Looks like the rumors were right again, folks; as we're sure you must be aware by now (and as faithful viewer frozen tundra first informed us), Apple did indeed take the wraps off of revised Power Macs on Wednesday morning... and the specs are as relatively blah as expected. According to Apple's press release, the new models sync up perfectly to the dual 2.0, dual 2.3, and dual 2.7 GHz G5s that Amazon let slip a day early, with half a gig of RAM and 16x dual-layer SuperDrives across the board. Strangely enough, while Amazon had allowed preorders of all three configurations before Apple announced them, they'd removed the preorder buttons and labeled them as "not yet available" during the official launch-- and have now restored the "preorder" status despite the fact that the products have now been released. Plus, as of broadcast time, the new systems don't even show up when browsing Amazon's Mac section; you have to link directly into them to see them at all. Go figure.

But we're not here to discuss wacky Amazonian web hijinks, entertaining though they may be; we're here to wax less-than-overwhelmed about Apple's new pro desktop lineup. Remember, other than the addition of a cheaper, low-end model in October, the G5s haven't been updated since last June-- and people were pretty lukewarm about those updates, too, largely because the top-of-the-line model fell 17 percent short of the 3.0 GHz Steve had promised a year earlier-- a goal which Apple still hasn't met. So we're a little concerned that these "new" Power Macs lack any sort of killer feature that might finally get people to drop a wad of cash for one; unless you're in our boat and your Power Mac G4 is practically dismantling itself before your eyes in an attempt to end its miserable workhorse existence, marginally faster processors, bigger disks, and faster SuperDrives probably aren't going to have people falling all over themselves in a mad dash to buy-- especially since pricing for the new configs hasn't wavered at all, remaining rock-steady at $1,999, $2,499, and $2,999.

"But AtAT," you ask, "does this mean that I have to shell out a minimum of $1,999 to buy a current Power Mac?" Fret not, little cheapskates, for Apple has quietly retained that single-processor 1.8 GHz model it introduced to goose sales last fall, and while the good news is that it only costs $1,499, the bad news is that it still costs $1,499. Apple didn't drop the price on that system either, and neither did it even throw us a bone in the form of a modest processor boost, a bigger disk, a faster SuperDrive, or even some extra RAM; that puppy still ships with a measly 256 MB, which is absolutely licking the floor for Mac OS X and therefore barely tolerable in an iBook, let alone in Apple's "professional dream machine." Still, it all means that you can still pick up a G5-powered aluminum cheese grater for just under fifteen hundred clams. In that price range, though, an iMac G5 sure sounds like a better buy.

But there was at least one mild surprise, which came in the form of another press release informing us that while Power Mac prices haven't budged, Cinema Displays are now cheaper than ever. The 20-inch model, which cost $1,299 just yesterday, is now only $799; the 23-inch HD version has dropped from $1,999 to $1,499. (If you want the 30-inch "Godzilla Screen," though, sorry, Charlie-- that's still $2,999.) So while you won't save much on a Power Mac itself, you just might be able to save five hundred smackers on a screen for it. That's something, right? Right?

[CORRECTION: faithful viewer cillit bang points out that we forgot that Cinema Displays had already dropped in price earlier this year, so the new pricing only represents a $200-$300 reduction. Still, it's nothing to sneeze at.]