Hey, buddy, why the furrowed brow? The haunted look? The air of quiet desperation? Wait, don't tell us, let us guess: you ordered a Power Mac G5 about twelve milliseconds after they showed up online at the Apple Store, and you're giddily awaiting the day when it arrives on your doorstep and you finally get to punch yourself through a supporting wall and get your house condemned-- but because of the whispers of massive demand and sketchy supply, you're starting to get a little edgy about your delivery date maybe getting pushed forward into the next decade or so. Meanwhile, your intact and uncondemned dwelling seems to taunt you with its jeering fitness for human occupation.

Well, not to alarm you still further, but your concern may indeed be genuine; lead times on new G5 orders are in the 7-10 week range, at least for the dual-processor model (which is still in the Top Ten at the Apple Store). Then there was that InfoWorld article from a mere two weeks ago which reported that the G5 processor was "not yet in production" at IBM's spiffing new chip fabrication plant in Fishkill, NY, which is enough to make anyone a tad nervous. And while you might have been comforted somewhat by those reports that certain "larger corporate and government customers" had already received at least some Power Mac G5s last month (implying that at least the machine's been in active production for a while), Mac OS Rumors insists that said reports are bull-hockey: "Nope. BS Factor: 10. Maybe 11, even."

But don't freak out, here, because there is some good news about Power Mac delivery dates, and it comes from a pretty trustworthy source-- Apple itself. Forbes recaps Apple's previous major too-much-demand, no-freakin'-supply missteps of days past, dredging up such painful memories as the flat-panel iMac flub and the ever-popular 1999 G4 shortage that ensued when Motorola decided to see if it could make PowerPCs with a mountain-fresh scent by forgoing silicon for those pine tree-shaped air fresheners. (You find one in every car.) No, that's not the part that's supposed to make you feel better. The happy bit is this: "An Apple spokeswoman says the company remains on target to ship all orders for G5 machines this month." There you have it, straight from the horse's mouth (no offense to the nice Apple spokeswoman). Heck, if she's right about that, it sounds like even people who ordered last week should get their systems by early September. So you can relax now.

What's that? You didn't order a G5? You say the furrowed brow, haunted look, and air of quiet desperation are actually because lately you're feeling alone and unloved in a Godless universe, and you're increasingly convinced that Good and Evil are social constructs that are subjective if not entirely arbitrary and/or fictional? You're questioning the fundamental purpose for our existence upon this planet's surface and you're becoming more and more terrified that there isn't one?

Well, duh. That's because you haven't ordered a G5 yet, genius. Now get with the program.