You thought the rogue security malware was bad? This new virus is looking a whole lot worse...

The video is a Halloween promotion from Beamecho, a Canadian Apple shop. Needless to say, I'll be sleeping with one eye on the iPhone tonight.

Some fairly big names added some useful stuff to the Mac software pool on Monday.

First off, Google announced the release of a Google Earth port for the iPhone. Yes, Google Maps already comes as standard on your iPhone, but earth adds a ton of new features, such as location-based Wikipedia articles, terrain view, and more detailed location information. Plus, it's free from the App Store, so why not?

Second, Netflix subscribers will be happy to know that the 'watch instantly' download mode is now available, allowing you to watch Netflix movies as they stream in.

My favorite new release, however, isn't a piece of software at all. It's a concept design for an iPhone charger... powered by a yo-yo. Keep the electric bill down, charge your iPhone, and whack yourself in the eye all at the same time. Put me on the pre-order list.

Well, sorta. According to figures pointed out by VentureBeat, if you asked both companies to empty their metaphorical pockets right now, you'd find that Apple has more cash on hand than Microsoft.

The house that Jobs built and then built again has some $24.5bn on hand, while Microsoft reported having just $20.7bn after its various acquisitions and stock buyback efforts.

Okay, so it comes with a few asterisks and doesn't by any means reflect that Apple is worth more than the lumbering Redmond giant, but it's a fairly significant achievement, particularly for the company that in its darkest day had just enough cash on hand to keep its doors open for a month.

It could also mean a new round of bargain shopping. Industry pundits, along with Steve Jobs himself, have indicated that the big cash reserve could be used by the company to snap up a promising, yet down on its luck company as the market continues to dive and the hard times roll on.

Just wanted to post a few more thoughts and answer some concerns raised yesterday regarding the story about a new rogue security malware for OS X.

I use malware to describe to describe it because while rogue security apps don't necessarily 'infect' a machine or directly steal personal data or record activity, they do rely on overt deception and lies to con people out of their money, and I'd definitely define that as a malicious behavior.

It should also be noted that the company which was cited in the article, Sunbelt Software, does not make a Mac security product, so they'd have nothing to sell you if it turned out to be real. The report has since been verified by Intego, which does make a Mac security product. That Intego bulletin was picked up and cited by a couple of other reports. But it should be stressed that most of the people sounding the alarms on this have no other interest than simply not wanting to see this type of junk propagate on OS X.

If and when Mac threats emerge, we will write on them. If not on vnunet, then in a posting here, hopefully both. It's not because we hate Apple or want to spread FUD, it's because we want to keep people informed and protected.

Mac malware is still in the early stages, a lot of the recent incidents have been from known PC malware groups who were sending out feelers into the Mac world. Malware these days is all about money, so whether or not these groups go after Mac users will depend on whether the cash return is worth all the development efforts.

If people can avoid being infected and falling prey to these schemes, the bad guys aren't going to make any money, and thus they will turn their attention back to the PC side.

Frankly, I'd rather have everyone informed and able to protect themselves from attack than to downplay a threat for the sake of keeping a sense of superiority. So what if a few PC-lovers make a snarky comment or two? Apple has a very large and skilled public relations team, let them defend the company's public image. I'd much rather have a clean Mac than a smug comment to make to the Apple-hater in the next cubicle.

Besides, what will it make the score? 6 million malware threats to 3 or 4?

All in all, it was a solid rollout for Apple. The new MacBook offerings are decent, if not totally mind-blowing.

I know that some were hoping the new line would sport iPhone-esque touchscreen trackpads and that the new case design would somehow allow for the addition of things like super-long-life batteries or extra ports, but they can't all be earth-shakers, now can they?

Amazingly enough, the leaked photos and speculation were right on this time. The case was indeed etched out of a single block of aluminum and it is in fact completely "seamless."

The track pad has also been redone with a glass finish and is both larger and more capable, allowing click gestures anywhere on the pad.

The rest of it is your standard update fare: faster processors, new graphics hardware and the addition of an SSD option for those lucky enough to be getting a BTO MacBook Pro model.

Nothing to really blow your mind, but all in all a nice update for a pair of notebooks that really did need it.

If your recently purchased MacBook Pro has taken a turn for the worst and is displaying garbled or no video whatsoever, you are not alone.

Apple Support has issued a new posting outlining a problem which is occurring in many MBP models purchased over the last two years (dating back to May 2007.) The issue is due to faulty graphics chips from Nvidia and can cause the display to either become garbled or simply stop working altogether.

Fortunately, the company is offering to fix the issue on any machine purchased in the last two years, even if it's no longer under warranty.

To qualify, you'll need to have a MacBook Pro model equipped with an Nvidia 8600M GT processor built between May 2008 and September 2008. If your display has crapped out on you and your machine meets the above specs, head on down to an Apple Store/Authorized Repair shop for your free fix.

Of course, don't expect to jump to the front of the line at the Genius Bar. Screen or no screen, you'll have to make a reservation like the rest of us...

On October 14th, Apple is setting up to make a major announcement concerning its notebook line. The buzz is that both the MacBook and MacBook Pro will see the release of new models.

In the case of the Pro, the update will be relatively unspectacular: new casing, addition of a mini-DVI port and perhaps a larger battery. All solid, tantalizing improvements that are sure to make the high-end very happy, but not the earth-shattering "boom" moment.

That news may come from the MacBook. Rumors (read: the most reliable Apple news you can find outside of Steve Jobs' own mouth) suggest that the company may be gearing up to drop the price on the consumer notebook down to $800.

If that happens, the roar you hear from college campuses worldwide will be only slighty louder than the groans you hear from HP and Dell salespeople worldwide. With OS X still running smoothly and Parallels and Boot Camp all but erasing the "no software" argument, price point is the lone advantage PC vendors have over Apple in the market.

Quality (and maybe profit margins) has been what has kept Apple at a higher price point thus far. Steve has been on the record as saying more or less that most low-cost machines suck, and Apple doesn't do stuff that sucks. There are, however, ways that the company could bring down the cost.

Eliminating the optical drive as with the MacBook air would be one way to shave off the costs. Intel's updates to quad-core chips have made dual-core processors that much more affordable now, and their lower power consumption could allow for the same life with a cheaper battery. Those three things alone could get Apple close to that price point.

Of course a cheaper MacBook would be lighter on the features. Apple doesn't want you poo-pooing its more expensive models, but a notebook that has the features of today, with Apple providing the normal updates to the other MacBook lines could keep the current base buying the higher-priced MacBooks and expand the companies reach with the lower-end buyers that just want iTunes, Word and a browser.

The big Mac rumor as of late was for a new thing called the "Brick" from Apple. Nobody was too sure what it was... a new notebook? A touchscreen tab? The latest iPhone update? Nope. If a recent report from 9to5Mac is to be believed, the 'brick' is a new manufacturing process Apple has put in place for the next generation of notebooks.

According to Seth Weintraub, the 'brick' itself is a single solid slab of aluminum which is machine cut by a combination of laser beams and water tools to form the entire casing for the Macbook. The process could allow for a seemless case design that does not require screws. From there, hyperbole reigns...

"It is totally revolutionary, a game changer. One of the biggest Apple innovations in a decade," writes Weintraub.

Perhaps we're all spoiled from Apple's recent rollouts, but I for one am going to be less than thrilled if Apple's big selling point for the new Macbook/Pro lines is a fancy case. New processors, more memory and an SSD option would be nice, for example.

Unless that case recharges the battery, displays system information while closed or brews a decent chai tea latte, Apple's going to have to do better. And I suspect they will.