The Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) is looming just ahead. In fact it will be held on June 9, 2008 at San Francisco’s Moscone West. As usual, Steve Jobs will be the one to give the keynote speech on this Monday morning. Well, WWDC would not be the same if Jobs will not be the one to do the honors. This year he’ll probably do so with the same aplomb he did last year with the ultimate multimedia device, the iPhone. Even as early as now, many are speculating as to what Jobs is hatching up in his pocket…will it be a more advanced iPhone in there?

The thinnest notebook in the world, MacBook Air, finds its way to the Middle East. Apple makes sure that it is not only the Western countries that benefit from this notebook. The company is now very busy selling their MacBook in this part of the world. I think selling is fast because Apple supplies it the various Authorized Retailers and Resellers in ten Middle Eastern countries namely Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Kuwait, Qatar, Jordan, Oman and Bahrain. So how much does it cost in this part of the world? The entry-level MacBook Air comes at AED 8199. Those with optional upgrades can reach up to AED 13699.

There will always come a time when a product’s popularity will wane. This is what’s happening with Apple’s iPod Shuffle. In the last quarter of last year the Shuffle’s sales was slow and low. So, to spice up its appeal, Apple designed a cut on the Shuffle’s price. You can now get the cute, 1GB music player for $49! Quite affordable if I may say so. And, aside from that, Apple also introduced the 2GB version that will be available with a price tag of $69. Wow, the 2GB capacity can hold more than the songs that you can listen to in one day.

With these choices available Apple enthusiasts will be attracted to purchase any of these models. Other than the price and the size, there are no changes made on the product’s features. If you will recall, the iPod Shuffle is available in silver, blue, green, purple and red colors. Maybe this will just be trivia for you but I might as well mention that the proceeds from the Red lineup, where the red Shuffle is included, will be used for philanthropic purposes, particularly for Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria.

Apple fans may be somewhat disappointed in the fact that the company failed to unveil the new Macbook Pro model that they have been expecting at the MacWorld. Instead, behold the Macbook Air, a thin notebook which is attractive and contains equally great features. But for a lot of professionals, this is just not what they are looking for. However, they should not fret because there is news that a new Macbook Pro won’t be long now. Maybe it would have been released with the Macbook Air, if not for some uncontrollable circumstances. So, what was the hitch? Well according to the news, it was because of some problem encountered with the Penryn processors that will be used.

If it were really that possible maybe people wouldn’t leave their homes anymore since transactions can already be achieved in the virtual world. And this is the idea that Apple is capitalizing on as the company comes into partnership with movie maker Twentieth Century Fox. This partnership will pave the way for Twentieth Century Fox movies to be available for rent via Apple’s iTunes Music Store. For a certain fee users can download the latest movie that they want to see, but for a limited time only as it is for a rent basis.

If you will notice, a lot of hot news about almost everything on the web starts out with rumors. Sometimes you will just wonder how or where the writers get their information from. Well, the reporters these days are all grown ups, so if you hear news about a teen revealing vital trade secrets, hey that’s really something. And that is exactly what happened with Nick Ciarelli when he announced in his site “Think Secret” the launch of Apple’s $499 MiniMac, just 2 weeks before Apple’s founder Steve Jobs planned to unwrap it. And Apple sued Ciarelli because of his efforts. This happened 3 years ago when Ciarelli was just 19 years old.

Here it is again! Apple is once again on the hot seat by getting involved in a new lawsuit. Klausner Technologies sued Apple over allegations that the company has violated Klausner’s patent on the visual voice mail. This visual voice mail is a feature that enables users to recover voice messages in any sequence. Apple uses visual voice mail on the much crazed-over iPhone. So now Klausner is suing Apple for $360 million in damages as well as future royalties. The lawsuit was filed last December 3 in the federal court in the Eastern District of Texas. And it is not only Apple that is named in the lawsuit but companies such as Cablevision Systems, Comcast as well as eBay’s Skype for using the same visual voice mail. Klausner Technologies aim for $300 damages and royalties from the mentioned companies.

