On Thursday, Klipsch introduced the iGroove SXT an iPod-specific speaker system that will ship in early May.
The iGroove SXT, which will retail for US$169.99 before shipping and handling, features 2.5″ woofers as well and 3/4″ tweeters situated between both a 30-pin connector and universal iPod dock that can accommodate a variety of iPod models. According to Macworld News, the system also features an S-Video output which can connect the iGroove SXT to a television or home entertainment systems to play photos and videos back on.
The four pound unit ships with a remote control and arrives in black.

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Apple and digital media company Gracenote (providers of the database that allows iTunes to locate CD track names when a CD is inserted into a computer) have proposed a deal that would allow Apple to provide song lyrics through the iTunes Store.
According to AppleInsider, the move would help a music industry-backed effort to help stem illegal file trading by offering a better product, most notably accurate lyrics to legally purchased songs.
Earlier, this week, Yahoo! and Gracenote announced they had signed a lyric licensing deal in which hundreds of thousands of songs’ lyrics would be made available to customers of the Yahoo! Music service. Featured artists in this collection include U2, Elvis and the Beatles.
Last summer, Gracenote signed a deal with nearly 100 music industry publishers to distribute song lyrics, which have been among the most searched-for items on major search engines, according to Gracenote president and chief executive officer, Craig Palmer. The deal, according to Palmer, allows users to locate accurate song lyrics without annoying pop-up ads and other irritations.
The deal could also pave the way for lyric downloads to the iPod, a definite boost for Apple. This could also make karaoke products and options viable to the device in the future.

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It may not be the first thing on your shopping list, but the George Foreman iGrill, pointed out by way of iLounge may make all the difference. The device, which can function both indoors and outdoors, features a 200 square inch nonstick surface, built-in 10 Watt speaker system, iPod connectivity and adjustable temperature control probe.
The George Foreman iGrill retails for US$149.99 plus shipping and handling.

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On Wednesday, Apple Inc. released its second quarter figures.
According to the Wall Street Journal, a group of Apple board members issued a statement defending Mr. Jobs from accusations tied to the company’s stock-options backdating. The directors said they have “complete confidence” in Mr. Jobs’s “integrity and his ability to lead Apple.” The company stated that it is satisfied with the results of both its own internal investigation as well as the Security and Exchange Commission’s investigation and the board expressed confidence in Jobs’ leadership.
Significant points of the conference call were as follows:
-Apple saw US$5.26 billion in quarterly revenue, up 21.62% over the second quarter of 2006. The company posted a profit of US$770 million, up 88% from the second quarter of 2006.
-The company posted 1,517,000 million Macs and 10,549,000 iPods sold.
-MacBooks accounted for 59% of Macs sold while music products and services accounted for 44% of revenue with the iPod Shuffle proving extremely popular.
Click the jump for the full story…

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On Tuesday, Former Apple Chief Financial Officer Fred Anderson’s attorney released a statement that CEO Steve Jobs had told Anderson to backdate various stock options.
The statement followed the Security and Exchange Commission‘s announcement yesterday that it had reached a settlement with Anderson in the stock options backdating case. According to Macworld News, the SEC has also charged former Apple general counsel Nancy Heinen with fraudulently backdating stock options.
An internal audit within Apple discovered that while Jobs was aware of the backdating, he did not financially gain from the proceedings and was legally in the clear.
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With the recent hubbub about Dino Dai Zovi’s and Shane Macaulay’s hijacking of a MacBook Pro laptop at the recent CanSecWest security conference, one thing has been overlooked; the hack can affect Windows users as well.
For additional details on the issue, check out Jason O’Grady’s Apple Core blog.
If you have any thoughts on this, let us know.

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zCover, maker of accessories such as iPod covers, has introduced its TypeOn Preprinted Language Keyboard Skin for the MacBook laptop. Like other skins, this covers the keys to protect them.
What makes the design unique is that the cover features printed lettters which match the letters underneath, providing an additional visual reminder at a glance. The skin is made of washable, durable silicone and is available in a slew of translucent “ice” colors such as clear, blue, green, pink, purple, yellow and opaque white according to Macworld News.
The TypeOn cover retails for US$24.95 before shipping and delivery while the original cover without the printed letters retails for US$19.95.
Where a keyboard cover once seemed about as hip as a pocket protector, as time goes on it’s looking like a better and better idea for my MacBook…

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Samsung has announced that the company has released its 1.8″ SpinPoint N2, a 120 gigabyte drive that could find its way in handheld portable devices as well as future iPods.
According to Engadget, the SpinPoint N2 spins at either 3,600 rpm or 4,200 rpm, sports an average 15-ms seek time and uses sub-1W power consumption. Production begins in July and samples are being handed out to OEMs. Whether this drive finds is way into the iPod via a contract with Apple or someone finds a way to replace the standard 80 gigabyte drive in their new iPod and replace it with this.
If you have any ideas or comments about this, let us know.

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Ensuring that Apple‘s legal department doesn’t get bored, Illinois-based intellectual property agency IP Innovation LLC and its parent firm, Nevada-based Technology Licensing Corporation, have filed suit against Apple according to AppleInsider.
The suit, filed on April 18th in a U.S. district court in Marshall, Texas, is fueled by a four page formal complaint purporting that Apple has infringed on a computer control patent via its sales of the Mac OS X 10.4 “Tiger” operating system. The plaintiff is requesting a jury trial and seeking reparations for perceived damages that “exceed US$20 million”. The suit also seeks an injunction that would prevent Apple from continuing to sell its current edition of the Mac OS X operating system until a future edition without the supposed patent violation is made available.
The patent in question refers to patent 5072412, which has been filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office and details the technique of creating a window on a computer’s screen with controls that switch between views of multiple associated display objects within that window. Here, one view is erased while the user selects another while still providing a spatial frame of reference as well as the same general interface during this switch.
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If you can’t beat ‘em, settle. According to the Wall Street Journal, former Apple Inc. chief financial officer Fred Anderson has settled with the Security Exchange Commission on allegations that he backdated stock options during his time at Apple.
Unnamed sources claim that Anderson will both pay a fine of approximately US$150,000 as well as repay option gains of US$3.5 million in exchange for not admitting any wrongdoing.
Anderson, along with Apple’s former counsel, Nancy Heinen, were the focus of an SEC investigation for their part in a January, 2001 stock option grant approved by Apple CEO Steve Jobs. According to a Mercury News article published on Monday, both Anderson and Heinen received options under the grant.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the SEC is expected to pursue a civil lawsuit against Heinen in which Heinen will be accused of self-dealing on the stock option grant in addition to charges connecting her to a separate grant in which 7.5 million stock options were awarded to Steve Jobs. These options had been backdated through falsified minutes of a board meeting that hadn’t actually occurred.
Heinen is expected to contest these charges.

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