Apple store updating

WHEN APPLE CLOSES the doors of its Internet shopping portal for a few hours, Macolytes traditionally start frothing at the mouth in anticipation of the next world-changing product from the Cupertino company.

But when Jobs' Mob put up the shutters earlier today, most news outlets and fan sites were stumped as to what might appear once the Web monkeys have finished with their footling.

And we have to admit that we're pretty much out of ideas, beyond just making stuff up.

The faithful were blessed with a new Ipod Shuffle just a few weeks ago, and both laptop and desktop ranges have had major refreshes in recent months. The chances of a new Iphone popping up this early in the year are pretty much negligible and, despite Apple's impenetrable ring of secrecy, most major launches are the subject of leaks from a either Chinese factory worker or a disgruntled Apple drone.

It's also true that any major new hardware would almost certainly be held back for the self-congratulatory back-slap-fest that is Apple's WWDC in the second week of June.

The best guess we can find on the Interwibble is that Apple's wirless back-up solution, Time Capsule, will get a bigger hard drive.

Well that will hardly be worth all the wasted drool, will it?