Weekend Update, 10/17/08

Beyond the wet-your-pants whipsawing of the financial markets, the week ending Oct. 17, 2008, was one in which Apple (AAPL) figured prominently. On Tuesday, the company unveiled revisions to its MacBook, MacBook Pro and MacBook Air portables, as well as its new LED Cinema Display. It also issued a Steve Jobs health update: The Apple CEO’s blood pressure is 110/70.

• Meanwhile … YouTube, through a new deal with CBS (CBS), added “MacGyver” and “Star Trek” re-runs to site classics like “Cat Falls in Toilet” and “Laughing Baby.”
• EBay (EBAY) updated it’s guidance to better reflect “current business trends,” i.e., lousy ones.
• With rumors of December layoffs in the wind, shares of Yahoo (YHOO) slipped into the mud, but recovered slightly thanks to some off-the-cuff remarks by Microsoft (MSFT) CEO Steve Ballmer.
• Walt reviewed T-Mobile’s (DT) G1, the first cellphone based on Google’s Android OS, and concluded it’s a good first effort, but has some downsides.
• And, finally, Google (GOOG) reported third-quarter earnings that beat expectations, proving it’s doing relatively well in the current economic downturn. So far.