Apple has never been very happy with the prospect of fixing your iPod or iPhoneunder warranty just because you dropped it in the toilet. That’s why they’ve started cramming so many moisture sensors into the gadgets: the tiny stickers — which change color if they are exposed to an inordinate amount of moisture — give Apple an excuse to deny you service if things get too wet.

Apple’s rationale here is pretty sound. After all, if you trip and spill your iPhone into the drink, that’s pretty clearly not their responsibility. The problem is that those moisture sensors and their accuracy are both highly contentious: Apple’s fighting a lawsuit in which a California woman claims they are trigged erroneously by the humidity, and indeed, those who live in more humid climes have been complaining about false moisture positives for years.

With that in mind, it’s sort of distressing to see that the new MacBook Air uses a record amount of moisture sensors internally. In fact, by my count, there are 9 moisture sensors exposed in the image above alone… and there’s apparently even more hidden underneath connectors.

The growth of tablets – particularly Apple’s iPad – is dampening consumer demand for low-cost netbooks. Only 14 percent of people planning to purchase a laptop in the next ninety days will pick a netbook – a 10-point drop from this summer, according to ChangeWave.

“The decline of Netbooks is attributable to a combination of factors including the end of the recession and the mounting penetration of Tablet computers – notably the Apple iPad,” said Paul Carton, Vice President of Research, Tuesday. The company’s October survey of more than 3,000 consumers also found plans to purchase a laptop remain flat at 8 percent while future desktop purchases grew by just one point to 6 percent, compared to August.

I never personally cared for the Genius sidebar in iTunes, but I know that a lot of people used it as a way to branch out into new bands and albums and who were therefore distressed when Apple decided to replace it with the Ping sidebar in iTunes 10.0.1.

Good news, though: early on Saturday, Apple decided to do an about face and bring the Genius features back to the sidebar, albeit with a slight rename: it’s now called the iTunes Sidebar and integrates both Genius and Ping data in one easy-to-access place.

A 24-year-old woman spotted an iPad left behind in an emergency waiting room and let her fingers do the walking.

At around 8:45 p.m., Jessica L. Andrews noticed Apple’s magical device sitting all alone in the waiting room of Hunterdon Medical Center in New Jersey after its owner went in for ER treatment. Andrews quickly slotted the handy tablet computer into her purse and left.

However, even if you need serious medical attention, you’re unlikely to forget your iPad altogether.

If you haven’t already downloaded VLC Media Player for your iPhone and iPad, now’s the time to grab it if you want it, as it may soon be pulled from the App Store.

One of the contributors to the VLC project, Rémi Denis-Courmont, has filed a formal copyright complaint against the app, which could see it pulled by Apple very soon.

VLC Media Player is now available on the iPhone as a universal app, and firmly puts itself in to our must-have apps list for this week. Allowing you to play an impressively wide range of video codecs on your device, it’s very simple to use and it’s free!

Another must-have app this week is Task Pad. Available for both the iPhone and iPad, Task Pad is a powerful organizer and to-do list that syncs with your Mac or PC, helping you to remain productive and on top of your tasks.

Amazon’s Windowshop also makes our list this week – a new way to shop Amazon’s millions of items – with a simple and intuitive interface that makes online shopping a pleasure on the iPad.

See our full list of must-have iOS app after the break!

Some early Macbook Air adopters have reported seeing video anomalies and kernel panics on the new 11-inch and 13-inch models of the Macbook Air which may be related to sleep/wake issues.

Additional reports about the video problem have been posted to Apple’s discussion forums and for the people reporting it the symptoms can vary. I’ve even encountered the problem myself on my 13-inch MacBook Air.

The problem with kernel panics has been experienced by Cult of Mac staff that purchased 11-inch or 13-inch models. Users on Apple forums haven’t complained about this specifically yet, but they have been complaining about their new MacBook Airs crashing.

It was brought to my attention that the ability to make calendars in iPhoto ’11 has gone missing. I missed it too since that isn’t a feature that I’ve spent a lot of time with. I’m still buying my calendars at  online or at a local store.

Apple is aware of this and in summary had this to say about it: “Ordering calendars with iPhoto ’11 is not currently available. ”

They then took it upon themselves to answer your questions in advance about this issue, which you can read by clicking the link below.

Apple has given themselves a deadline of “as soon as possible” so I’m unable to tell you to mark your calendars about when calendar creation will reappear in iPhoto ’11. So keep your eyes on Software Update.

Featured in this week’s must-have iOS games is the much-anticipated Age of Zombies – the new game from Halfbrick Studios. The creators of Fruit Ninja and Monster Dash bring us their biggest adventure yet, which sees the return of Barry Steakfries – the tough-as-nails commando who loves nothing more than to shoot up zombies.

Also earning a place on our list of favorites this week is Gun Bros, another shoot ’em up from Glu that features non-stop 3D action as the ‘Bros’ attempt to protect the cosmos from the evil ‘T.O.O.L.’ organization, who are set out to enslave the universe.

Word Solitaire: Aurora is a unique word puzzler that puts an interesting, intellectual twist on the classic Solitaire card game, and another of our favorites this week. Instead of cards that feature numbers, you play with cards that feature letters, and you must drag and drop to arrange them in to words.

See our full list of favorites after the break!

Celebrate this Halloween weekend by grabbing some of the greatest iOS games available for your iPhone & iPad with some awesome reductions.

Developers have gone crazy, with some reducing their games by over 50%, like Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 2, Splinter Cell Conviction, and R-Type for just $0.99! But with so many games in the App Store, it’s not always easy to discover the best reductions out there.

Many will shoot to the top of the ‘Top Paid’ chart as iOS gamers snap them up quickly while they’re reduced, and this makes them a little easier to find. But to help us find the best deals, AppAdvice have compiled a list to highlight the unmissable.

Full list after the break!