We can't back this up with actual proof, but we're pretty sure that when we all embarked on the long wait for Mac OS 9.1, ALF was on the cover of TV Guide. Not that it's been a particularly tough wait, mind you-- after all, Mac OS 9.0.4 works pretty darn well as it is, and most of us are far more concerned about the release date for Mac OS X, instead, so 9.1's sort of been swept under the rug, so to speak. Still, it's been a good long while since we first heard about Mac OS 9.1, and a slew of questions remain unanswered: When will we get it? How much will it cost? What does it do? And is it true that a duck's quack won't echo?

Well, wonder no more, true believers, because the PowerBook Zone has the answers to all of your questions. (Well, all except the one about the quacking, but Cecil Adams has that covered-- in short, "no.") If the Zone's "reliable sources" are indeed reliable (and they've had a very good track record in the past), then Uncle Steve will try to quell the crushing disappointment of Mac OS X's continued "unreleased" status by offering up Mac OS 9.1 as a handy distraction-- so prepare for the update to surface amid suitable fanfare this coming Tuesday. And here's a welcome departure from Apple's recent Microsoftian pricing practices; the company that had the nerve to charge public beta testers $30 for the privilege of expending time and effort while risking their data has apparently been slightly de-Scrooged by the recent holiday season, and will be offering Mac OS 9.1 as a free download.

Now, before you go doing your little "free loot" dance, we should probably mention that the phrase "free download" takes on a whole new meaning when the product being downloaded is-- get this-- 72 MB in size. Those of us on fast connections won't sweat the transfer time, but Mac users with dial-up connections will be looking at a very slow progress bar should they opt to go the download route. Instead, those folks may want to get the upgrade on CD-ROM; after all, that's free, too. (Hooray!) All you'll pay is a nominal shipping and handling fee of $19. (Boo, hiss.) There are a couple of other ways to get the update for free, though; for one, you could buy a whole new Mac once the new models are released next week. We bet they'll have Mac OS 9.1 pre-installed and ready to rock. Not up for blowing a couple of grand on a new CPU just to get a "free" operating system update? Then consider splurging for a new Pro Keyboard; since the update fixes the dead volume/eject keys problem on older Macs, Apple's bundling the Mac OS 9.1 updater with each unit. See? Your options are various and sundry!

We're sure you're all wondering just what kinds of goodies are in store for an "update" that's a whopping 72 MB in size (and requires 350 MB of free hard disk space to install). Tablet-supported handwriting recognition? System-level voice recognition? Some kind of space-age psychic control module? Well, uh, no. Basically you get the Pro Keyboard fix, better FireWire support, better iDisk support, a new version of OpenGL, a new process manager, and a new nanokernel. Oh, and there's a new "Window" menu item in the Finder. A better use for 350 MB of hard disk space has yet to be devised!