It's been a busy week for Apple, just ask the latest iPod—it'll probably tell you so itself.
The "talking" iPod Shuffle was introduced Wednesday, but despite some hoopla over the synthesized voice, the (very tiny) device doesn't respond to voice commands. What VoiceOver can do is "speak" the name and artist of the song being played. That can be convenient, considering the new Shuffle is roughly the size of a paper clip.
Aside from its diminutive stature, the Shuffle's controls have been moved to the earbud cord. Manufacturers are clawing over each other to offer alternatives and adapters. For example, Scoche promises three sets of sound-isolating earphones this spring, tagged from $50 to $100, and Klipsch aims to have a compatible pair by summer for $100. Scoche also plans a VoiceOver adapter that will let any pair of headphones work with the new Shuffle.
Also on Wednesday, Apple updated iTunes, fixing security vulnerabilities, providing support for the aforementioned new line of iPod Shuffles, and increasing performance when loading large libraries and browsing the online store.
At least one Mac software manufacturer is taking advantage of all the news coming out of Apple by debuting a product: Livescribe Friday released its desktop software for the Mac. The Livescribe Pulse Smartpen and software give users the ability to view, share and search their handwritten notes, drawings and audio recordings. The Smartpen records a user's notes and the corresponding audio.
