Not unlike this guy, Apple is going to need avalanche insurance for the mountain of cash that it's sitting on.

According to BusinessWeek, Apple has amassed $20.8 billion in cash and short-term investments, adding nearly $1 billion each and every quarter. It's not necessarily odd for a company to have a lot of cash (Microsoft, for example, has $23 billion socked away), but it's beginning to irk the investors.

If Apple's stock price continues to rise, everyone's happy. But if it starts to dip, experts say Apple should consider investments like acquisitions (possibly in the music business) or raw materials and components.

Matt Asay of Cnet is suggesting something probably unpopular with the Cupertino crowd: tax it. Since Apple's profit margins (as a percentage of sales) are higher than Exxon's, Apple might fall prey to Congress' plan to tax windfall profits, if it becomes law.

Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer said earlier this year that "Our preference is to maintain a strong balance sheet in order to preserve our flexibility." Charles Wolf of Needham & Co. says the company doesn't need more than $5 billion on hand, but he'd be more worried "if this was a sleepy company with no growth."

"That's not Apple," Wolf said.

Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster is speculating that Apple will hold a special event in early September to announce new iPods and MacBooks, according to a research note he released.

Munster is bullish on seeing Apple enter the sub-$1,000 market for its MacBook line, and has been saying so since last month. He also anticipates a new form factor for the MacBook Pro line, noting that its exterior design (and that of its predecessor, the PowerBook G4) has only slightly changed over the last five-and-a-half years.

In the same note, he suggested that larger-capacity iPod shuffles and nanos are on the way, but with no change in pricing. He said that the iPod touch could even be redesigned and priced at $199.

Looking into the future, Munster said he thinks a touchscreen Mac portable isn't ready now, but could be available closer to 2010, while a redesigned (even smaller) MacBook Air could hit store shelves next year.

[Via Barron's.]

Mark your calendars for August 22, when many countries will start offering the iPhone 3G for sale. Here's a list of the countries that are expecting launches that Friday (and their associated carriers, in parentheses):

• Argentina (America Movil)
• Chile (Claro/America Movil, Movistar/Telefonica)
• Colombia (America Movil)
• Czech Republic (Telefonica O2, T-Mobile, Vodafone) Thanks, Luke and Tom!
  
• Ecuador (Porta/America Movil, Movistar/Telefonica) Thanks, Andy!
  
• El Salvador (America Movil)
• Estonia (TeliaSonera, EMT)
• Guatemala (America Movil)
• Honduras (America Movil)
• Hungary (T-Mobile)
• India (Bharti Airtel, Vodafone)
• Latvia (TeliaSonera)
• Lithuania (TeliaSonera)
• Paraguay (America Movil)
• Peru (Claro/America Movil, Movistar/Telefonica)
  
• Philippines (Globe Telecom)
• Poland (Orange, Era)
• Romania (Orange)
• Slovakia (T-Mobile, Orange) Thanks, Hannah and Bulu!
• Uruguay (America Movil)

Apple said last month that 20 countries would be getting iPhone 3G on the 22nd. Singapore is also rumored to be releasing the iPhone 3G that day, but SingTel hasn't confirmed their participation yet.

In other news, Virgin Mobile is now offering iPhone 3G service in Australia. This addition gives the country four providers to choose from: Vodafone, Optus, and Telstra are the other three. Sadly -- according to this article, they're already out of stock.

[Compiled with help from setteB.it, VentureBeat and AppleInsider.]

When I was going through a minor existential crisis a few years ago, I read the Bible from cover to cover. The copy I had was the rattiest, oldest paperback version I could find: I got it for two bucks at a library booksale.

The Bible app for iPhone and iPod touch, however, beats even that, because it's free. Bible is published by YouVersion.com, a social website for people reading the Bible that allows annotation and discussion of passages in the book.

