And to continue this unusually downbeat episode (we must need more vitamins or something), we return once more to the Megahertz Wars, where the Mac is still getting its metaphorical behind swatted like there's no tomorrow. In terms of overall speed, the Power Mac G4 is still one blazing system-- but it's tough to get all gung-ho about its top clock speed being cranked up to a blinding 500 MHz when those in the Wintel camp are tossing around 800 MHz like it ain't no thing. Gee, whatever happened to those early promises of the PowerPC reaching higher clock speeds than CISC chips could ever hope to attain? It just goes to show you what some competition can do; AMD and its zippy little Athlon gave Intel a nasty shock, and the boys in the bunny suits managed to strap still more rocket power onto that aging old architecture that dates back to the Stone Age, processorily speaking.

Well, here's the really depressing news: AMD and Intel are locked in a race to announce the first 1 GHz chip designed for desktop use. According to a CNET article, AMD's in the lead; those wacky chip-heads are expected to unveil a 1 GHz Athlon on Monday, while Intel's 1 GHz Pentium III is currently still slated for an introduction this coming Wednesday. Meanwhile, Apple's marketing team is left with the unenviable task of trying to convince the world that a chip running at no more than half the clock speed of these new processors is somehow faster. "Uh, did we mention that it comes housed in a really snazzy-looking Graphite case?"

And things are probably only going to get worse before they get any better. The Athlon architecture reportedly has room to grow, and while the Pentium III's way past the end of its megahertz life span, Intel's got Willamette due for release "toward the middle of the year"-- and it's expected to debut at 1.4 GHz. And let's see, the G4 isn't expected to crank up the juice until when-- this fall, right? Hunker down, 'cause it sounds like it might be a long, hard battle ahead...