I have to admit: it's virtually impossible to keep up with our own Peter Rojas of Engadget and Weblogs, Inc. I swear the guy must have ripped off Michael Keaton's idea from Multiplicity to get around the way he does. Hadley Stern at Apple Matters recently snagged some time with Peter to wax poetic about the iPhone, Apple TV, and how there simply ain't no web like the Mac web.

Peter brings an interesting perspective to Apple's recent announcements, pointing out that the iPhone and Apple TV aren't necessarily ground breaking products - but they *are* Apple's classic play of doing old, stagnant things in refreshing new ways. The interview is a good read, especially if you're looking for thoughts from someone whose job it is to report on similar products from tech companies across the entire industry.

I'll admit to being just as interested in what Apple has up their sleeve as the next guy, but I've always harbored a chip on my shoulder towards the rumor sites. The constant 'anonymous' sources who wind up all too often being as clueless as they are nameless have always irked me, and James R. Stoup at Apple Matters decided to take Think Secret, one of the largest rumor mongers out there, to task to see just how accurate they've actually been.

Mr. Stoup did the math that was a long time coming and surveyed Think Secret's reports on Apple products between January 05 - September 06. You should really check out the results, as he did a bang-up job detailing everything he found, but to summarize: James found that Think Secret's accuracy can get pretty black and white; either they nail it or they couldn't hit the broad side of a barn with a wrecking ball. He also discovered some patterns in terms of which kinds of products Think Secret typically nabs correctly, concluding that they have a fairly good batting average with Mac hardware and iPods, but their 'inside scoops' on software tend to represent that aforementioned wayward wrecking ball.

Take a look at James' post for the real (and thorough) details of his findings, but don't think he's trying to bash the rumor gurus, Think Secret or otherwise. After all, what Apple fan doesn't hold at least some place in their heart for rumors of what shiny new thing Apple might have coming up? I think James' investigation should serve at least as a reminder that rumors are exactly that: rumors, and not much more. One is merely rolling the dice when reading these sites and building up hopes of a fancy new [insert name here] or a product revision.

With that said, we'll be sure to stay on top of the latest gossip to make sure y'all can decide whether the latest iPhone or media center rumors could be worth that extra wait.

I have long been a fan of David Lanham's work, whether it be icons from Iconfactory, or drawings of mice in space suits. Apple Matters had a chance to ask David a few questions about his process, what kind of Mac he uses, and how he got started with art. Head on over and read about this up and coming artist and icon crafter.

I knew something was up when I noticed my Apple Matters feed turn brown in NetNewsWire (that color means the feed hasn't been updated in over 60 days), and sho 'nuff, I was right. Today Apple Matters launched Macitt, an Apple-centric social news site (or: 'digg clone', if you wanna go that route). Logins for Apple Matters will also work for Macitt, and all the typical social news features seem to be present. A tabbed panel with a list of categories adorns the top right of the page, while accompanying tabs list top users, a tag cloud and a submit section. Yea, that's right: a big advantage Macitt has over digg's system is tagging, which other social news sites seem to be adopting more and more often.

Ultimately, it looks like a strong offering that will probably be well-accepted as long as the word gets around, but I'm starting to worry about an overabundance of social news services. After all, a guy can only take so much socializing before he starts mis-tagging headlines and forgets to vote.

Widget lovers unite! Apple Matters' Aaron Wright has crowned, what he thinks, are the nine best widgets out there. His list includes iStats Pro, iPhoto Mini, digg.com, and six others.

I must confess that I am a rather boring Dashboard user, but I do make frequent use of it. My go to widget? Apple's weather widget that ships with the OS. I love that thing more than any man should.

What are a few of your favorite widgets?

No one likes it when I post about Mac security, the proof is in the comments. Will that stop me? Well, if I were afraid of harsh comments I would have stopped blogging here ages ago. No, security is too important to remain silent about. It would seem that I am not the only member of the Mac web that feels this way.

Aaron Wright , writing for Apple Matters, has posted a list of eight security tips for OS X. There isn't anything new on this list, but I agree with all the suggestions (especially the last, because if you don't have that then all is lost). It is true that the only truly secure computer is turned off, not connected to anything, and stored in a vault, but following Aaron's tips will help your Mac remain secure. Isn't that what we all want?

This isn't exactly Mac news, but hey we Mac users are known for paying a premium for industrial design, and well need more outlets. The PowerSquid Surge protector seems like the ideal solution, or is it?

Gregory Ng, reviewing it for Apple Matters, thinks it is and not just because of its unique looks. This thing will protect your equipment against a variety of surges, and isn't your Mac's safety worth a few bucks extra?

James R. Stoup over at Apple Matters has a first-look review of iWeb that is probably worth checking out if you are curious about the product, but not yet willing to shell out the dough for the new iLife '06. I particularly like the "What iWeb isn't" section: "iWeb is NOT a general purpose website creation application. Do not make the mistake of thinking it is a scaled down version of Dreamweaver, as it most definitely is not. This application is designed to publish personal websites either to .Mac or to a folder to be used via another hosting service. It does nothing else."

Check it out.

Hadley over at Apple Matters pinged me last week to let me know they were doing this, but today it is official: Apple Matters introduces This Day in Apple History. They've set up a whole section of the site to keeping track of what happened when, they put together their own widget with three very cool Apple flavors, and they've launched a contest celebrating the launch giving away a custom engraved 5G iPod, a Newton, or an Apple II.

I need to dig through the archives to find out when TUAW first launched and to let Hadley know important dates like when Scott and I first started blogging for TUAW. ;-)