Bible includes 13 English translations, three Spanish translations, and one translation each in French, German, and Simplified Chinese. It's searchable by term or location (chapter and verse), and includes a "daily read" tool that -- if you stick with it -- you can use to read the whole kit and kaboodle in a year.

There are more than 20 other Bible applications available in the App Store, costing as much as $30. The upshot is that some don't require an internet connection to view the text. (Thanks, commenters, for that one.) For example, Acro Bible NIV is $28.99, and includes only the New International Version. In this crowded category, there is also another app identically named "Bible," but it's $14.99.

There is also a free version of the Qur'an, called iQuran, available too. For the devout, there are web apps to help with prayer times as well, but no native iPhone app yet. As yet there isn't a full version of the Torah in the App Store, but there are both KosherMe (the mealtime blessings for $6.99) and Pocket Luach Lite (Jewish calendar conversion for $3.99).

Bible -- the YouVersion (uh) version -- is free, and available at the App Store.

Got a cool grand to burn? Before you think about buying the brand-new app I Am Rich, there are a few charities I'd hope you consider. But if you truly have that kind of money to spend, you can buy an app that touts itself as "a work of art with no hidden function at all."

I Am Rich sells for $999.99 in the App Store. It also features a "secret mantra" that "may help you to to [sic] stay rich, healthy and successful." Uh huh. I've got a mantra for you: "Smile and be nice to people." There. That one's free.

Hey, you can't blame the author, Armin Heinrich, because just a few sales would set him up quite nicely. What you can blame, however, is the asinine App Store vetting process, which let this dollop of poop into the system. What rocket surgeon thought this would be better than eWallet or ListPro? I fear John Gruber's prediction that the App Store wouldn't become the next VersionTracker or MacUpdate is proving exceptionally false.

It's not only that I don't want to buy I Am Rich, it's that I don't accidentally want to buy it. It's ridiculously easy to buy apps for your device, and getting this one by accident would certainly ruin my day. Plus, I don't have the minimum system requirement of three popped collars to run the app.

The Iconfactory's Craig Hockenberry notes, though, that he's willing to spend 99 cents on an app with graphics identical to I Am Rich, but only featuring the mantra "I'm not stupid."

Judging from the App Store's app admission track record, though, that one should get approved in no time.

Thanks, Mark, Oliver, Rubbinz, Sherman, William, and Gruber for the tip!

Update: It appears I Am Rich has been removed from the U.S. App Store. For what reasons, exactly? We may never know. Thanks, Adam, for the update!

Consumer Reports, in its annual internet security survey, recommended that Mac users avoid Safari because of its lack of phishing protection. Instead, they recommend users install Firefox 3 or Opera 9.5 as their default browsers, since both will warn users before displaying the contents of sites known to be source of scams and personal information theft.

Jeff Fox, technology editor at Consumer Reports, noted that "e-mail is the weak vector on the Mac," meaning that most successful phishing attacks on Mac users arrive via email.

"Windows users are used to being paranoid about not clicking [links in phishing emails]," he said. "Mac users aren't, even though they say, 'Antivirus software, who needs it?'"

As we've mentioned before, 1Password does a great job of adding phishing protection to Safari. Also, always be extra-wary of clicking links in emails from people you don't know.

[Via Computerworld.]

Softpress Systems has released Freeway 5.2, which includes new tools for building web pages for iPhone and iPod touch. Freeway is WYSIWYG website creation software that features a traditional, page-layout approach and omits the need to write any code (unless, you know, you really want to handcraft your HTML).

New in version 5.2 is the ability to create iPhone home screen icons and custom links to iPhone applications like Mail, Phone, Maps, and YouTube. Also, Freeway helps prepare QuickTime videos for playback on iPhone under a variety of network conditions.

Additionally, Softpress has published a best practices document for publishing web sites for the iPhone and iPod touch. The "Building websites for the iPhone with Freeway" document can be found on the Softpress website.

The update is free for registered users of Freeway 5 or higher. For new users, it's available in two flavors: Freeway 5 Express ($79) and Freeway 5 Pro ($249). The differences between the two versions are available here.

