Way back before Apple unveiled the original iPad, your only choice for getting an Apple tablet was to buy a ModBook: converted MacBooks with built-in Wacom digitizers that operated like the tablet PCs of old.

Of course, once the iPad debuted, a lot of the market for the ModBook dried up, but now they’re back with the ModBook Pro, which takes the 13-inch MacBook Pro and turns it into an OS X-running tablet.

If you’re a New York Times subscriber, you’ll be pleased to know that you can now enjoy full access your favorite content via Flipboard, one of the best news readers available on iOS. Even those who don’t subscribe still get a little treat: free access to the publication’s “Top News” section.

Various reports indicate that Apple is working on a major overhaul of iTunes that it plans to launch later this year. Those reports indicate that the update will be focused on consumer-oriented features like improved app/content discovery, music and media sharing, and greater iCloud integration. There’s also the possibility that Apple might split out some iTunes features into separate apps much like the company has done in iOS – the most recent example being the Podcasts app that it launched earlier this week.

Splitting iTunes into discrete parts is an attractive prospect, particularly for businesses and IT professionals. iTunes has become a bloated hodgepodge of functionality over the years. As a result, IT departments typically face a conundrum about whether to support or even allow employees with iOS devices to use iTunes on workplace computers.

Magnets are a big part of almost all Apple’s products these days — the MagSafe power adapter, the iPad Smart Cover, the closures for all its notebooks and even holding the screen on the iMac.

So why not use magnets in cases? That’s the thinking behind Booq’s shiny new Viper Sleeve for the MacBook Air.

The NPD Group reported today that the use of digital tablets like the iPad has more than doubled across the globe this year.

According to surveys of approximately 14,000 TV owners across 14 different regions worldwide, the research group found that a whopping 10 percent of those surveyed reported using their iPad or other tablet to watch video. This is up from about four percent of the same population surveyed a year ago.

Apparent’s battery-powered Doxie Go portable scanner has been around since last year, though its optional scan-direct-to-mobile-device capabilities have only been available on iOS devices. But the scanner has just had a major firmware update, making it compatible with Android — along with some new functionality and hardware that’ll make Apple-ites happy also.

However dramatic the stories about her extra-curricular activities and personality are, Martha Stewart remains the undisputed queen of crafts.

But the last time I did anything crafty was back in high school when I ditched three periods and headed for the beach — so I wasn’t horribly enthusiastic when Martha Stewart CraftStudio popped up on our radar. Color me shocked though, because it’s pretty darn awesome — especially for kids, and people who actually know what they’re doing.

Since the early days of Apple, an emphasis has been put on realistic user interfaces, starting with the Apple Lisa’s GUI in 1983. This drive for skeuomorphism in design is more present in iOS than ever before. Having a touch screen allows applications to feel more natural, simulating actual real-world buttons and objects. If speculation is to be believed, future versions of iOS may take this trend even farther by placing user interface shadows based on the actual position of the light source in the room.

It seems that my whining prayers for native iPad photo apps have started to answered by the developing gods. And how! MiniatureCam is not only an iPad-specific tilt-shift app, it is fantastically designed, too.

Most discussions around BYOD and costs focus on one of two areas. The first is the cost reduction that a company might see if employees provide their own iPhones (or other devices) and pay for their own mobile plans. The second is the cost for mobile management solutions to secure and manage those personally-owned devices along with the apps and data stored on them.

Those are major concerns, but research company ARCchart recently identified a completely different cost of the BYOD trend – the revenues that device manufacturers and carriers are likely to lose as BYOD becomes a standard practice across the business world. According to ARCchart, the worldwide mobile industry could take a hit as big as $40 billion over the next four years as a result of BYOD.