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After all the hoo-hah, it appears that Psystar’s PCs running OSX actually DO exist and are now turning up at people’s houses – which begs the question will Apple finally crush them?

Apple has remained tight-lipped over the entire debacle, which has fuelled thousands of comments over Psystar’s wandering address, mysterious history and problems with payments.

However, the likes of the US Engadget site have got their hands on the Psystar PC and, aside from some slightly noisy fan related issues, it appears that the OSX PC is fit for purpose.

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An 80-page patent application picked up on by Appleinsider reveals how Apple is working on the development of an advanced touch-surface user interface system that could eventually do away with the traditional keyboard and mouse combo.

According to the patent, the device is envisaged as an ergonomic, keyless board that the user is able to comfortably rest both hands on. Apple has placed a lot of emphasis on user comfort and the avoidance of any overly arduous or repetitive actions that could lead to strains or RSI. In keeping with all Apple products, it’s designed, above all, to be user friendly.

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The National Consumer Council (NCC) has referred 17 software manufacturers to the Office of Fair Trading following an investigation (PDF link) into End User Licence Agreements.

The NCC investigation bought 25 individual items of software and followed the standard installation process, while its legal team studied the terms and conditions attached to each piece of software.

In many cases, the agreements were found to encroach upon or nullify a user’s legal rights under statutory consumer law. The user agreeing to a licence agreement on a given piece of software could effectively be signing away their wider legal rights, shifting the legal burden away from the software creator onto themselves.

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When Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced a major update to Apple TV in January, he seemingly left out a major feature - the ability to stream music to the device from any Mac or PC running iTunes. Apple doesn’t even mention it on its Apple TV home page.

The update is welcome because it finally gives the Apple TV the AirTunes functionality already found in the AirPort Express wireless router. Previously you had to copy music from your iTunes on your computer to the Apple’s TV hard disk to hear any music at all - streaming was conspicuous by its absence, says Wired. You have to install the Apple TV Take 2 software upgrade, of couse, for this new function to work.

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Apple has announced the release of Aperture 2. This all-new version of its high-end, Macintosh-only digital darkroom software that features 100 new features and an improved user interface.

One of the chief criticisms of the original Aperture was that while it was undoubtedly thorough, it was also overly complex and clunky, especially when used on older hardware. Apple appears to have addressed this by whittling down and streamlining the user interface to make it more user-friendly.

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Apple Inc. on Monday reported strong earnings for its fourth quarter, boosted by record Macintosh computer sales and the shipment of 1.12 million iPhones.

The company beat analyst estimates with net income of US$904 million, or $1.01 per share, compared with $542 million, or $0.62 per share, in net income reported in last year’s fourth quarter. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial estimated a consensus of $760.45 million in net income and earnings of $0.84 per share for the quarter ended Sept. 29.

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Even though Apple’s iPod is easily the most popular MP3 player in the world, some analysts believe it has hit critical mass and the chances of it continuing to sell at such a high rate are low.

Those same analysts believe Mac sales will continue to rise and, after some investigative research, it looks like the point has been proved by an unlikely source: the Bank of America.

According to a report released on Friday, Bank of America has found that Apple has commissioned a significant increase in Mac production for the current quarter, while reducing the amount of iPods to be manufactured.

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