Apple has infamously railed on Google for being fragmented on multiple occasions, lambasting the Android-maker for allowing carriers and handset manufacturers to dictate the terms of updating the Android software.

Cupertino was right to criticize: the vast majority of Android smartphone users couldn’t even be reasonably sure before now that they’d even be able to update their operating system in the future. But Google’s made a big step today towards addressing Android fragmentation: they’ve announced a partnership with carriers and handset manufacturers that guarantees that new smartphones will receive Android platform updates for a minimum of eighteen months.

We start the day with three hardware deals. First up is a number of new iMac desktops, beginning with a 2.5GHz Quad Core and 21.5-inch screen for $1,105. Next is several MacBook Pro laptops, starting at $899 for a 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo. Finally, another Apple LED Cinema Display for $849.

Along the way, we also check out a number of cases for the iPad 2, iPad and iPod nano, as well as software for your Mac. As always, details on these and many other items can be found at CoM’s “Daily Deals” page right after the jump.

An analyst believes that as soon as this year, Apple will rip the Intel right out of the MacBook Air and transfuse an ARM-based chip in its place, maybe even some successor to the iPad 2’s A5 SoC. But that’s just stupid. Isn’t it?

It’s a safe bet that most Cult of Mac readers – and certainly all the Cult of Mac writers – are broadly in favour of almost everything Apple creates.

Almost everything.

If there’s one feature of OS X (Snow) Leopard that drives me and every other Mac user I’ve ever known mad with fury, it’s the Help Viewer, and its obstinate insistence on floating on top of every other window in sight.

Pix and Stix is a new accessory duo designed for those who love to rock out with GarageBand on the iPad. It’s a set of drum sticks and a guitar pick featuring electro-conductive rubber tips that make them compatible with the iPad’s touchscreen, allowing you to drum and strum naturally without wearing out your fingertips.

The team behind Pix and Stix is currently trying to get Kickstarter-like funding, so the kit isn’t quite available just yet. If you want to get your hands on it, you can order now for $14.95 and as soon as it reaches its funding goal of $8000, the team will start making them and your order will be guaranteed. If it doesn’t reach its funding goal, you’ll get your money back.

Following the sellout success of its San Francisco and Dallas events, MacTech Boot Camp is set to land in Boston in less than two weeks, and Cult of Mac readers can save $200 on registration. On May 18th, the event will be held at the Royal Sonesta Hotel in Cambridge, with a number of confirmed speakers who include:

• Jeff Korn
• Mike Zarin
• Leon Lincoln
• Adam Schechter
• Josh Turiel
• Max Buxton
• Andy Espo
• Al Willis
• Neil Ticktin

Adobe first announced its first three Photoshop Touch applications at Photoshop World back in March, and they’re now available to download from the App Store. Color Lava, Eazel and Nav are all designed for the iPad and aim to enhance your desktop Photoshop experience with the help of a touch-based device.

Here’s a little bit about each of the applications:

A digital game manual discovered on Steam for the upcoming Duke Nukem Forever release features some information regarding Apple’s App Store that suggests the title could be headed to iOS devices.

Starjimstar from the Touch Arcade forums found that at the bottom of all the legal text in the game’s documentation, there’s some “Apple App Store Additional License Terms.”

UPDATE: Gladwell debunks the old story that Jobs “stole” the Mac from Xerox PARC. See below.

In the latest edition of The New Yorker, preeminent business writer Malcolm Gladwell takes on Steve Jobs and the creation of the mouse.

The piece is called “Creation Myth: Xerox PARC, Apple, and the truth about innovation.”

There was a time when proudly declaring yourself a Mac gamer would earn you laughs at best, and a smear of sputum streaking down your face at worst. These days, though, the Mac’s a great place to be, thanks to Steam for Mac and the Mac App Store, and it’s just gotten a little better: IGN’s Direct2Drive has just launched their own Mac games section.