While we were working on our 20th anniversary coverage all week, we still found a few minutes to keep up on the latest iPad news from Apple, Sprint, and Israel; to chuckle at a trenchant Tom Tomorrow comic and a tongue-in-cheek suggestion for how to print from an iPad; to note the shipment of the amusingly named Doxie scanner; and cheer for our own Glenn Fleishman's debut in Australian politics (via a quote, anyway).

Strong Demand Causes iPad Shortages, Delays International Release -- Apple has released a statement saying that the unexpectedly strong demand for the iPad in the United States (over 500,000 units sold in the first week) and the large number of preorders for the iPad 3G will result in product shortages for a few more weeks. In addition, Apple is delaying the international launch of the iPad one month, to late May; pre-orders will be accepted starting 10 May 2010. It's a good news/bad news situation: the iPad is wildly popular, but so much so that it will be hard to get in the near term.

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Sprint Offers iPad Case for 3G/4G Portable Hotspot -- Sprint is upping its promotion of the combined 3G (EVDO) and 4G (WiMax) Overdrive portable hotspot to iPad owners as an alternative to a 3G-enabled iPad by offering a special case that can hold both an iPad and the Overdrive. The case requires a trip to a Best Buy in a state in which Sprint's Clearwire division offers WiMax service. The Overdrive costs $100 with a 2-year contract at $50-$60 per month for unlimited WiMax, and up to 5 GB of 3G service each month (300 MB outside Sprint's 3G/4G territory).

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Tom Tomorrow on "If Real Life Were More Like the Internet" -- Tom Tomorrow's "This Modern World" comic turns its attention to the question of what real life would be like if it were more like the Internet. Scary funny stuff!

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Israel Bans Import of iPads -- Never mind that Apple's new iPad won't be available outside the United States for a few more weeks. An Associated Press article tells us Israel has banned all imports of the popular tablet device, even going so far as to confiscate them from tourists upon arrival and hold them for a daily fee. Customs officials will return the iPad upon its owner's departure from the country. The Communication Ministry says the iPad's wireless frequencies are incompatible with national standards. If you decide to travel light with your iPad, make sure it will be welcome wherever you're going!

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How to Print from an iPad -- Big points to Steve Cencula of the design group FORM for his tongue-in-cheek photo showing the fastest and easiest way to print from an iPad.

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Doxie Cloud-Focused Scanner Now Shipping -- Attempting to go paperless in your life or business, but having trouble finding the right scanner? Consider checking out Apparent Corporation's portable USB-powered document scanner Doxie, which we first saw in pre-release at Macworld Expo. The $129 device, which is now shipping, scans documents at up to 600 dpi and can send them to Google Docs, Flickr, Evernote, Scribd, and many other Web and local applications. Doxie is currently available in the United States, Canada, the E.U., Australia, and Japan, and it requires that you be running Mac OS X 10.5 or later.

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Australian Broadband Minister Quotes TidBITS Staffer in Speech -- Our own Glenn Fleishman was quoted by Australia's Senator Stephen Conroy, the minister for broadband, communications, and the digital economy, in a recent speech. The quote came from an article Glenn wrote for the Northwest news site PubliCola, about electricity being the killer app of 1900, in the way that broadband is the killer app today. Australia plans an ambitious fiber and wireless infrastructure buildout to ensure near universal high-speed access, with 90 percent of residents having fiber to the home.

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