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Soon it will be apple-picking time -- but Steve Jobs, as usual, is one step ahead of us, with some shiny new Apples to pick. Daniel Sieberg has his take over at Tech Talk:

(apple.com)

The iPod Touch looks similar to the iPhone except it doesn't have the phone component and a few other features. But it does have increased storage space (8GB/16GB vs. the iPhone's 4GB/8GB versions) and features Wi-Fi iTunes. It's supposed to be in stores in a few weeks. It'll even have a version of Apple's browser Safari. That's easily the headline from the Moscone West convention center in San Francisco, though Jobs did throw out a few other iPod updates. There'll be increased storage, new colors, and better interfaces such as a wider screen. Plus there's a new partnership with Starbucks to buy songs while waiting for your Frappuccino, and there'll soon be do-it-yourself ringtones available for the iPhone.

That's all well and good. And being an early adopter of most things I can't complain too much, but I sure wish Apple had rolled out the iPod Touch first instead of the iPhone. Of course, then they wouldn't have hooked hundreds of thousands of people in a two-year AT&T contract. The phone feature of the iPhone is fine, but I'd scale down to the iPod Touch. Oh, and did I mention the iPhone will now sell for $399 down from $599? Another reason I wish I'd waited to buy.

Of course, after apple-picking season comes the holiday season. It's never too early to send Santa your list.

Correspondent John Blackstone got a glimpse of Apple executive Steve Jobs’ latest gizmo yesterday – and says it just might make history.

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Watching Steve Jobs in action as a showman and a salesman is always impressive. Watching him introduce Apple’s new iPod/cellphone device, I thought Jobs seemed to revel in unveiling something that will drive competitors crazy.

I have attended several MacWorld conferences and Jobs’ keynote speech always follows the same format. The hall is packed with several thousand Mac enthusiasts, tech analysts and news reporters. Rock music blares through the hall. A giant screen at the front carries the Apple logo.

To cheers, Jobs strides alone onto the stage, dressed in worn blue jeans and black turtleneck. Using a remote control and a laptop and apparently with no script, he demonstrates Apples’ latest advances in hardware and software. It is always a flawless performance, both humanly and technically. Then at the very end, when Jobs seems to have finished he pauses and says: “Oh, and one more thing.” The crowd cheers and applauds in anticipation. Then Jobs presents Apple’s biggest new product.

But this time, introducing Apple’s iPod/cellphone, Jobs didn’t wait until the end and “one more thing”. He said at the very top it was day that would make history. The device he unveiled -- and the crowd’s reaction -- showed that he might just be right...

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Hi everyone! Fall is definitely in the air (winter in Buffalo!) so I thought I’d tell you a fun family activity that I enjoy every year around this time with my girls. We go apple picking …(God, I am as American as apple pie!) It’s such a fun thing to do. It’s great to get outside and soak up the fall air, get back to nature and enjoy an apple as you pick bushels more! I always get weirdly hoardish (is that a word?) and carried away whenever I do this kind of thing. One time I picked enough strawberries to make jam for the entire island of Manhattan! Weird.

Oh well, anyway, as I was saying, it’s a wonderful activity…and the apple varieties that are available change ALL THE TIME! I was slightly bummed out when we went last weekend we missed my very favorite kind of apple: it’s called a Honeycrisp and it’s a fantastic eating apple. Mushy apples are the most disappointing, “un-a-peeling” (HA HA) culinary experience there is. My other favorite apples are the Macoun and Fuji.. Then there’s the MacIntosh…which borders on mushy but has enough tartness to make up for that fact. But I digress. (I think I need a real hobby!)

We picked on Long Island this year with my friends Lori and Mark and their three children (including their son Jay, who is named after my husband.) The varieties we plucked straight off the branches were: Jonagold, Mutsus (sounds like a Japanese compact vehicle…by the way, these apples were GINORMOUS!) that old stand by the Golden Delicious, Stayman, Empire, and Royal Gala, which are good for eating, but not cooking, you crazy bakers out there!

When all was said and done, given my propensity for over-picking previously mentioned, we had amassed four bushels of apples! Ergo, my apple pie bonanza the other day. I made four pies (helped by my 10-year-old, her friend Katherine and her mother Pat) and an apple crisp. I must say, they were pretty darn tasty (or so I’m told…I did not consume them all!) Martha, eat your heart out!

Of course, my crust is store-bought. But I have to tell you, those Pillsbury already-made pie crusts in the biscuit section are really good! I thought I’d share this recipe with you, because if you decide to go picking this weekend, you may want to whip up a few pies…if you do it with your kids, it’s a great way to teach them math too! (This is so wholesome, I’m about to throw up!) Anyway, here it is: remember, if I can do it, you can do it! (that’s what I tell everyone about my colonscopy, but we can chat about that another time!)

Have a great weekend! (Just follow the jump to read the recipe...)

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We can't stop thinking about that apple pie. In tribute to that, we offer this rather pastoral Word of the Day.

woodlet(WUHD-let) n: garden consisting of a small cultivated wood without undergrowth. Syn: grove, orchard, plantation.

Katie baked her pie from apples gathered in a woodlet. Bless her.

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In another first for CBS News, the anchor and managing editor of the CBS Evening News arrived at work this morning bearing a home made apple pie. No one could remember this happening before. Ever. (Previous anchors were known sometimes to stew, and occasionally to grill, but not necessarily to bake.)

Seems Katie had gone apple picking over the weekend with her daughters, and decided to stay up late with the girls last night baking pies.

The "C&C" staff will try to coax the recipe from her, to share with you.

Meantime, we're going back for seconds. Blogging may be light today. We feel a nap coming on.

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