Sometimes after a long weekend or extended vacation, it can be next to impossible to get back into a productive state of mind without a bit of prodding. As we slowly push our brains uphill on this post-Labor Day Tuesday, it's comforting to know that at least one person out there is willing to do a bit of thinking for us. Let's give a collective "thank you" to software engineer and former Apple employee Matt Drance for providing us some substantial food for thought. In turning your direction to Drance's blog, AppleOutsider, you'll find a well stated argument for why Ping--already a hot button topic in the Apple community--could very well end up being one of Apple's most popular and influential products.

It looks like some companies may be looking to horn in on Apple's "hobby."

According to a report filed by The Street, Samsung may soon be cramming their televisions chock full of Android. According to the report, Samsung is set to include the OS in their television sets to provide a web and application enabled television experience much like that being offered by other companies such as Sony and LG.

If you've been using iTunes' new social networking service, Ping, you may or may not have noticed the volumes of spam infiltrating its walls. It's much of the same stuff you see on Facebook--links to free iPads, iPods, and iPhones, fake accounts, and even people posing as Steve Jobs.

Well, according to iPodNN, Apple has managed to expunge the service of most of this unwanted material. And, to top it off, they've added back and forward buttons to make navigating the service a little easier. Users no longer have to use the iTunes Store's menu to navigate Ping.

Even if you've ordered one already, you can still sneak a peek at these shots of iLounge's unboxing of the new fourth-generation iPod shuffle. The box includes a short USB cord, the standard Apple sticker (we like to put them on our coffee tumblers), a pair of Apple's signature white earbuds, and the iPod shuffle itself!

Even though iPhone maker Apple doesn’t take part, Mobile World Congress is the largest mobile device trade show in the world, held annually in Barcelona, Spain. When the next event launches in February, 2011, iOS will get at least some kind of presence thanks to the first-ever Macworld Mobile.

Apple and Google may rattle their sabers every so often over browsers, cell phones and operating systems, but they appear to remain cozy pals when it comes to the ad dollars Cupertino is dropping into AdWords each month.