Mac users will have the chance to upgrade with the imminent release of the new operating system Mac OS X, also called Leopard. Users will have so much fun using the new operating system because of the great features that it has. Apple said that it has over 300 features… I guess it’s going to take some time to discover them all. A handful of people have already laid their hands on the Leopard, discovering the great features and also the not-so-good ones.

The Leopard OS has a newer and fresher interface with the monochromatic shades of gray for the windows. It also has a finder feature that makes navigation through the computer so much easier. There’s also the side that has segments for shared, devices and places. Another great feature is the Quick Look that enables the user to view different files without actually opening the programs. Through Quick Look you can have a quick view of the PDF, Excel, Word, images and movies. Parental controls are provided that will cut off access to websites that are not proper for children. Another great thing is the capability to switch from Mac operating system to Windows.

Feeling overprotective about your personal laptop? Then you’ll be even more possessive if you own one of these gold-dipped MacBook Pro laptops. The two new laptops, the 24kt Gold & Diamonds 15” MacBook Pro and the 24kt Gold 15” MacBook Pro are reconstructed by Computer Choppers. So you can have your heart’s choice from these two options now available. You can go with or without the diamonds if you so desire.

It’s always good to have personal belongings that are full of blings and these two new laptops just fit the bill.

Photos of the 24kt Gold & Diamonds MacBook Pro Laptop

iPod users will now have their fill of more music from iTunes because of the lowered prices of the songs Apple sells online. I’m sure that there are still a lot of iPod enthusiasts out there who are having hesitations in availing the songs sold without copy protection because of its price of $1.29. But with its price going down to 99 cents, well it’s already a bargain! So what prompted Apple to make this kind of move? Well, no other reason than the threat of the competition like Amazon. Since opening its music Store in September Amazon has sold songs with price ranging from 89 to 99 cents.

After the reports on iPhone hacking have been reported, Apple likewise issued warnings that the hacked or unlocked units could be damaged once their software update gets activated. Last week Apple announced that they would be releasing an update a software update that will allow users to buy music downloads via wireless means. True to their word, after the software update came out complaints have flooded the Internet that the iPhone they have no longer worked. Those that did not completely crash had some of their newly installed programs wiped out.

The iPhone has been made to work with AT&T but you’ve read and heard that the iPhone can now be unlocked in order to work with other networks and service providers. However, those who have unlocked their iPhone using unauthorized means and even those who are still contemplating it have to be warned that doing so can cause irreparable damage to the phone. When the iPhone has been unlocked it will no longer work when Apple’s iPhone software update gets released. The software update that would be released by Apple this week would enable users to buy music downloads wirelessly.

Many iPhone owners and even those who are just in the process of owning one are rejoicing for sure with the news that the iPhone has been hacked! A hacked iPhone can be used with other networks not just with AT&T, which is the currently the sole carrier. And through hacking, the iPhone can be used in other countries already, take for example in the UAE. Well, the iPhone is now being sold there but only through grey market retailers. And in order to use the phone you’d have to get a hacker and spend like $136 or 500 UAE dirhams in order to make it compatible with the networks operating there such as Etisalat and Du.

Strike while it’s hot seems to be Apple’s motto because finally there is a miniature version of iPhone! But it’s not really a phone; it only looks like the iPhone…It is actually a new generation of the iPod music player, called the iPod Touch. Would you agree that in a big way Apple capitalizes on the iPhone’s popularity when they used its design on the Touch? Well, I think so.

Anyway, the iPod Touch is definitely a must-have gadget again. If you ask why, it’s because it has a 3.5in touchscreen feature, which is very much alike to the iPhone. It’s saying goodbye to conventional controls and hello to finger flickin’ delight with the iPod Touch. This screen allows user to play videos and video games in a widescreen format.