It's no secret that I'm a huge, huge Apple fan. From my mobile phone to my OS, it's evident that I'm all about anything and everything that originates from the Infinite Loop in Cupertino. As such, I always see to it that I'm up to date with what's up and what's new with Steve Jobs' consumer electronics chocolate factory. And this past week was a particularly exciting one, what with the release of a version-up for iTunes 8 and, far more important, the announcement of the 3rd-generation iPod shuffle.

Faster, smarter, better, iTunes 8.1 promises to be. The official release note reads:

• Supports syncing with iPod shuffle (3rd generation).
• Allows friends to request songs for iTunes DJ.
• Adds Genius sidebar for your Movies and TV Shows.
• Improves performance when downloading iTunes Plus songs.
• Provides AutoFill for manually managed iPods.
• Allows CDs to be imported at the same sound quality as iTunes Plus.
• Includes many accessibility improvements.
• Allows iTunes U and the iTunes Store to be disabled separately using Parental Controls.

Download iTunes 8.1 here.

The new iPod shuffle is touted as the world's smallest mp3 player, with dimensions of just 1.8" x 0.3". It's so small I'm pretty sure I'd lose it (or accidentally swallow it) within ten minutes after unboxing it, that is if I ever get one. Aside from the reduction in size, another key difference from previous generations is the location of controls. The new iPod shuffle has none of them; they're now located along the earbud cord. What this basically means is you can't use your favorite third-party earphones with it. Another selling point of the product is something called VoiceOver, which tells the title and the artist of the song that's playing. With 4GB of storage, more than enough for your beloved Boyce Avenue collection, the 3rd-gen iPod shuffle costs a little over P4000. Order online to avail of the free laser engraving on your new iPod.

In other Apple-related news, we have this YouTube video of Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak doing his thing on the dance floor in Dancing with the Stars. You gotta hand it to the Woz...