Good news, folks: the iMac shortage is improving-- as long as you're buying directly from Apple. We're hearing from lots of viewers who ordered iMacs at the online Apple Store and who are now receiving their new toys right around Apple's originally-reported estimated delivery date. Better still, most Apple retail stores apparently have both high-end and mid-range iMacs in stock and ready to sell to anyone willing to incur still more crippling debt. Meanwhile, most Apple resellers can't even get within squinting distance of a new iMac, let alone get one for a customer, which prompts CNET to ask, "Is Apple stocking its own shelves first?"

Now, anyone who actually needs to think about this before answering is hurtling past "duh" and headed straight for "doy." Of course Apple is stocking its own shelves first. "But AtAT," you ask, "didn't Apple cross its heart, hope to die, stick a needle in its eye and swear on a stack of bibles that it would never, ever, under any circumstances snake merchandise for its own direct sales channels while the long-suffering resellers went hungry?" Well, uh, yeah... we're pretty sure we remember some sort of pledge to that effect. But desperate times call for desperate measures, you know?

We knew something was amiss two weeks ago when, after noting that none of the mail order Mac houses had any iMacs in stock, we called a few local Apple stores just to verify that they, too, were iMacless and fending off rabid customers with sticks. "Hi, do you have the new iMacs in stock?" The guy from Store #1 told us that, no, they didn't, and the waiting list was huge. Okay, pretty much what we expected, so we called Store #2. "Hi, do you have the new iMacs in stock?" we asked, expecting the same polite suppression of laughter and emphatically negative response. Instead, we got a "Yup." Which, of course, prompted in us a long pause, followed by, "Um... are you sure?" (There's your "doy" moment, right there.)

So, yeah, even two weeks ago some Apple retail stores had several iMacs in stock, with more showing up every day. Meanwhile, CNET reports that the supply for Mac sellers whose names don't start with an "A" and rhyme with "Snapple" just keeps on getting worse: distributor TechData's backlog is now up to 15.5 weeks, up from 10.7 weeks just seven days ago, while Ingram Micro's backlog has climbed to a mind-numbing 19.2 weeks. Needless to say, the resellers aren't exactly leaping about with joy. Some are apparently talking about possibly even going out of business. Yeeks.

There's no question that the resellers have a valid complaint, but given the stark reality that there aren't enough iMacs to go around, we really can't say we're surprised that Apple has been funnelling them into its own stores. The retail initiative is under intense scrutiny, especially after having lost money last year, so a lack of merchandise in Apple's own boutiques would surely raise some disapproving eyebrows among investors and analysts alike. That doesn't make the situation any less slimy, of course, but for better or for worse, the shareholders have to come first. All we can say is that we really hope these production woes let up soon and suddenly there'll be iMacs stretching as far as the eye can see... whole herds of them, sweeping majestically across the plain. Any day now, right?