Disaster has struck! You all know that Apple's quality control hasn't exactly been nonpareil lately, right? Just in the past year, Apple has had to slap together damage control for PowerBook leprosy, flaky iBook logic boards, AirPort updates that nuke network connections, and miniPods that wind up imitating Snap, Crackle, and Pop. This time, though, we doubt there's a solution as simple as a repair extension program or a far-reaching media coverup. Indeed, individual Apple customers have been so thoroughly traumatized by the company's latest quality control blunder that an airtight class action suit is surely just around the corner.

Ready for this? Some miniPods are slightly different colors than people thought.

We know. Call out the National Guard.

Think Secret reports that miniPod buyers "may discover that their new music player's color isn't the precise shade they expected," and Apple knows it. An internal message circulated to employees earlier this month acknowledges that miniPod aluminum casings "may vary in shade" and that some customers may complain. In order to appease distraught miniPod customers, Apple retail staff members have been instructed to offer to replace the unit (with the caveat that replacements will also be the new shade, so we're not sure what the point would be) or provide a full refund while waiving the normal restocking fee. Online Apple Store reps are also authorized to "offer a free iPod case as an 'appeasement' or token of goodwill."

If you're wondering what sort of color difference is kicking up such a ruckus, it's not that people who ordered green miniPods are receiving bright orange ones, or that supposedly blue ones are arriving all plaid; at least as is hinted from this Apple Support discussion, the main trouble seems to be that pink models now look a little purple. Frankly, we're surprised that more customers haven't had to be hospitalized.

All sarcasm aside (but only for a while; it really starts to hurt after a couple of minutes), we really do understand that if someone shells out that kind of moolah for a pink miniPod, he or she is entitled to get a pink miniPod, and shouldn't have to settle for being disappointed. That said, we would have thought that people would hardly be upset enough about a purple-tinged pink miniPod to bother complaining (you have a brand new miniPod in your hands; are you really going to put it down and pick up a phone, instead?), especially since we've always thought that Apple should have offered a purple miniPod instead of pink in the first place. Then again, we also figured the pink miniPods would be the slowest sellers, and instead (at least according to Amazon's sales ranks) they're the fastest, so clearly we know bupkis.

Anyway, there it is: if you received a pink miniPod that isn't quite pink, whether it bothers you or not, maybe you can get a free case out of it. Meanwhile, those of you who are thinking murderous thoughts because some people who are lucky enough to be able to afford a $249 portable music player in the first place (and who are lucky enough, given the ongoing "Demand>>Supply" situation, to have actually received one) are now whining about their pink model being a shade too lilac, don't worry: those feelings are perfectly normal. Go hit some pillows or something until you feel better.