See, what we really like about Mac the Knife is his admirable persistence in the face of unwavering Apple denials. You'll recall the recent rumor that Apple planned to unveil new six-slot G3 Power Macs at last week's Expo, yes? You'll recall also that numerous Apple sources vigorously denied the claim, flat-out stating that Apple had no plans whatsoever for six-slot systems due to the teensy weensy demand for such boxes; instead, Apple plans to release a four-slot system that can host an expansion chassis with three or seven additional slots for those who need the extra room. Lastly, you'll recall that the Expo is over and done, and not only did Apple not announce a six-slot system, but in several instances, they actively denied that such a thing is in the works.

And that's why we're charmed and gratified that Mac the Knife still claims that six-slot G3 systems are running inside Apple's secret labs, running a Voodoo2 3D accelerator, no less. Never mind the incongruity of the facts that the Voodoo2 is purely a gamer's accelerator and gamers are not the people who need to shell out big bucks for six-slot systems; this rumor is pure gold based on the sheer chutzpah of the claim. By the way, the Knife also reports on a "strange black PowerBook" running at 400 MHz, that has flashing blue LEDs and a PCI slot, which is a whole different ball of twist-ties, but intriguing nonetheless.

We suppose part of what makes the six-slot rumor stick is a widespread suspicion in the Mac-using community that even Apple, with its long corporate tradition of making fairly boneheaded business decisions, could not be dense enough to ignore the needs of the content creators who need six PCI slots. Sure, they're less than 1% of the Mac-using universe, but they're a very high-profile and profitable less than 1%. And the feedback we heard from these people at the Expo (as well as in our inbox) is that an expensive and clunky add-on slot chassis isn't an option they want to pursue. Hmmm... Apple expressly stated that the iMac modem wouldn't be 56K, too, and bent to customer demand. Suppose the Knife's on to something?