What is it about Apple that makes PR disasters almost par for the course? The most recent debacle was the "Blue Blocker" scandal, in which Apple was accused of having deliberately crippled blue and white G3 systems so that they wouldn't boot if a G4 upgrade was installed. Since the news first leaked out, several of the upgrade manufacturers seem to have found a workaround, but Apple suffered a pretty bad black eye in the process. And now that people are just starting to get over the Blue Blocker thing, Apple announces the Great Megahertz Theft of 1999.

By now you've probably seen the press release: due to Motorola's recent setbacks with correcting "errata" found in G4 processors running at 500 MHz and higher, Apple has decided to change the specifications of the entire Power Mac G4 line. Since the 500 MHz chip is now not expected until "early next year," what would have been the Power Mac G4/500 is now the G4/450. And to keep things consistent, the G4/450 is now the G4/400, and the G4/400 is now the G4/350. Now, it's bad enough that Apple's entire line of desktop supercomputers has just gotten slower. And it looks really bad in the Megahertz Wars that Apple's offerings start at 350 MHz while Intel and AMD are cranking out 400 MHz chips. But the real kicker is this: Apple just slowed down the entire line of G4 systems without lowering the price. That's right; the G4/450 that would have cost you $2499 yesterday now costs exactly the same, but you get a G4/400 instead. How do ya like them Apples? Judging by the reactions noted in a MacWEEK article, odds are, you're not too pleased.

Now, for those of you who bought a G4 nice and early and figure you got 50 MHz more for the same price as the rest of us poor shmoes who waited, from what we understand, you're not off the hook, either. The last thing Apple wants is division within the Mac community due to bad blood over who got a faster G4 for less money, etc. So sources claim that in order to resolve the price discrepancy and restore a sense of unity, Apple will be replacing the processors in existing Power Mac G4 systems with slower units. Yes, if you've got a shiny new Power Mac G4/450 in your home office, Steve Jobs will personally visit your home and downgrade your processor to 400 MHz. Furthermore, to compensate for the extra few weeks during which you had an unfair 50 MHz advantage, Steve will then watch a few pay-per-view movies while making several long-distance calls using your phone, and he won't even use 10-10-220. C'mon, it's only fair that Apple screw all of us, right?