Oh happy day! Faithful viewer Richard Tjoa just tipped us off to Apple's latest press release announcing a new addition to the methods of payment accepted at the iTunes Music Store: now tune junkies can feed their legal habit with a steady stream of funds from their PayPal accounts. "PayPal?" you ask, "Isn't that the thing people use to buy junk on eBay?" Well, yes, but not exclusively, see; as Apple's latest move clearly shows, PayPal is an increasingly accepted form of online payment for a variety of non-auction-related goods and services. PayPal: it's not just for Star Wars collectibles and bad costume jewelry anymore! (Or, ahem, AtAT merchandise.)

Now, we haven't exactly done a ton of digging into the matter, but if memory serves, at least here in the U.S., you don't even need a credit card to get a PayPal account; you can hook one right up to a bank account and fund it that way instead. What that implies is that the credit-deficient now have a simple way to siphon their savings dry as they pump up their electronic collection of Connie Francis songs. Previously that would have required, say, trucking down to Target to buy a bright green iTunes prepaid card, or paying an adult to hook you up with the goods. ("Excuse us, sir, but if we give you money, can you go in there and buy us beer and cigarettes? And then go online and get us an iTunes gift certificate?") But now it sounds like all those underage eBay jockeys with PayPal accounts wired into their "college savings" accounts can trade in four years of higher education (c'mon, who were we kidding anyway?) for one slammin'music collection.

Best of all, in that last scenario, this arrangement discourages stealing from the music industry-- and encourages stealing from Mom and Dad instead! You say you really want that new Lindsay Lohan album but your account's clean out of money? Don't illegally download MP3s with KaZaA; just swipe items from around the house, auction them off on eBay, and watch the funds come rolling into your newly iTMS-friendly PayPal account! What could be simpler? And the wrath of your parents is probably a far more palatable alternative to a six-figure RIAA filesharing lawsuit.

Between credit cards, gift certificates, prepaid cards, allowance accounts, and now PayPal, Apple's really working hard to provide as many methods of payment at the iTMS as possible. Next up? Well, it's just a guess, but we're thinking cash-- like, maybe you click "BUY NOW" and a ninja with a cash register swoops silently in through an open window, affixing you with a steely-eyed gaze that says "that'll be $15.93, please, and if you've got any singles, that'd be great, because we're running a little low." Once that system's in place, it's merely a matter of time before Apple accepts payments for iTMS purchases in pints of blood, as well as transplantable human organs (minus a nominal surgical extraction fee). What could possibly be more convenient?

Look, we know that, drama-wise, we've been a little iPod- and iTunes-heavy for the past few weeks, but that's the risk of adopting a vaguely reality-based plot stream: generally speaking, we go where Apple takes us, and for better or for worse, Apple's paddling in some very musicky waters these days, while the surface of Lake Mac remains still and unbroken. Just to give you a sense of perspective, here, of Apple's last twenty press releases, fully half of them (put away the fingers, Jethro; there are ten) had something to do with music, while only three dealt directly with desktop or portable Macintosh models. What can we say? We go where the drama is. We can't apologize for that-- at least, not without snorting derisively and rolling our eyes, and why be rude?

But you're right; we need more Macs in the mix to restore some semblance of balance, lest those Mac fans who couldn't care less about Apple's little musical meanderings finally ditch this show and go switching the channel to something classier, like My Big Fat Obnoxious Boss. Luckily, faithful viewer Jef Van der Voort points out that with Macworld Expo Speculation Season now in full swing, there's a juicy Page 2 item over at MacRumors describing several new products slated for a Stevenote intro next month. If you happen to be sick to death of the recent music overload, you should definitely pop right over and soak your eyes for a bit, because there's a whole list of rumored Expo releases-- with nary a music-related product in sight. (We know; freaky!)

Sure, the "Page 2" category is by definition a dumping ground for "uncertain rumors" and all of the Expo release info came via "an anonymous submission," but don't let that stop you from getting excited; after all, there's lots of stuff for Macophiles to obsess about without those pesky iPods hogging all the glory. For one thing, MacRumors's anonymous source claims that eMacs will finally get a long-deserved speed bump to 1.6 GHz-- and a G5, baby! Plus they'll inherit the iMac's 533 MHz bus, gain a 64 MB ATI RADEON 9600 graphics subsystem, and start at just $899 for a combo drive model. Gol-ly.

Not really in the market for a sub-$900 complete G5-based Mac system? No worries; instead you'll be able to lower your sperm count (or the sperm count of someone you love) with a new line of PowerBooks. Well, not "new," exactly, since we're just talking about another speed bump, but it's still a nice revision: reportedly the 12-inch model will get a boost to 1.5 GHz, built-in Bluetooth and AirPort Extreme standard, 33 percent more storage thanks to the new 80 GB hard drive, and a 64 MB Mobility RADEON 9700. The 15-incher, meanwhile, will get bumped from 1.5 GHz up to 1.67 GHz and gain built-in wireless, a 128 MB Mobility RADEON 9800, and a backlit keyboard and 80 GB drive as standard equipment. The 17-incher? Same specs as the 15-inch model except for screen size. And right on top of all that upgradey goodness, Apple will allegedly scoop a nifty $200 price drop across the board.

There's even more, on Keynote 2 and a major new version of QuickTime-- but since those aren't new Macs, we'll leave 'em for some other time. The point is, there is some Expo speculation out there that doesn't obsess about flash-based iPods or the iTunes Music Store finally opening in Burkina Faso. Feeling better?

What's that? You say that the total lack of music products and services in this round of Expo rumors now has you concerned that Apple is about to discontinue the iPod and iTMS? Oh, for crying out loud... you know what? You're on your own on this one, buddy.