Getting back to school, or back to work after a summer vacation? If that means getting back to Apple Mail, check out the 30-to-50 percent discounts on a bevy of Mail-related products, including our “Take Control of Apple Mail” books. Other ExtraBITS this week include an explanation of why one of AT&T’s policies is bad for deaf iPhone users, an explanation of Dropbox’s two-factor authentication, and an interview with Tonya Engst on MacVoicesTV.

Notable software releases this week include Transmit 4.2, CloudPull 2.1.3, and VMware Fusion 5 and Fusion 5 Professional.

The main industry news that broke late last week was Apple’s win in the patent lawsuit against Samsung — it’s interesting gossip, but won’t materially affect the lives of Apple users. Our other two ExtraBITS for you this week are pointers to Tonya Engst and Matt Neuburg appearing separately on Chuck Joiner’s MacVoices podcast.

Notable software releases this week include OmniFocus 1.10.3, ClamXav 2.3.2, and DEVONagent Lite, Express, and Pro 3.3.

ExtraBITS this week span the gamut, starting with Tonya Engst’s appearance on the Tech Doctor Podcast, Cult of Mac’s comparison of print and ebook prices for textbooks, some juicy Apple secrets revealed in the Apple-Samsung patent suit, a site that lets you navigate recent Mars photos using an iOS device’s gyroscope sensor, Lex Friedman’s explanation of how to turn on Google’s two-factor authentication, and a collection of reminiscences on HyperCard’s 25th anniversary.

Notable software releases this week include Nisus Writer Pro 2.0.4 and Express 3.4.3, DEVONthink and DEVONnote 2.4, and TextExpander 4.0.1.

HyperCard was released 25 years ago, so we point at Twitter-linked reminiscences this week in ExtraBITS, along with Dan Frakes’s explanation of Mountain Lion’s new Power Nap feature and more on how Mat Honan’s iCloud account was hacked (the specifics of which should no longer be possible).

Notable software releases this week include MacBook Pro Retina SMC Update 1.0, Coda 2.0.2, Airfoil 4.7.2, Audio Hijack Pro 2.10.5, TinkerTool 4.9, PDFpen and PDFpenPro 5.8.5, and Voila 3.2 and Boom 1.5.

Thievery figures strongly in our ExtraBITS this week, as David Pogue’s iPhone was stolen and then recovered, and as someone convinced Apple customer service to give up control over Gizmodo writer Mat Honan’s iCloud account. Also this week, we share articles about the likely revenues surrounding the popular Sparrow email client, a TUAW interview about ebooks with Michael Cohen, and the appearance of Hulu Plus on the Apple TV.

Notable software releases this week include Fantastical 1.3.2, Firefox 14.0.1, Nisus Writer Pro 2.0.3 and Express 3.4.2, SuperDuper 2.7, Yojimbo 3.0.4, LaunchBar 5.3, Scrivener 2.3.1, MacBook Air SMC Updates 1.5 and 1.6, BusyCal 1.6.4, Aperture 3.3.2, iPhoto ’11 9.3.2, and iMovie ’11 9.0.7.

We have a number of interesting ExtraBITS for you this week, including news of Tor Books going DRM-free, a sad farewell to Spell Catcher author Evan Michael Gross, the addition of a Cards pages to Trello, and word that Qantas Airways will be providing iPads for in-flight entertainment on some flights.

Notable software releases this week include Quicksilver β69, GraphicConverter 8.2, Carbon Copy Cloner 3.5, ChronoSync 4.3.4 and ChronoAgent 1.3.4, SpamSieve 2.9.3, MacBook Air and MacBook Pro Update 1.0, Alfred 1.3, CloudPull 2.1.2, Mellel 3.0, and SOHO Organizer 9.2.8.

Notable software releases this week include Microsoft Office for Mac 2011 14.2.3, iPhoto ’11 9.3.1, and Audio Hijack Pro 2.10.4.

Two quick ExtraBITS for you this week: news of Apple withdrawing from, and then immediately rejoining, the EPEAT program for environmental stewardship; and the strange story of a Russian hacker who figured out how to trick iOS into allowing free in-app purchases.

Notable software releases this week include Keyboard Maestro 5.3.1, SpamSieve 2.9.2, Hazel 3.0.9, and ClamXav 2.3.1.

Apple’s App Store weathered a few storms last week, with what might have been a Trojan horse sneaking through the approval process and a problem that caused all new and updated apps downloaded for a few days to be corrupted. Our linked articles have the details, along with a pointer to Mozilla’s announcement of Thunderbird going into maintenance mode and Glenn Fleishman outlining his working methods at Macdrifter.

Notable software releases this week include Aperture 3.3.1, CloudPull 2.1.1, and KeyCue 6.2.

Should you be worried about the privacy implications of Siri? That’s the question prompted by this MIT Technology Review article. Also this week, Andy Ihnatko expresses his concern about how Apple is requiring certain things for integration with iCloud.

Notable software releases this week include TextExpander 4.0, Skype 5.8.0.865, and Bento 4.1.1.

Only one quick hit this week, but you’ll find plenty to read, since it’s a collection of interesting responses to an NPR intern revealing that she has purchased almost none of the music in her 11,000-song collection.