You know, there was a long-standing "rumor" that we had originally pegged as a shoe-in for the January Stevenote, but it never showed... and the "wow factor" of the other announcements (that 733 MHz G4, the Superdrive, the titanium PowerBook, etc.) was so high we didn't even notice. In fact, the official word didn't come during the recent Tokyo keynote either, but Flower Power and Blue Dalmatian threw us for such a loop, we didn't notice its absence then, either. No, we're not talking about the mythical Apple handheld-- that's not going to be introduced until after the Disney-Apple merger is complete later this spring. We're talking about those brick-and-mortar Apple Stores that we've been hearing about for so long.

See, the thing about the Apple Stores is that they can't really be classified as a rumor; the fact that Apple has bought or leased retail space in several locations (such as Palo Alto and Chicago) is a matter of public record, thanks to the bureaucratic necessity of zoning commissions, architectural review boards, and various related paper-fed beasts. Okay, sure, it's possible that we've jumped to conclusions in thinking that Apple's going to sell Macs in these stores (perhaps the company's getting into the discount auto parts business-- getcher titanium wiper blades and iCarburetors here!), but in any event, Apple's original plan was to open the first of these stores in April of 2001. In case you haven't checked a calendar recently, we can now officially refer to that projected opening date as "next month." We really thought we'd have heard an official announcement of Apple's plans by now.

We suppose it's possible that Apple scrapped the plan in light of its current financial situation, not to mention the general state of the personal computer market right now; maybe it just seems like too much of a risk to take. But as faithful viewer Steve Pissocra pointed out, the latest evidence indicates that Apple's retail plans are still marching ahead-- an "exclusive" article in Shopping Centers Today (honestly!) reveals that our beloved Mac-maker is indeed still planning "to roll out a chain of stores that will sell its own brand of computer equipment" (instead of, say, someone else's brand of computer equipment; well, that's a blessing, at any rate). Joining Palo Alto and Chicago as the latest confirmed location for one of these nifty little boutiques is none other than Littleton, Colorado, which will boast an Apple retail presence in a new mall-- er, "lifestyle center"-- dubbed "Aspen Grove" in November.

In addition, "executives of one large New York City area mall say they are also close to signing a deal with Apple." Oooh, maybe they should have kept their traps shut until the signatures were on paper; as we all know, Steve doesn't like it when people let his cats out of the proverbial bag. If no Apple Store appears in New York, we'll know why. Regardless, an honest-to-goodness Apple Store may soon be opening at a mall near you-- and hopefully near us. Considering we already spend more than enough time at the mall to qualify as characters in a commercially-nonviable Kevin Smith flick, if an Apple Store moves in where the Warner Bros. store just closed up shop, we'll probably never leave, surviving entirely on food court Indian fare and nesting in the elaborate maze of air ducts after hours. Snoochie-boochies!