Let’s take a little time off this frenzy of talking about the new iPhone and when it’s coming out and who’s carrying it and what features it has and how it looks like and if I should sell my old one now so I can still get a good price and snap up the new one even though I have no idea if I can actually use it in my country just yet…

Ahem.

See what I mean. Let’s talk about other things for a moment. Like phishing.

Just a heads up. A new scam is doing the rounds that involves the iTunes Store. Scammers con people into giving up credit and other important info by luring them to a faux iTunes site where you’re asked to update your billing info. iTunes account holders get email telling that they have a problem with their account and request you to fix it by updating your critical info on the fake page. Old and tired phishing scam, but a fresh and rich field of harvest.

Just a little Public Service Announcement from the Doodler. (I know you guys would never fall for such a silly thing, but it’s nice to be reminded. Right?)

The iTunes Store has just begun selling shows from cable company HBO, starting off with episodes from six shows: The Wire, Flight of The Conchords, Rome, The Sopranos, Deadwood and Sex & The City.

Most shows sell for $1.99 an episode like episodes from other sources, but in a departure from the norm, iTunes is  instituting variable pricing on the HBO shows, asking a dollar extra for episodes of Rome, Deadwood and The Sopranos, which is a first for the US iTunes market.

Previously iTunes UK started selling NBC shows with variable pricing as well. Along with the HBO precedent, this is a sign that Apple might be selling NBC shows on iTunes once more, since the pricing issue was one of the bones of contention involved in the Apple-NBC split earlier.

The Doodler’s favorite podcast - Buzz Out Loud - has morphed into a vidcast for real. Unlike the live Ustream feeds I wrote about before, this one’s a full-bore video, complete with a multi-camera setup and a director!

Other than that, nothing’s changed much as far as content and execution are concerned. Except for the fact that now hosts Tom Merritt, Molly Wood and Jason Howell now have to worry about what to wear and how to look when they do the show. (Molly’s made up! And accessorized too!) And to be mindful of how to act since they’re on cam now.

At least you can now see them as they do the show. Tom and Molly look and act they way they normally do on their other video stuff, but producer  Jason seems a bit awkward. (For some reason, I’ve always thought of him as looking like actor Jason Segel from How I Met Your Mom.) You can also see their hardware prefs - in front of Jason is a Thinkpad, Molly a Dell (?), and Tom a MacBook Pro (and there goes your Mac connect, haha).

It’s not yet on iTunes, but you can catch the first BOL Video on CNET TV here, for streaming or for download.

Talk about low-profile.

As of today Apple’s now apparently selling movies on the iTunes Store, whereas previously you could only rent them (at that atrociously time-limited way everyone’s ticked off over). Seems like a significant change, but for some reason Apple is downplaying it; not even a whiff, when they normally would trumpet to the high heavens anything new. Regular resolutions so far, no HD yet; average cost seems to hover around $15/movie.

Another notable change is the simultaneous release of new movies on iTunes in sync with brick-and-mortar DVD releases. Not quite as downplayed as the movies-for-sale thing, this move is a glove-slap-in-the-face for traditional outlets. Cry havoc and let loose the dogs of war!

I was expecting this, but not in this way. Not on the iTunes Store, for goodness’ sake.

American Idol aspirant Renaldo Lapuz, a Filipino who caused a riot of sorts with the hosts of American Idol Season 7 by WilliamHung-ing his way into the spotlight with his white feathered costume and self-composed ode to Simon Cowell, is now a free music video on the iTunes Store.

Oh dear God.

It was amusing at first to the MacADoodlers in the Philippines, where MAD is made, and where Lapuz was originally from, but it was particularly amusing for the Doodler himself, as Lapuz’ previous job for 13 years prior to moving to the States, he discovered, was as a public tricycle driver in Sikatuna Village, where the Doodler lives. No wonder he looked familiar.

AI gave him lots of airtime, and Simon himself predicted sarcastically that Lapuz’ song, We’re Brothers Forever, would be the next hit. Well, it’s here. A free 7-min video, all of an 83mb download, from the iTunes Store. Get it while it lasts.

Another sign that the end times are nigh.