Still itching for a Mac-shopping retail experience that doesn't leave you feeling like you've been bludgeoned with a hefty length of pine? Fear not, because relief is on the way-- if you happen to live in the right area, that is. Add another name to the ever-lengthening list of lucky cities who will (probably) be getting an Apple retail store: Buffalo, New York has joined such previously-determined fortunate markets as Palo Alto, Chicago, Littleton, Pittsburgh, and the New York City area. At least, that's what MacNN is reporting, based on an article in the Buffalo News... but of course, Apple hasn't officially announced any such retail plans, so it can't be true, right?

Just kidding. Everyone knows that Apple's hush-hush initiative to open its own retail stores is the world's worst-kept secret since NASA faked the Apollo moon landings. What with the evidence trail of leases signed, construction underway, etc. there's little doubt that Apple is going to start representing its own gear at retail; the only questions remaining are how, when, and where-- and at least the "where" is really starting to flesh out a little. In addition to Buffalo, the article also indicates that Apple is looking to dig in at "the Carousel Center in Syracuse" and possibly also "Scottsdale, Ariz." But wait, there's more! We've heard from several shadowy sources that an Apple store in the Tampa area is a distinct possibility. We haven't heard anything about a Boston store yet, but we consider it a dead certainty; after all, how could Steve resist the prospect of luring the AtAT staff onto his turf and then unleashing his deadly engines of destruction? Or at least selling us a new Power Mac.

As for "when," well, originally we'd been hearing that Apple's flagship Palo Alto location would open next month, but that's looking pretty unlikely right now. The Buffalo News hints that "the first-ever Apple stores will see their debut in the next six months." If we had to guess (go on, twist our arm... ow!), we'd put our money on the first stores opening their doors on the day of Steve's Macworld Expo keynote this July. We figure that if Apple is going to unveil new Macs preloaded with its shiny new operating system, what better time to introduce a new way to buy them, too?