With the recent announcements from Apple (which you can watch at www.apple.com/quicktime/qtv/keynote) about iPods (which you can see at www.apple.com) , some of you might have missed some of the little details and some other announcements. Hopefully, this will get you up to speed.

Apple iTunes 7.4 Update.

Apple has updated iTunes to version 7.4. Yes, you know that. How else are you going to use the new iPods with iTunes without an update. Did you also notice that it also supports closed captioning (when available)? With the update, some of the video content purchase on iTunes will now support closed captioning. Also, for the visually impaired (or just those over 35 ;-), you can watch videos at a larger size inside the iTunes window. You can download the update at www.apple.com/itunes/download

Apple credits some iPhone users $200 credit.

Many iPhone users were upset by Wednesday’s $200 price drop on the iPhone. Apple has a pricing policy stating..

Should Apple reduce its price on any shipped product within 10 calendar days of shipment, you may contact Apple Sales Support at 1-800-676-2775 to request a refund or credit of the difference between the price you were charged and the current selling price. To receive the refund or credit you must contact Apple within 14 business days of shipment.

Those purchase over the 14 days, are not covered, but some users have reported on forums mixed success contacting AT&T directly. One user stated AT&T was issuing him a $200 credit on his next bill even though he had purchased his iPhone on the first day.
Of course after I write this, Steve Jobs writes an open letter to iPhone owners. Steve has been overwhelmed by the "hundreds of emails from iPhone customers who are upset about Apple dropping the price of iPhone by $200 two months after it went on sale." In response,

… we have decided to offer every iPhone customer who purchased an iPhone from either Apple or AT&T, and who is not receiving a rebate or any other consideration, a $100 store credit towards the purchase of any product at an Apple Retail Store or the Apple Online Store.

They are still working on the details, but until then you can read the letter at www.apple.com/hotnews/openiphoneletter

Microsoft blogs about Office 2008 for Mac.

Microsoft’s Macintosh Business Unit (MBU) posted on it’s blog information about the upcoming Office 2008 for Mac. As you may know, the non Intel-native and non compatible with the new file formats (.DOCX, .XLSX, and .PPTX) of Office 2007, Office for Mac is due to get an update mid-January of 2008.
One of the new features is "Out of Office," which windows users have have for some time. Basically, "Out of Office" allows you to set up an automated response to all emails for when your on vacation or such.
Also planned for 2008 is better reliability, improvements to the Entourage database, changes to the Entourage calendar, and SharePoint interaction for Mac users. You can read the rest of the blog at blogs.msdn.com/macmojo