The Daily Mail (of London) is citing "an industry source" that says Apple will release a £150 (≈$295) "iPhone nano" for O2 pay-as-you-go customers.

The 8GB iPhone 3G is currently on offer for £99 (≈$195), but requires a £30 (≈$59) per month service charge for 18 months.

In the article, the Daily Mail cites an "expert" who says the iPhone nano will include a touch wheel on the back of the handset so numbers can be "dialed" from behind. As much as I love my rotary-dial telephone, not just no, but heck no.

In fact, the seven-sentence, poorly-cited Mail story is little more than linkbait, which is why we're not linking directly to it. The newspaper, from what I understand, is something of a rag in the UK. TechCrunch UK noted that the Mail is going after pageviews, and the crowd that follows Apple rumors would be good for some hits. Shrewd, but crude.

Harry McCracken notes that he anticiaptes an iPhone nano at some point in the future, but this ain't it. All I want for Christmas is an iPhone that works on the Verizon network. I'll have a long wait, I reckon.

Gizmodo is reporting that Box Office, an app that gives showtimes for your area, along with movie synopses and images from RottenTomatoes.com and other online sources, has been pulled from the App Store.

Metasyntactic, the developer, claims they have received no communication from Apple on the subject, despite emailing Apple about the situation. They also say they communicate regularly with all their data providers, and none have issues with the app.

Late last week, NetShare was mysteriously yanked under the same cloud of secrecy. As we mentioned in last night's talkcast, it's clear that Apple has complete control over what you install on your iPhone or iPod touch.

Gizmodo speculates that something might be going on "under the surface -- an undiscovered security flaw, maybe."

Update: Our commenters are pointing out that this could be nothing more than a name change. The app will be called Now Playing but it doesn't appear to be available in (at least the U.S.) App Store yet. Metasyntactic also hasn't commented beyond their original confusion as to why their app was pulled.

With my girlfriend in the process of refurbishing her kitchen, I found myself in need of (and without) a carpenter's level yesterday afternoon. But then I remembered Bubble Level, an application for the iPhone and iPod touch.

A penny short of a dollar later, I had myself a working, surprisingly accurate level right in my iPod touch.

Bubble Level allows you to calibrate it (for example, with an actual bubble level) so its measurements are accurate enough to use for household chores and hobbies. (Professionals may still need the precision that a traditional liquid bubble level provides.)

Bonus: it tracks how level the device is in two dimensions: laying your iPod or iPhone on a table allows the bubble to travel toward the center circle on the interface.

Bubble Level is 99 cents, and available in the App Store now. You can also check out A Level, a similar app that's expected to support calibration in the next release (it's from Posimotion, winners of TUAW's Most Risque iPhone App Name award).

Love it or hate it (with the burning fire of a million angry suns), Quark yesterday released QuarkXPress 8, which features new tools for developing for the web, workspace enhancements, and refinements to tools to finally bring it into the 20th century. Steve Sande mentioned back in May that it was coming, and now it's finally here.

Quark 8, the William Shatner of page layout software (old, bloated, sweaty, and desperate to stay relevant), allows you to create content for the web using HTML and Flash without writing any code. This has been a feature of Quark since QuarkImmedia and Quark Interactive Designer, but now appears to be fully rolled into QuarkXPress, to the abject horror of web designers everywhere.

Also, a new feature: A measurements palette. That's right, it's 2008, and they're adding a measurements palette. Also: east-Asian language support and hanging punctuation. Wow. Well done, Quark.

I've been using QuarkXPress since version 3, and having very briefly tried the new version, it's a little depressing to see them keep trying to reclaim their glory years. Small design shops, freelancers, and many printers have largely moved to InDesign for their page layout software. Yes, Quark 8 is light-years ahead of where they were, but still light-years behind where they need to be.

