First, the good news: Apple's got a new certified online reseller up and running. J & R Computer World may have a Compaq Presario uglifying up its main page, but dig a little deeper and you'll find the pretty stuff-- in J & R's brand new "Apple Store." (No, not that Apple Store; this is J & R's own online "store within a store," where customers can pop a few iMacs in the cart without having to hurt their eyes on all the Wintel crap. Would you expect anything less from the second-place winner of the "Apple Worldwide Best Store" award, Northeast U.S. Retail division? These guys even have their own toll-free Apple Sales Line. Spiffy!

On to the bad news: a couple of other online Apple resellers aren't faring quite so well. Value America is on the skids in the worst way-- meaning, someone hum the Bankruptcy Dirge, because according to MacCentral (and Value America's own home page), the online retailer has closed up shop, leaving scads of iMac buyers in the lurch. Orders which shipped by last Friday the 11th will be honored, but others will not. Details on what becomes of those unfulfilled orders are supposedly coming "later this week." Apparently several people who ordered iMacs but never received them are trying to figure out how to get their money back now that the company has ducked under the Chapter 11 umbrella. (Isn't it illegal to charge a credit card for an order before the merchandise ships? Seems to us we've heard that somewhere before.) Value America approached AtAT about buying some advertising banners not very long ago, but never got back to us to close the deal. Sounds like we dodged a bullet.

In news that hits closer to AtAT's home, MacCentral also reports that longtime Apple authorized dealer Computer Town may be in "financial trouble." Sources claim that the company has laid off forty people following a "financial meltdown" stemming from a "very confusing" problem that happened sometime within the past few months. Rumor has it that Computer Town was "bilked out of some money," leading to a cash flow crisis of near-biblical proportions. The massive layoffs apparently included just about everyone capable of picking up a phone, because phone calls to the company just keep on ringing.

So, one up, and (maybe) two down. Hopefully Computer Town will pull through whatever ickiness is currently infecting its credit line, but Value America is gone, gone, gone. Not that there aren't still plenty of online resellers perfectly willing to sell you a Mac, but we always find it a little sad when an Apple reseller goes under. Still, it's the cycle of life, you know?