About that expected return to profitability... have you given any thought to how Apple intends to make money even as the economy is "melting down" and the personal computer industry as a whole is struggling with depressed growth? There are all sorts of indicators that most of the people who want computers now already own them; if that's true, who's going to buy the Macs that put Apple back in the black? Well, according to Apple, we are. And when we say "we," of course, we mean "you."

Yes, as noted in a Reuters story first pointed out to us by faithful viewer Michael Doughty, Apple hopes to ride out this bout of economic ickiness by trying to "persuade its fans to upgrade faster than planned." As Steve says, "entering 2001, the climate in the market right now is that Apple, and I think a lot of our compatriots in the market, are going to be looking to drive sales to the installed base as well as to expansion." The hope, obviously, is that if you wanted one Mac, maybe you'll want two. Or perhaps you've decided that your Blueberry iMac is so 1999, and you're ready to trade up to an Indigo model instead. Landfill, shmandfill; disposaMacs mean higher sales and higher profits. We wouldn't be surprised if Apple eventually starts branding Macs with an honest-to-goodness expiration date.

There's something to this strategy, folks. We took a second to tally the running count, and we came to the conclusion that AtAT's staff has purchased seven Macs in less than seven years. That doesn't include the Power Computing clone we bought when we couldn't find anyone who had Power Mac 7300s in stock, the Macintosh SE we found on a trash pile, or the Mac Classic we were given as payment for hooking up someone's LAN. Of course, of those seven, only four were brand new, current models; two were new but discontinued, and one was used. Still, despite the fact that we're not exactly typical computer buyers, here, our numbers indicate that Apple may well be on to something. Somehow we doubt that there are families out there who buy, say, seven Gateways in as many years. Maybe Mac people do buy computers more often.

What this means, of course, is that owning a primary-use Mac that's more than two years old is, frankly, a crime against the platform. And you say you've only got a desktop system, and no portable to go with it? What kind of Apple supporter are you? That's the Mac user equivalent of kicking a puppy. Shame on you. Now get out there and spend!