Ah, Apple and its retail partners; the on-again, off-again relationship that makes Pamela and Tommy Lee look like eternal soul-mates enjoying an uninterrupted run of sheer connubial bliss. Who could forget Apple's severing all ties with every national retailer except CompUSA way back in 1998? Remember how eventually Best Buy came crawling back to get in on the action with the hot-selling iMac, only to bail again when the chain proved so incompetent it couldn't even sell the most talked-about computer ever to grace the retail scene? It just goes to show that trying to mold one's partner into something it's not only leads to heartache all 'round.

Unfortunately, Apple apparently didn't pick up on the hint, since there was a lot of that sort of thing going around. Sears, too, was cut from the list in the Great Retail Pruning of '98, but soon returned to the fold to sell all those nifty iGoods. But clearly, just like Best Buy, Sears was just counting the dollar signs dancing in front of its eyes instead of putting any effort into being a useful Mac retailer, because the chain's return to Macdom started out sketchy and just kept getting worse. Finally, roughly a year ago, Apple and Sears once again parted ways, though we doubt either side cried much about the breakup.

Let's move on to Banished National Reseller #3, shall we? In the middle of 2000, Apple let Circuit City climb back on board the Mac Train; in light of Best Buy's departure and an increasingly rocky relationship with Sears, it seemed the thing to do. So could this second chance finally bear some fruit? Is the third time the charm? Answer: not on your life, bub. AtAT has received numerous reports that Circuit City and Apple have parted ways, effective this morning, and faithful viewer Pfire reports that MacInTouch is hearing the same thing.

The reason for this latest split is a matter of conjecture, but we suspect that Apple has finally realized that this string of destructive retail relationships is nothing but a hurtful shame spiral. Perhaps Apple recognizes that it needs to learn to love itself before it can ever find happiness in a retail relationship with someone else; opening the first of its own retail stores last May was the first big step on the road to recovery. The moral for all you viewers out there is to duck into your local Circuit City as soon as possible, because we suspect you might discover some killer deals on closeout Mac gear. The lesson to Apple, on the other hand, is this: when it comes to love (or retail), forget the second chances-- always trust your first instincts, because most of those national retailers are pond scum, pure and simple.