Bad things happen.
And nowhere is that truer than in the computer business, where all it takes to derail a multimillion-dollar product launch are overly optimistic forecasts about the production of PowerPC G4 chips. So, if you purchased one of those first 400MHz G4s, you got a heck of a deal. The same is true for the two higher-end machines. Now, instead of getting a 450MHz or a 500MHz machine, you get a 400MHz or a 450MHz system with the same goodies as its speedier precursor, but with no change in the price tag. Then there were Apple's manic vacillations over what would happen to the poor souls who'd ordered a G4 before the price shuffle but hadn't yet received their Power Macs.