We'll say one thing for the marketing folks at Apple: they don't lack chutzpah. Remember when they seeded the press with invitations to the introduction of a "breakthrough digital device" a couple of months ago, thus amassing a pile of hype so dense not even common sense could escape its gravitational pull? And remember when said "breakthrough" device turned out to be the iPod, and several Mac fans' heads actually imploded from the sheer underwhelmingness of it all? Sure, the iPod is one seriously kickin' MP3 player, but when all's said and done, it's still just an MP3 player, and the debate over whether or not a 4.6 GB storage capacity in a pocket-sized form factor really constitutes a "breakthrough" can rage on well into the coming decade-- it's still not going to help those poor souls whose craniums caved in when the iPod showed up.

But has Apple learned its lesson? Evidently not, for while those who suffered from Sudden Hype-Induced Cranial Deflation Syndrome have barely recovered and are still paying their medical bills, Apple is at it again. No doubt you're already aware that Macworld Expo starts next week. And you probably also know that Uncle Steve's keynote address was recently moved up a day and lengthened a bit, thus hinting at something big in the works. Those of you susceptible to hype-related injuries may already have been getting a little nervous. And then starting this past Monday, with complete and utter disregard for the well-being of its more excitable fans, Apple threw caution to the wind.

Yes, kiddies, the hype machine is officially out of control, and we really, really hope that Apple has the goods to back up this unprecedented journey into the realm of shameless self-promotion. The iPod teaser was only sent to the press, but now Apple's taking the hype straight to the fans. On Monday, Apple's home page indicated that there was only a week left until the big event, and brazenly announced "This one is big. Even by our standards." As if that weren't enough to set the peanut gallery up for a massive letdown, yesterday the countdown stood at T minus 6 days, and Apple kicked it up a notch: "Count the days. Count the minutes. Count on being blown away." Convulsing yet? If not, perhaps you didn't see today's "five days and counting" edition, as noted by faithful viewer Hatchet: "Beyond the rumor sites. Way beyond."

Hmmm... surely someone's going to take that as a personal challenge. Since the rumor sites have been exceedingly tame of late (at production time, neither Mac OS Rumors nor AppleInsider had updated in two weeks), presumably Apple doesn't have far to go; how hard is it to go "way beyond" reports of the Mac OS X 10.1.2 release and rumors of 10.2's feature set? Heck, if we were in charge at either of those sites, we'd feel duty-bound to launch immediately into wild predictions of levitating Apple PDAs that cost $9.95, feature a telepathic interface, and can print $20 bills on command-- just to force Apple to top it. (On the other hand, we suppose the dodecahedral G5 rumor at MOSR qualifies as pretty over-the-top already. So does that mean Apple's going to introduce a Power Mac G6 Icosahedron instead?)

All we can say is, if all this hype is for, say, an Apple-branded mobile phone, Apple's going to have a whole lot of fans' heads to reinflate. Bicycle pumps at the ready!