extortion-flavored bargaining chip (plus a brand-spanking-new Power Mac) for a new low price! The mask goes back on as Apple tries to show that everything between Redmond and Cupertino is just peachy, regardless of all that niggling little antitrust stuff. What better way to show that Apple and Microsoft are still the best of friends than by releasing a new Power Mac configuration pre-loaded with Office 98? According to MacCentral, the new model is essentially a stock Power Mac G3/266, but with a built-in 56K modem, 64 MB of RAM, and Office 98 conveniently pre-installed on the hard drive. (You also get Internet Explorer and Outlook Express-- was there ever any doubt?) This new configuration, which we've dubbed the "Détente Special," is expected to cost about $1800 and is targeted squarely at the SOHO market.

Seriously, folks, if you need a new Power Mac and you also need to use Office, this new bundle sounds like a great deal-- Office typically sells for about $450. We Mac users seem to be going through that syndrome whereby the kids get lots of expensive presents while the parents are filing for divorce. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth-- this demonstration that "Microsoft and Apple continue to be great partners after more than 17 years of both competing and cooperating in the software industry" could save you a few hundred bucks. (It's available from the Apple Store, as well as from other resellers.)