Hey, been to iReview lately? At first we thought Apple might be abandoning its "Critical Guide To The Web," when its content remained static for a couple of months after the site's debut. For ages, there were only eleven sites reviewed in the "Computers" category. Finally, Apple updated its content about a month ago-- and then there were twelve. (Needless to say, AtAT didn't make the cut.)

But now iReview's gotten something resembling a complete overhaul. The layout's been redone for easier navigation, and the home page proudly boasts that the site now hosts "306 reviews." Intrigued, we decided to check out the Computers section again and see what, if anything, had changed. What we found was that Apple has finally divided up the overly-broad "Computers" category into three bite-sized chunklets: General Tech News and Information, Programming and Web Development, and Mac News and Information. Hey, it looks like we Mac-addicted web surfers finally have our own category!

Don't get too excited, though; the Mac section of iReview consists of reviews for a whopping six sites. What's worse, four of them-- MacCentral, MacWEEK, Macworld Online, and ZDNet Apple/Mac News-- are all owned and run by the same people, and they all cross-link to the same content. Only TidBITS and MacFixit are represented as independent, Apple-sanctioned Mac news sites. You can consider this a coincidence if it makes you feel more comfortable, but deep down we all know the real reason: Apple's trying to steer Mac surfers towards sites with "approved" content. Why else would they review only six Mac info sites? There are dozens! Where's MacAddict, for example? Too edgy? And if one of the biggest Mac magazines can't get listed on iReview, you know that the rumors sites like Mac OS Rumors and AppleInsider don't stand a chance. And AtAT? Well, we'll probably get listed on Microsoft's site before we make it onto iReview. In fact, we already have been.

Correction: Faithful viewer Adam Gillitt points out that Ziff-Davis (the ZDNet folks) do not own Macworld, MacWEEK, and MacCentral. Those three are indeed all owned by Mac Publishing LLC, but even though ZDNet hosts Macworld and MacWEEK's sites and shares content, ZD's a whole separate entity. Thanx to Adam for the correction.