Fun Fact #137 about Mac OS X: it eats RAM for breakfast. And no, we're not talking about those firmware updates that rendered many Macs too picky to acknowledge the presence of "non-compliant" DIMMs, unfortunate though that situation may be. It's particularly unfortunate, because most observers agree that Mac OS X's minimum listed requirement of 128 MB of RAM might be a tad on the low side. At least for now, Mac OS X's performance improves dramatically with extra RAM-- which makes Apple's base RAM configurations in all shipping Macs that much more frustrating. (By the way, if you're unlucky enough to be stuck with post-firmware-update invisible RAM, check out MacFixit for a repair patch that may just solve all your troubles.)

If you've been following RAM prices lately, you're probably aware that the stuff is cheaper than dirt right now. (In fact, given the price of gasoline, we find ourselves wishing the AtATmobile ran on DIMMs instead.) A quick poke around the 'net revealed that a 256 MB DIMM for use in a current Power Mac goes for as little as $75; in contrast, adding a 256 MB DIMM to a build-to-order Power Mac at the Apple Store would run you $400. In stark mathematical terms, Apple's price is Way, Way Too Expensive.

But wait-- it just so happens that Apple is now running a conveniently-timed Memory Rebate Promo that slashes its RAM prices in half! From now until May 30th, you can get half-off extra RAM on qualifying build-to-order Macs at the time of purchase. That means that adding the same 256 MB of RAM to the Power Mac G4 mentioned above now only costs $200, thus improving Apple's memory prices from Way, Way Too Expensive to merely Slightly Way Too Expensive. Then again, with Apple RAM, at least you can be reasonably certain that a future firmware update won't suddenly make it vanish in a puff of smoke.

Mind if we lob you a few facts? First Apple ships an extraordinarily RAM-hungry operating system that makes people realize they need beefier Macs. On the same day, the company releases a firmware update that makes some "non-compliant" RAM disappear, thus planting a seed of doubt in customers' minds about the reliability of third-party components. Two weeks later, an Apple RAM promotion appears which a) only applies to purchases of new Macs, and 2) which reduces Apple's RAM prices by 50% but which still gives Apple a huge margin on every DIMM sold. The construction of a healthy little conspiracy theory incorporating those diverse elements is left entirely as an exercise for the viewer...