As you all know, the rumor mill's so dry we're drinking Tang powder out of the jar, metaphorically speaking. But does that mean we'd jump all over an unsubstantiated report that arrived second-hand from an unknown source, willfully and shamelessly spreading that rumor across the Mac webscape like so much Goober Grape on toast, without so much as a routine follow-up verification? If it took you more than two tenths of a second to say "hell yes," then you've either got an artificially high opinion of us, or a really low one. Either way, we'll take it as a compliment.

So here's us sharing the wealth in these lean times: a friend of a friend (well, actually a relative by marriage of a total stranger, but let's not get bogged down in the details) reports that the Midwestern robotics company for which he works just accepted a massive order from none other than Apple Computer. What's Apple shopping for, you ask? Not robot ninja assassins with integrated wrist-rockets and laser eyes (those are on a separate invoice), but a slew of epoxy dispensing machines that have to be delivered, installed, and ready for action by the end of June. That's not terribly interesting in itself, except that the mole claims to have overheard his boss talking about what these robots are going to be producing: PowerBook G4s.

That's right, G4. As in, supercomputer in a briefcase. As in, how the heck is customs going to deal with export restrictions on gigaflop computers when international travellers will soon be throwing them into shoulder bags? Reportedly our source's source overheard his source mention that Apple's first PowerBook G4s will ship in 500, 600, and 700 MHz configurations, but don't go rushing out to buy one just yet-- if the robots are ready in time (and that's apparently a big "if," given the size of the order and the tightness of the deadline), it'll still be several months before production can be scaled up to full-tilt yield. So don't expect these magical laptops until well after July's Macworld Expo. Still, it's nice to hear some fresh juice, isn't it?