So the latest iMacs have kicked up a fair bit of controversy, eh? Sure, most of the ruckus is about the questionable fashion value of the new "Flower Power" and "Blue Dalmatian" patterns, but there are other complaints floating around, too. Some people are irked that, following Steve Jobs's headlong plunge into the CD-RW arena, it's no longer possible to buy an iMac with a DVD-ROM drive built in. Lots of people can't believe that Apple is still shipping systems with 64 MB of RAM, when it claims that Mac OS X requires 128 MB. Others are shaking their heads over the iMac's entry price jumping from $799 to $899; even though the new low-end iMac includes FireWire and is functionally similar to the previous $999 iMac DV model, the fact remains that now people need to pony up an extra Benjamin to partake of the iMac's yummy translucent goodness.

And even beyond that, there are a few voices bemoaning the fact that the latest iMacs-- even the high-end "Special Edition" model-- still ship with G3s instead of the faster G4 processor. Personally, that doesn't bother us so much, since with the advent of the PowerBook G4, Apple has finally attained a simple "G3 = consumer, G4 = professional" symmetry that we find peacefully pleasing from a Feng Shui type of perspective. Still, we understand that consumers like speed, too, and so if any of you are really hell-bent on owning a G4-powered iMac, allow us to offer a solution: make us an offer for our original Bondi Blue rev. A iMac, and then pop in a PowerLogix iForce G4 upgrade.

You read that right; as faithful viewer Nik Stanosheck observed, those clever folks at PowerLogix have indeed figured out a way to wedge a 400 MHz or 450 MHz PowerPC 7410 (that's "G4" to the rabble in the pit) into any of Apple's first four iMac revisions-- any of the ones with tray-loading CD-ROM drives, if we're not mistaken. Apparently all you need to do is pop open your iMac, yank out the original processor card, move your RAM from Apple's processor card to the iForce, slap the iForce onto the motherboard, snap everything back together, install some software, and voilà-- you've got an "obsolete" iMac with a tiger in its tank.

Granted, that's not exactly a grandmother-friendly task (as anyone who has ever installed RAM in an pre-Kihei iMac is well aware), but it's still mighty impressive that owners of older iMacs can upgrade to a G4 if they so desire-- and for the low, low price of just $379. The iForce G4 isn't shipping quite yet, but it's expected to hit dealer shelves in "early Q2 of 2001," which is just around the corner, so start saving your pennies now. And we were just kidding before-- our beloved Bondi Blue wonder isn't for sale, so don't bother submitting bids.