Um… Still Waiting…

Well, May 9th came, and May 9th went, and nothing remarkable happened. Nothing. At. All. So what happened, or didn’t happen in the Mac Rumor Network?

Well, what Think Secret giveth, Think Secret taketh away. The retraction post happened to be on the morning of the 9th, when hopes were looking grim for an announcement, as if to cover their own a**es.

The other rumor sites took the hard news a little more gracefully, but they were still wrong. What does this mean for the Mac Rumor Network? Well, it doesn’t do much for their approaching-zero credibility, but I have a sneaking suspicion that many, if not most people will go on believing what they say anyway.

However on the Apple side of things, things may be different. It must be a real pain in the a** for Steve Jobs when the Rumor Network gets everyone’s hopes up and Steve’s got nothing to release. It almost makes Apple look like the bad guy. “Here you got all of our hopes up only to crush them with no announcement?!” Um… no. Apple stayed silent (as always), and let the Rumor Network run circles around itself.

So what now? Well, people may be checking the apple.com constantly every Tuesday for the next 6 weeks. Or, the Mac Faithful could take a dose of reality and a side of maturity and realize that it’s only true when it comes out, not any time before.

The MacBook Cometh?

Well, the verdict is in: there is going to be a new MacBook. Almost every Mac rumor site has reported that 1) Apple stores are receiving shipments of MacBook-sized packages marked “Do not open until May 9th; 2) Several rumor sites have individually “confirmed” (as it were) that Apple intends to release a new MacBook on May 9th; 3) Apple “accidently” (as it were) put up a page listing “Apple » Hardware » MacBook” in place of its hardware page; and 4) Some rumor sites are even going so far as to proclaim that there will be a black and a white MacBook, following the lines of the iPod.

If, May 10th rolls along, and Apple hasn’t released anything, or they release a $100 leather case to hold your headphones, it will be a big let down. If they release a MacBook or more, there will be major celebrations the world over.

Because of the giant rumor network surrounding their company, Apple gets free drama and publicity before they even announce a product, even if it is just a $100 leather case to hold you headphones. It works so well for Apple, they should really be paying these rumor sites instead of suing them…

They Got It Right?

Yesterday, Apple released its new 17 inch MacBook Pro at NAB. What made this release of an Apple product unique was the fact that the rumor sites actually guessed it right! Now, they might not have gotten the specifics exactly right, but getting the overall announcement right is more than they usually do.

This is especially significant because before Apple’s last event many rumor sites proudly predicted that Steve would introduce a “true” video iPod. However, only Intel Mac minis, a soon-forgotten stereo system, and $99 leather iPod cases. The Mac Rumor Mill has been getting less and less accurate in recent months, seemingly basing its rumors off hopes, not actual information. However, they may be getting back on track, or maybe they just had a lucky guess this time.