If you skulk around these parts in any semi-regular sort of capacity, you're already all too familiar with our admittedly paranoid and irrational concern that, what with the runaway success of the iPod and all, Apple might be kindasorta leaving the Mac behind. We know, we know, it's just crazy talk; still though, given that Apple has stated that music is its "No. 1 priority," its corporate headquarters now boasts iPod billboards where the Mac posters used to be, and the company sold more iPods than Macs last quarter, you can at least spot the root of our psychosis, right? It's got some basis in reality, so we're not completely out there in Insanoville.

Well, we're actually feeling a little better about the whole thing today, and no, it's not the pills. (Although those do make us feel special.) No, it's because faithful viewer Simone Bianconcini tipped us off to a Reuters article (by way of MacMinute) which reports that Apple has "created a new division within the maker of the Macintosh computer to sell its popular iPod" and said division will be run by erstwhile hardware engineering veep Jon "Don't Fear The Reaper" Rubinstein. (Yes, he of Megahertz Myth fame. Oh, the memories...) Meanwhile, there's also a "newly-organized Macintosh division" run by worldwide sales-'n'-ops veep Tim "Scooter" Cook, and Tim "No Nickname" Bucher, who formerly headed up Mac system development, will focus on Mac hardware engineering.

Reportedly this shuffle was recently communicated to the troops in email form by Steve Jobs himself, and while the establishment of an official iPod division at One Infinite Loop doesn't calm any fears about Apple's music initiative eclipsing further Mac development (indeed, it may well be the proverbial Foot in the Door™-- da da da dummmmmmm!!!), the fact that there's a rejiggered Mac division alongside it gives us hope. But even that's not the clincher. Check out this choice quote from Fearless Leader himself: "This organizational refinement will focus our talent and resources even more precisely on our industry-leading Macintosh computers and the wildly successful iPod."

He said it! STEVE JOBS SAID "MACINTOSH"!! Of course, it wasn't in public or anything, and it was in the context of the iPod being given a whole freakin' division, but still, Steve said "Macintosh"! Why, we couldn't be happier than if Apple had actually shipped a new Power Mac sometime in the past four months. Well, okay, maybe that's overstating it a little, but still. Good times.

Oh, wait-- we just noticed that the quote wasn't Steve's at all, but rather that of an unnamed "company spokesman." Nurtz. But then again, at least that means it was a public corporate acknowledgment of the Mac's continued existence, and hey, that's gotta count for something, right? Besides, everyone knows that all those company spokespersons are genetically modified cyborg puppetdroids anyway (well, except for Natalie Sequeira-- she's 100% all woman, buster, and don't you forget it), so anything any of them says may as well have come straight from Steve's lips.

Whatever. The point is, something that Steve never said greatly eases our irrational concern about something that would never happen. Got it?