New & Noteworthy: Blizzard updates; iBook combo drive model goes retail; Poll reminder

Blizzard game updates Blizzard has released updates to two of its popular games: Diablo II 1.06b and Starcraft 1.0.8b.

battle.net glitch? We have one (unconfirmed as yet) report that, after installing the Starcraft update, a reader was unable to log on to battle.net. The reader adds: "I have talked to some of my friends who play on battle.net and use Macs and this also seems to be affecting them, but not Windows users."

Update: A reader replies: "It is true that when trying to log onto to battle.net through the east gateway, you get an error message. To get around this, log on using the west gateway."

Combo drive iBook goes retail According to a MacCentral article, Apple will now be selling its top-of-the-line iBook with the combo CD-RW/DVD-ROM drive, through retail channels, not just as a BTO option from the online Apple Store. The article goes on to state that it is the CD-RW model will become the BTO option instead, still leaving three configurations for retail channels.

Coming soon to a mall near you? This search results page gives a partial list of where forthcoming Apple Stores will be located.

Software updates: How often is often enough? If you haven't already done so, don't forget to check out the new MacFixIt Poll.