Whaddaya know? It looks like Apple's sense of timing may just be impeccable after all. We were starting to get really nervous about the relative scarcity of Power Macs in the channel, since several resellers are reporting that they have virtually no product left to sell, or will be out of stock by early next month; heck, even the Apple Store is out of Power Macs, except for 266 MHz desktop models. Since most reports pegged the sleek new "Yosemite" G3 Pro Macs for a Macworld Expo introduction but a late January ship date, it looked as though the first month of 1999 could be a lean one for Apple sales.

But check it out: Mac OS Rumors sheds some doubt on the "late January" ship date, claiming that Yosemite has entered the full-scale production phase and that Apple's plants are hard at work churning out the smoky translucent towers. Apparently that means that resellers might start seeing Yosemites show up on their loading docks as soon as ten days from now, though they won't be allowed to sell them until after the official unveiling on January 5th. (Keep in mind that some resellers sold iMacs before the August 15th launch date, so if you've got to be the first one on your block with a Yosemite, you might want to start looking for bribe-worthy Apple dealers.) This all fits together with the notice posted at the Apple Store that a bunch of new Power Macs would become available for order in early January, which we considered to be wishful thinking, at best.

Sure, there's still plenty of time for a fatal mistake or a tiny glitch to send the whole thing tumbling down, but the point is that Apple seems to have a tight plan in place. Since that's far more organized than we ever get, we're mighty impressed with the whole scenario. And by the way, regardless of what happens with the Yosemite G3's, those of you who are planning on buying a PowerBook or an iMac instead are all set-- apparently there are plenty of those available for purchase. Quite a difference from a few months ago, isn't it? Back then, iMacs were tough to spot on store shelves, and the backlog of PowerBook orders was simply scandalous. It's that kind of variety that keeps us so mightily entertained. (Yes, we're easily amused.)