Ah, the week after Expo-- that placid time when all the real news has been used up and so the press is full of "analysis and reaction." And AtAT's no different, because there's plenty to analyze and react to. Heck, the iBook alone has generated enough gushing praise, bitter vitriol, and ensuing verbal debate to provide time-killing reading for bored Mac fanatics the world over. Some people love the $1599 price tag, and others hate it. One segment of the market doesn't mind the lack of PC card slots, while another claims its the iBook's death knell. But no aspect of the iBook is generating as much strife and angst as its decidedly "different" style and coloring; will sweeping curves in Tangerine and Blueberry attract buyers or repel them?

That's right, repel them-- especially potential buyers of the male gender. See, fruit flavors are one thing when they're tucked away safely inside one's house, but laptops are taken out in public, and that's where the trouble might start. Faithful viewer T.S. Roach makes a valid point: "Do I really want to be seen carrying one of those in public?" Certain men are going to have a problem with toting around a bright orange or blue laptop, especially one that looks a bit like a purse when you hold it by the handle. Keep in mind, there are guys out there that won't even wear pink shirts, even if you screen football team logos all over it. It's a macho thing, and whether or not it's going to make any kind of a serious dent in the iBook's sales numbers remains to be seen-- but there are definitely people out there who would buy an iBook if only it came in "manlier" colors. Here's hoping that those people have the extra $900 for a PowerBook instead...

Remember, there are rumors of a "business iBook" swirling around out there; the last time we heard it, it claimed that a couple of months after the consumer iBook hits the shelves, Apple will release a slightly more expensive model in corporate-friendly (and "manlier") translucent grey plastics with a faster processor, and maybe FireWire built in. Whether or not that comes to pass, though, we have a strong suspicion that the $1599 consumer iBook will retain its fruit-flavored flash. And personally, we predict that its decidedly "out there" appearance will rack up many, many, many more sales than it'll scare off. We, personally, would have zero problem using an iBook in public-- but then again, we wouldn't have any serious reservations about bringing one into a business meeting, either. But that's just us, and we do think it's a shame that some people would love to shell out the cash for the iBook's functionality if they could just leave the "style" on the shelf.