It was inevitable, really. We'd all absorbed so much buildup about rumored Apple portable updates for so long that when it all finally reached a climax on Wednesday with the dramatic release of the new iBooks and PowerBooks, it's as if the actualization of a sub-$1000 consumer portable and DVD-burning on the go was so heavy it collapsed in upon itself-- thus creating a black hole of Mac-related news with a gravitational field so dense only fluff pieces and shareware updates can escape. As a result, the Mac community now finds itself rattling around in a news vacuum that, well, kinda sucks.

Want to know just how far this news vacuum extends? Try all the way to the hallowed halls of One Infinite Loop itself, at least if Apple's latest press release is any reasonable indication. "Apple to Participate in Macworld San Francisco 2003," it declares-- which, while it's undoubtedly good news, isn't actually news in the sense of Man Bites Dog. Anyone ignorant of the whole sordid mess in which Apple petulantly refused to attend the East Coast Macworld Expo now that it's moving from New York back to Boston already took it for granted that Apple would still be attending the SF shindig. And any Mac fans obsessive enough to have heard about IDG World Expo alpha dog Charlie Greco's wacky threat to ban Apple from the West Coast show unless the company agreed also to show up in Boston are also obsessive enough to know that said threat was rescinded so quickly it almost got taken back before it was made in the first place.

Still, just because it isn't quite news doesn't mean it's not reassuring. And if you were on pins and needles about who might be delivering the keynote address at the show, brace yourselves-- it's gonna be Steve Jobs! Granted, this revelation comes as slightly less of a shock than it was a month ago, but hey, reassurances generally aren't graded on their shock value. Plus, there is some actual news on the keynote front. There'll be a second presentation called "The Power of X" on Wednesday, January 8th, but it's not a second Stevenote-- this one's being handled by Phil "Thankyuhverruhmuch" Schiller, and AtAT sources hint that he'll be dressing as Vegas Elvis in honor of The King's birthday. Who knows? If you show up early enough to sit up front, maybe you'll come away from the show with a sweat-soaked satin scarf.

By the way, if you were wondering, yes, "Apple and IDG are still in discussions" about whether or not Apple will ever attend another East Coast show. Next week: the lull continues, as Apple calls a press conference to announce that Steve Jobs is still CEO, the headquarters is still in Cupertino, water is still wet, and (for some reason) Bill Gates still has that haircut. Stay tuned!