So whaddaya think-- are the streets in Cupertino running red with torrents of blood, or what? We're actually on the fence about this one: do you suppose the Power Mac revision photos floating around the 'net are actually raising Steve's blood pressure at all? What we mean is, while they clearly depict a product that hasn't yet been announced, and while they allegedly came from Apple itself (and leaks from within are usually the bitterest pills to swallow), they don't exactly tell us a whole lot about the product in question. Assuming the images aren't total fakes, we suspect that Steve himself is wondering whether or not he should be angry. (The torrents of blood are ready to roll at a moment's notice, of course.)

In case you're not up on the latest and have no earthly idea what we're talking about, check out this AppleInsider article (pointed out by faithful viewer Frozen Tundra), which includes comparative G5 photos supposedly culled from Power Mac service manuals. AI has selected six images-- three from a new service manual they claim was distributed just last week, and the corresponding three from the previous edition-- and arranged the images side by side in a sort of Jared Fogle "before and after" deal (only without the "after" G5 holding up a giant pair of pants) to emphasize certain architectural changes between the two pictured units.

Don't get too excited, though, because like we said, the differences aren't terribly drastic looks-wise, so don't go expecting an anodized purple case with fins and dangly bits and some really cool racing stripes. (That's next year's model.) As far as we can make out from the side view and three-quarters shot (both of which, admittedly, show the unit with the whole side panel off), the new G5 looks just like the old G5-- at least, from the outside. But there are clearly differences in the system's guts; most obviously, that metal heat sink cover with the "G5" etched in the side has gotten freakin' huge-- roughly twice the size of the original, which AI interprets as confirmation that when they finally ship, all of the new Power Macs will be dual-processor models.

The other changes are relatively subtle: a smaller motherboard, some missing fans (although they may have just been removed for the service manual photos to show the relevant parts more clearly), RAM slots that are now oriented vertically instead of horizontally. But there's a little weirdness, here: for one thing, we're wondering why the G5 would drop from eight RAM slots to four; for another, a couple of viewers who claim to have access to Apple service manuals say they can't find any sign of the "published on May 28th" one from which the "new" photos were allegedly taken. And, uh, where are you supposed to plug in a display?... In other words, there's no guarantee that these images are legit; if nothing else, you'd have to wonder if Apple would have allowed them to remain online this long if they were real. Then again, like we said, maybe the photos don't reveal enough for Apple to really care.

Of course, the bottom line is that, if you accept the new images as genuine (and, hey, it's Friday... so why the heck not?), then you finally have proof positive that new Power Macs are coming eventually. And while that may sound like a no-brainer, given how long we've been waiting for these revisions to show up, believe us-- we're grateful for any evidence we can scrounge...