You know, what with all the hubbub over the alleged Power Mac G5 probably surfacing in a week and a half, a lot of people are forgetting that there's another unannounced Mac whose chances of a WWDC intro are, if anything, even more assured. We refer, of course, to an updated 15-inch PowerBook, whose current incarnation lags behind its 12- and 17-inch brethren in features such as DDR RAM, built-in Bluetooth, and support for AirPort Extreme-- not to mention its oh-so-2001 titanium enclosure, when everybody knows that these days it's all about the aluminum, baby. As if it's not hard enough to be the middle child without being dressed in fashions two years out of date...

If the 15-inch PowerBook's lagging feature set and outdated enclosure aren't enough to convince you that it's due for an imminent revamp, there's also the fact that the channel is reportedly so dry it technically qualifies for state and federal drought aid. Still not convinced? Then take a look-see at this DigiTimes article which reports that Apple has ordered the production of its "first 15.4-inch wide-screen notebooks" from manufacturing firm Compal. Seeing as the current PowerBooks use a 15.2-inch display, whatever Apple has on order is clearly a new addition to the zoo.

So, yeah, new 15ish-inch PowerBooks are pretty much a dead cert at this point, although there's a teensy little catch: DigiTimes reports that Compal will start shipping Apple's new 15.4-inch PowerBooks "in the second half of this year." That's a pretty vague timeframe, if you think about it-- it sounds like something the cable company tells you when you ask when the repair guy will be there-- but if taken literally, it implies that the earliest anyone's going to get their hot little hands on one is a week after the Stevenote. Not that July 1st is all that far away, or anything, but if you were hoping to snap up an aluminum 15-incher at an Apple retail store scant minutes after Steve's June 23rd extravaganza, you may have to wait just a little longer than that. We recommending biting down on your wallet to avoid swallowing your own tongue until the convulsions pass.

Trust us, the wait for a 15.4-inch model will be worth it; as you all know, sometimes an extra fifth of an inch makes all the difference. And no, we don't mean that dirty. Sheesh.