We were prepared for the unveiling of the new Power Mac G3's, code-named Yosemite. We had armed ourselves with rational reasons why we just shouldn't buy one right now-- after all, the AtAT workhorse is a PowerTower Pro that's only two years old, and we're saving up to relocate the studios into more spacious digs. (Read: we're planning on buying a house.) Sure, the once-blazing 200 MHz 604e is now feeling pretty pokey for certain things, but most of those "certain things" are games, and we've got to be practical about major capital expenditures like a new professional computer. The bottom line is, the PowerTower has more than enough RAM, sufficient hard disk space (and plenty of drive bays), decent graphics performance, and functions plenty well for the task of cranking out AtAT day after day. Then we watched Steve roll out the new system and all those rational reasons flew out the window.

Okay, that's not exactly true. As we watched the unveiling through the magic of RealVideo, our first reaction to the El Capitan casing was less than flattering. From the side it's a square with points sticking out of its corners-- those handles may be functional, but they sure seem to fit into the "Fashion Don't" category. But after getting a look at the thing from all angles, it's pleasing. Quite pleasing. And we expect it to grow on us even more, given that our first reaction to the iMac's design wasn't overly positive either, and now we think it's the cat's pyjamas. Sure, we would have preferred original Studio Display-style midnight blue to the iMac-classic Bondi Blue and Ice, but again, it's a minor point. And once we saw the matching displays and the way the new case opens with the turn of a single knob, well, it's getting harder to say no. (Anyone who, like us, has actually bled into the innards of a butt-ugly, sharp-metal-edged PowerTower Pro while trying to install RAM will understand the inherent appeal of the Yosemite design.)

So let's recap: Yosemite is here. It looks like an iMac got into the teleporter without seeing a G3 Minitower hiding in the corner. It's fast, more than expandable enough for our needs, and has a very user-friendly (and knuckle-friendly!) design. And here's the kicker-- it's available now, and starts at only $1599 for the base version. Heck, even a standard 400 MHz model costs only $2519 from the Apple Store-- less than we paid for the PowerTower. Yeesh. Er, so who really needs a house anyway, right? If you want to learn more about how the new G3's might tempt you to spend unwisely, Macworld has a review of sorts including several photographs from different angles.