Guess who knows a secret? That's right: us. And guess who can't keep a secret? Right again-- us. Now before we dish the dirt, remember, AtAT's a soap opera, not a professional rumors show in any traditional sense. We don't actively cultivate shady relationships with loose-lipped insiders. On an average day, we don't exchange lots of PGP-encrypted email with Hotmail-account-using Apple employees risking their jobs to leak sensitive information. Why? Well, we could make a case on ethical grounds, but frankly, it's mostly just that we're lazy. We don't go digging for inside information; if it takes longer than opening an AppleInsider bookmark, we figure we'll let someone else do the work. We'd rather discuss rumors than start them. Besides, we're happy with the soap opera format; if it ain't broke, don't rewrite it.

That said, we sure as hell aren't going to kick any juicy inside info out of bed for eating crackers. Just because we don't go looking for scoops doesn't mean we aren't pleased when one drops in and says howdy. Take, for example, the secret whispered to us last night: it would appear that Apple really is planning on unveiling some new products at Macworld Expo Tokyo, because five new Apple products are slated to appear on that day next week. Before your mind does cartwheels and says "Apple-Palm, Pismo, 17" iMac, Graphite iBook DV, and Mystic multiprocessor G4s," by five products we mean five SKU numbers. The most likely scenario? Two of those SKUs are for Pismo in two configurations, and the remaining three are new speed-bumped G4s, probably running at the originally-announced speeds of 400, 450, and 500 MHz.

Again, we can't stress enough that this is a rumor. It came from a source we trust implicitly, but people make mistakes, things get misheard, etc. But try this: take the "five SKUs" rumor. Add three teaspoons of "our dealer postponed my G4 order because he says there's a speed bump next week." Stir well, bake at 350° for thirty minutes, and garnish liberally with "I work at Apple and I saw a production-grade, non-prototype Pismo, ready to ship." Voilà-- a heaping helping of "Pismo and faster G4s at the Expo." Mmmm, who wants seconds?