Quark makes its money on giant-scale installations at newspapers and magazines, so we'll see how quickly their enterprise customers adopt this new version. My guess: not very, as many printers I've dealt with overseas, especially in Asia, are still using QuarkXPress 6.

A 60-day trial is available, and is a whopping 517MB to download. It requires Mac OS X 10.4 and a G5 processor or higher. New licenses are $800, and upgrades are a scant $300. Discounts are available for education and non-profit customers, too.

CrunchGear notes that a version of the iPhone Push Notification Service API has been released to "a handful" of developers, and, according to them, will "surely" be released to everyone when iPhone OS 2.1 is released.

If you remember our WWDC keynote coverage (around 11:05 a.m.), the Push Notification Service maintains a connection with third party servers to alert you via an icon badge, custom sounds, or text alerts.

An app that uses this feature isn't really running in the background, but instead sort of registering itself with a metaphorical "hotel operator" that lives in your phone. Once there's something new to tell you, the hotel operator notifies you.

Hopefully this has little effect on battery life, but without actual, real-world use, it's hard to say.

I got a lot of feedback from commenters yesterday about the app roundup of timekeeping and billing software. Turns out that little part about not having a comprehensive list didn't satisfy anyone!

So let's add to our list, and include five more apps and services to make you a billing maestro and timekeeping maven:

• iBiz
• Billings
• TimeLog
• OfficeTime
• Harvest

Another quick tip in our Mac 101 series for beginners: Some special folders on your computer have keyboard shortcuts that you can press to instantly navigate to that folder when using the Finder.

For example, to open your Applications folder, click on your desktop and use the shift (⇧) and command (⌘) keys to type ⇧ ⌘ A. Voilà! Your Appplications folder appeareth.

Other folders have shortcuts too:

• Your computer: ⇧ ⌘ C
• Your home folder: ⇧ ⌘ H
• Your desktop: ⇧ ⌘ D
• Computers on your local network: ⇧ ⌘ K
• Your Utilities folder: ⇧ ⌘ U
• Your iDisk: ⇧ ⌘ I

You can also bring up a dialog box to specify a path to a specific folder on your hard disk by typing ⇧ ⌘ G.

Let's be honest here for a second. Cracks don't appear. Cracks don't form. They don't develop. Your iPhone 3G cracked because you dropped it. 'Fess up! It's not a manufacturing defect if your phone takes a tumble down a flight of stairs. This is why we can't have nice things.

Just kidding. Apple could have has another iPod nano or G4 Cube problem on its hands: careful users are seeing cracks and fissures on their new iPhone 3Gs. MacRumors has a thread about new, white iPhone 3Gs (which haven't been "dropped or pressed") that are beginning to show hairline cracks around the edges and near the buttons and headphone jack.

Reasonably, though, if you treat it like a phone, and use it every day, it's going to get worn. That's when cracks, scuffs, and abrasions happen. When you have a white finish on your iPhone, dirt will inevitably get in there, and even the most minute scratch will show up. Every phone I've ever owned I've dropped at some point, and it gets a scuff, or a scratch or a crack.

There are plenty of options to protect your sweetness, though: For example, there are all kinds of hard-shell cases you can buy. ZAGG's excellent invisibleSHIELD product is certainly durable, and could prevent dirt from getting into any fissures that appear on your iPhone's back cover. You can also wait a little while for the Golden Shellback, a vacuum-applied polymer that waterproofs any device, inside and out. Nifty.

Update: Commenters are literally pouring in to tell us that as careful as they've been with their iPhone 3Gs, even the most babyed devices are showing cracks. Joel Renda says, "The problem is not the plastic, but that the metal frame is too small for the plastic to lock on without causing the stress fractures." It's pretty clear Apple has a manufacturing defect on its hands.

For those with cracks, taking it back to the Apple Store (or possibly the mobile phone retailer where you made your original purchase) is your only recourse. Several people have noted here and elsewhere that they've successfully had their handset replaced after a careful inspection.