Screen shot from Apple Store with G5 information
by , 9:30 AM EDT, June 20th, 2003
Last night, a very interesting piece of information was posted on Apple's online Apple Store. On the company's PowerMac G4 Web page at the Apple Store, the list of specs for the PowerMac G4 was briefly replaced by a list of specs that are far beyond anything currently offered by the Mac maker. The Apple Store was then taken offline, and when it came back online, the image was replaced with the correct image.
We were sent screen shots by many Observers, alerted by many, many more, and were also able to get our own. The following image is a screen shot from the Apple Store with the specs for a processor labeled as the G5:
Screen shot from Apple Store with G5 information
Note that the border around this image and the image below was added to the screen shot by TMO to make the contents of the screen shot more clearly defined. Note, too, that the title for the page is still labeled "Choose your PowerMac G4," and that the computer pictured is the current G4 model. Each of those elements -- the title, the list of features, and G4 model -- are individual images on Apple's Web site. The element that seems to have slipped early is the list of specs.
Within a few minutes, the description of the current G4's specs was back in place, and currently sits on the Apple Store as of this writing. Our screen shot from the current Apple Store:
Current screen shot from Apple Store's PowerMac G4 page
Due to the time of day when this happened (late at night), no one was available at Apple to offer comment on this situation. Accordingly, we have no way of knowing if the different information refers to new machines, was a horrible mistake unrelated to any plans Apple has to rev its PowerMac lines, or was merely an attempt by someone at Apple's Web team to let the world knows he or she wants a new job. TMO is continuing its effort to get comment from the company.
Be that as it may, it is stunning that this image was let loose by mistake. As most Apple watchers know, the company controls the flow of information more closely than just about any other company on the planet. We would not want to be in the shoes of the poor unfortunate soul who let this slip as the wrath of Steve Jobs is known far outside of Mac circles.
That said, wouldn't it be a masterful bit of PR for the company if this leak was done on purpose? The end result is that this event is going to create millions of dollars worth of free exposure for the company as the news is already being spread literally all over the world in Mac and mainstream outlets, and we expect this to continue tomorrow. To be sure, we severely doubt that this was purposeful, but it's almost as hard to believe that such a mistake could have happened accidentally.
What is certain is that this isn't a rumor. This image did appear on Apple's Web site, and it does contain information on specs for a product not currently offered by the company. We may know rather shortly what this means for the future, but TMO is hoping that the specs are real.