Plug-and-play has always been one of Apple's strengths, or so we thought. But Glenn Cole warned us via e-mail about something he discovered recently: It seems a formerly Mac-only catalog has begun selling Intel-based PCs. "The catalog includes a table that shows the features of several systems at a glance. One column is labeled `Plug & Play.' You guessed it -- the labels for all the Macs say `no.'" And that's not all, Glenn: Macs don't come with a sound card, either. What's Apple trying to pull here?
The ferret-savvy among our readership wrote in this month after intrepid columnist Andy Ihnatko tried to pull a fast one in his September column. As reader Geoff Weinberg pointed out, Andy's missing ferret couldn't possibly be of the black-footed variety: "The black-footed ferret is endangered. You must have a sable domestic ferret, which has black feet." Geoff also recommended we educate ourselves by visiting some relevant Web sites. Ferret enough.
Black is in, whether it's the color of your ferret's feet or even your computer. Witness incoming college freshman Michelle Savage, who wrote: "Does the Power Mac 7100/80 come in black?" Sadly, Apple's still committed to the gray look. Maybe it's time to revive the custom-painted-computer business: a new designer Mac just for artistic types, outfitted all in black and sporting a beret; a camouflage CPU for members of the Mac Militia; and of course, a trompe l'oeil Mac for Martha Stewart fans.
Witty banter like this is what makes us what we are today, and readers are noticing. "I can think of no better place to put this than Open Folder," wrote Paul Sutton. "Have you noticed that there are two Apple Newtons? There's Apple's PDA and the snack from the makers of Fig Newtons. Next up: the new Apple Juice, a CD-ROM biography of O.J. Simpson." Paul, because you're a fan of Open Folder, we're going to say this nicely: Leave the joke telling to the professionals, OK?
