AtAT junkies are by now well aware that we have very few gripes with Apple's consumer übersystem, the iMac. We agree with Apple that the floppy drive is passé, and if people really need to have one, multiple USB options will soon be available. Yes, we've had our share of connection problems with the modem, but we've have identical problems with our Global Village external 56K modem, so we're willing to accept that our phone lines just may not be up to the task. Heck, we even like the round mouse, which seems to be a common whipping boy in reviews that try so hard to find something negative about the iMac. In fact, just about the only characteristic that we really find problematic about the system's design is that it can't be fitted with a 3D accelerator card suitable for playing the latest games, which is (in our opinion) a crucial omission, as one of the primary purposes for consumer computers is to run entertainment software. That translates into a lot of people in the iMac's target audience who won't buy one.

Originally it seemed that the iMac's lack of a PCI slot and its integrated monitor meant that the possibility of installing any kind of 3D card was nil. But then about a week before the iMac was officially released, we learned that it actually uses an internal standard Mac DB15 video port to connect its display to the motherboard. And not only that, but shipping versions of the iMac would retain the mysterious "proprietary expansion slot" (now known as "Perch"), a PCI-based slot which is a variation of Apple's "personality card" architecture. That led us to speculate that some enterprising third party vendor could create a special iMac-only Voodoo card to sell to the thousands of iMac owners who are itching to play Quake, Myth, Unreal, etc. in all their true hardware-accelerated glory.

Now it sounds like we may have been right, as Mac OS Rumors reports that not one, but two vendors are investigating the possibility of relasing just such a card. If it comes to pass that iMac Voodoo accelerators hit the shelves in time for the holiday shopping frenzy with a sticker price of $99 (or Voodoo 2 cards for $199), one of the big objections to getting an iMac would melt away and there may be a lot more big orange boxes showing up under Christmas trees. And that's why we wish that Apple would stop actively discouraging third-party development for the "mystery slot" and release the specs. We know Apple has their own big plans for that slot, but more choices should be a good thing.