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Apple’s always had a knack for selling their products. Their Ridley Scott directed “1984″ commercial remains one of the most striking  and memorable ads to ever hit television and their “Mac vs PC” ads became a cultural mainstay. Their current commercials, while a bit more homogeneous with the rest of the world, are handsomely produced and ooze Apple’s specific flavor (which I always imagine to be icy and with a hint of berry). But I digress. Do you want to see what appears to be the very first Apple commercial?

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We all know that Apple products are expensive. We also know that the sky is blue, fish live in the ocean and that the Pope is Catholic. But how much does your fancy iPhone 5 really cost you? The video below attempts to find out.

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The Good: A month after unveiling them in one of their typically flashy press conferences, Apple has finally announced that their new, insanely slim iMacs will arrive on November 30th…at least the 21.5 inch model. Those hoping to snag one of the 27 inch versions will have to wait for an unspecified date in December. Between these, the iPad Mini and the iPhone 5, Apple is poised to clean up this holiday season. Perfect timing, guys.

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Contrary to the title, this is more like “The Bad, the Worse and the Super Ugly,” but then we wouldn’t have a catchy headline and what would be the point of this whole tech blogging thing?

The Good: This one gets classified under good because it’s the least damaging of the bunch. Last week, we told you about how longtime Office guru turned Windows honcho Steven Sinofksy was departing Microsoft for unspecified reasons. Today, we’ll try to specify some of the unspecified. According to this blog post by former Microsoft Engineer and Manager Hal Berenson, Sinofksy attempted something of a “power grab” and attempted to gain control of Windows Phone development in addition to his work with Windows. Naturally, this didn’t go well and he got the boot. However, Sinofsky himself appeared in the comments below and refuted the claims. I guess that’s, uh, kinda’ good.

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A lot has to happen before your gorgeous new iPhone 5 ends up in your hands. If you want to be specific, from conception to construction to arrival at the Apple store, the device travels 20,096 miles. That’s almost the circumference of the entire planet! Naturally, someone out there decided to showcase this entire journey is fancy infographic form. You can check that out below.

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(Every week, Kyle St. Romain will talk about the business and legal side of the app world. While his opinions don’t always reflect those of Rocksauce Studios, you should hear him out…the guy knows his stuff!)

There seems to be more interest than usual lately about the idea that Apple has lost its way. The basic premise is, as it has been, that without the visionary Steve Jobs at the helm, Apple has failed to produce any disruptive products (and likely won’t). Sure, there’s the iPad Mini, a larger form factor of the iPad Micro (iPhone), but it is pretty unexciting if you ask me. I played with one at the Apple store this weekend (I was at the Apple store to buy an iPhone 5 — a unicorn amongst tech enthusiasts — and was unable to do so), and while it feels more like the size I’m looking for vs. the iPad heavy, the screen resolution is pitiful. In fact, having viewed it has prompted me to schedule an eye exam. — not the result I was expecting.

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Did the headline get your attention? Mission accomplished! That headline is baseless and useless speculation brought on by a some news regarding the ever-tumultuous relationship between Apple and Samsung. Although the two tech giants have been locked in a seemingly never ending patent war for some time now, it’s no secret that many of the components inside various iDevices are manufactured by Samsung, including the processors that make your iPhone actually work.

Well, Samsung has now increased the price on those processors by 20%.

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The iPhone 5 came out in September…is it time for a new one yet?

Of course not. No. No. Surely there’s no truth to the rumor that Apple is planning to begin a trial production of the “iPhone 5S” early next year. Surely there’s no way Apple would release another new iPhone less than six months after the last one. A new one every year was already bad enough. Apple wouldn’t do this to us…right? Right?

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In the ongoing war between Apple and Samsung, every victory will be shouted from the heavens…even if it’s a tiny victory that may not last for more than a few moments. Here’s the headline Samsung wants you to see: “The Samsung Galaxy S III is now the most popular smartphone in the world!” But then there are the details hidden away in the actual text: this announcement applies to to last quarter, before the release of the iPhone 5.

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On Friday, we talked about the changing face of Apple and Tim Cook’s ongoing attempts to transform the company in a post-Steve Jobs world. A few days ago, the best example of Cook’s intentions was the firing of Scott Forstall and and the promotion of Jonathan Ive. Today, we have another example: Apple has made peace with HTC and has resolved all of their patent disputes.

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