Hypercritical


Pre-show paralysis

The Mac enthusiast community spends a lot of time pondering Apple’s next move, often with great fervor, and sometimes with little regard for pesky things like economics or the laws of nature. It’s all part of the fun. On the best days, some interesting ideas and insightful predictions come out of it all. But the moment those little cards arrive at media offices everywhere, it all goes out the window.

A kind of mental paralysis sets in as we all take a 1d20 IQ modifier hit and start waiting for the inevitable leaks (and the fake leaks, of course). Basically, if you were going to do some good thinking about Apple’s next big move, you’d better have done it already, because you’re not going to come up with anything now.

Now it’s all about extracting clues from the little bits of information available, sorting through all the crazy theories and purported leaks, and entertaining the fever-dreams of all the other post-little-card-arrival Mac fans as they predict everything from tablets to projectors to updated PowerPC Macs.

This, too, is part of the fun. No matter what happens next week, whether it’s the Lamest Announcement Evar (“New iCards!”) or a dual-dual-Woodcrest Power Mac delivered by Paul Otellini in a time machine, it doesn’t really matter. It’s time to let the insanity rain down upon us. Join me, won’t you, as we wait in joyful hope for the coming of our savior, Steven Jobs.


This article originally appeared at Ars Technica. It is reproduced here with permission.