Earlier this month, privacy issues related to the uploading of users' address books to developers' servers were cast into the limelight as Congress requested details from Apple on how private information is handled and protected. While Apple quickly responded to note that it would be addressing the issue by requiring explicit permission to be granted by users for apps to access their address book data, it has been a relatively open secret for some time that developers can gain access to a broad array of what might be considered private information, including photos, calendars, and other content. The New York Times today is taking a closer look at the topic of photos and videos, noting how easy it is for developers to quietly gain access to such content when given permission to collect location information.

In line with expectations, The Loop reports that Apple today sent out invitations for a media event scheduled for next week Wednesday, March 7. The event will be held at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco and is scheduled to begin at 10:00 AM Pacific / 1:00 PM Eastern.

CNBC has just issued a Tweet claiming its sources have indicated that Apple will indeed be launching a quad-core iPad 3 next with 4G LTE cellular data capabilities next week. Interestingly, the tweet claims that the unveiling will take place in New York, a departure from the company's typical major announcements that have taken place either in San Francisco or at the company's headquarters in Cupertino.

Today would have been Steve Jobs' 57th birthday, and a number of Apple fans are taking the opportunity to commemorate his life and legacy, with the topic currently appearing on Twitter's list of top trending topics worldwide.

LoopInsight's Jim Dalrymple weighs in on the questionable rumor that Apple would introduce the iPad 3 at the 2012 Macworld|iWorld conference in January. Dalrymple says plainly: I checked with a number of my sources today and an iPad 3 is not planned for release at Macworld.

Japanese blog Macotakara has purchased some of the early iPad 3 parts that have been circulating at online retailers. These parts come from TVC-Mall which also stocked early iPhone 4S parts in the months before its launch

Rumors rumors, rumors everywhere. Yes, you got it, yet more rumors doing the rounds and this time they relate to the possible inclusion of a 7.85 inch iPad being released in 2012 to accompany its bigger 9.7 inch brother. This particular rumor is nothing new, and has been doing the rounds for some time now, but it appears that it is growing in credibility

The iPhone is great. When it was launched in 2007 it had a similar impact on the smartphone industry that the iPod had on the personal music space in 2001