Starved for Apple-flavored angst in the tedium-soaked wake of yet another bygone Stevenote? Perhaps the new Power Macs aren't providing enough fodder for you. In days gone by, Mac fanatics would jump at the chance to criticize a new Power Mac's speed boost as trivial, laughable, or downright ruinous in the face of the ever-advancing Intel juggernaut, and indeed, one would think that this latest boost to 1.42 GHz would stir all manner of online punditry bemoaning Apple's continuing inability to scare up clock speeds even half of what's available from the Dark Side. But this time? Not so much. We're not sure whether it's because people finally accept the Megahertz Myth, or because they can only complain about the exact same issue about thirteen or fourteen times before it just gets terminally boring; either way, we're seeing a lot less "the sky is falling" stuff ranting about rampaging 3 GHz Pentiums completely demolishing our defenseless little G4s and then setting fire to our villages and stealing our women for the slave trade.

So people are instead extracting their U.S. recommended daily allowance of angst from a slightly less obvious source-- to wit, the new 20.1-inch Cinema Display that Apple foisted upon us a couple of days ago. Apparently there's a bit of a brouhaha in our little community over the display's system requirements, as stated on Apple's own web site and noted by MacFixIt: "The Apple Cinema Display requires Mac OS X v10.2 or later." Given that certain malcontents are already steamed enough that Apple is no longer supporting Mac OS 9 as a bootable operating system on its new Macs, these same folks are understandably frothing at the mouth at the idea that now even Apple's new displays aren't going to play nice with 9.

Admittedly, this sets a somewhat dangerous precedent; while we all understand that it's in Apple's best interest to noodge its user base into making the leap to Mac OS X sooner rather than later, making even basic accessories nonfunctional under Mac OS 9 might be a notch or two over the top. What's next, a new Pro Mouse that, when plugged into the USB port of a 9-booted iMac, melts into a viscous mutagenic goo? Worse yet, since the display reportedly requires 10.2, what about people who are running Mac OS X, but simply haven't shelled out to upgrade to Jaguar? Good thing that at $1299 the display itself is dirt cheap (relatively speaking, of course), because a lot of potential customers might also need to drop a couple hundred ducats just to get their systems up to par.

Luckily, that "Mac OS X v10.2 or later" requirement is reportedly a massive load of hooey. Several MacFixIt readers note that they've seen 20.1-inch Cinema Displays connected to systems booted in Mac OS 9 and working just fine. We suspect that maybe full support is only available in Jaguar, e.g. all those goofy resolutions, advanced Energy Saver settings, the ability to dispense warm maple syrup, etc., but early reports at least confirm that those of you who own compatible Macs but are still riding Horse No. 9 into the ground can purchase and enjoy a 20.1-inch Cinema Display without necessarily invoking the hurty wrath of the Great Jobs Above.

So, what-- an error on Apple's part, or a little white lie intended to goose a few more customers into upgrading to Mac OS X? That's between Steve and his hairdresser; mere mortals such as us can only speculate.