Those of you who are still slugging it out over the whole "Flower Power"/"Blue Dalmatian" debate (as in, "resolved: Apple's latest iMac patterns herald the irreversible decline in Western civilization and are the obvious product of a legally blind and/or congenitally insane agent of evil bent on world destruction"), put down the tire irons and the brass knuckles and set aside the whole pro vs. con argument for a second. Personally, we have removed ourselves from the scuffle pending our chance to see the patterns up close and personal. The startling difference between Apple's posted "photo" of Flower Power (which makes it look like bad '60s floral bathroom wallpaper) and how it appears in Apple's new iMac commercials was enough to convince us that we shouldn't judge until we see the systems in person; we recommend that, for the sake of restoring the peace, you adopt a similar attitude. Wait until you can behold the new patterns in all their translucent 3D glory, and if they still make you retch, then pick up that two-by-four and smash some skulls.

If you're impatient to get back to the fray, don't worry-- you'll have your chance to check out the new merchandise soon enough. According to a MacWEEK article, Apple's latest consumer desktops have shipped to resellers, and at least a couple of U.S. stores had received stock of Flower Power and Blue Dalmatian models as of Tuesday afternoon. If you weren't lucky enough to be present in Tokyo for the big introduction last week, soon you can get your chance to see what all the fuss is about by wandering down to your local Mac dealer and confronting the controversial new designs mano a mouse-o.

Will a face-to-face encounter with the flashy new iMacs change many opinions? Maybe, maybe not-- but MacWEEK agrees that it's "probably wise to withhold judgment on the new models" until you get to see the real thing, since both patterns are "much more subtle and muted" (as well as "more elegant and contemporary") than Apple's web site implies. Of course, that doesn't guarantee that you won't still hate them and want to run amuck with a blunt instrument. Conversely, those of you who currently like the new patterns might actually decide that they're actually not all that great after all once you see how subtle they really are.

However, we'll be fairly unsurprised if public opinion remains heavily weighted towards the "thumbs down" side of the spectrum. We once tried to give Apple the benefit of the doubt on this issue, because surely the company would never release such bold patterns without first testing the potential consumer reaction to the iMac's new look through the judicious use of focus groups, right? Well, as it turns out, we're still naïve after all these years, because an Apple representative told MacWEEK that Apple "did not conduct focus groups to test the new color schemes" on anyone other than Apple employees. What that means, of course, is that a handful of Apple employees told the man that signs the paychecks (and the pink slips) that his taste is impeccable and yet perfectly in tune with that of the average shmoe. Big surprise. Let's face it; the jury's out on this one until the sales numbers let us know what's what. In the meantime, though, check out the new iMacs in person, form your own opinion, and defend your stance by smacking down the naysayers. It's your civic responsibility!