The New York Times DealBook blog wrote about BusinessWeek writer Arik Hesseldahl's plan for Apple's pile of cash: Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) should start a venture capital fund, much like Intel Corp. (NASDAQ:INTC) has done with Intel Capital.

Apple currently has around $12 billion in cash, and adds another billion or so every quarter. Hesseldahl correctly points out that large acquisitions, especially in the tech sector, have a way of not working out as well as planned. Actually, most of them fail miserably.

So the idea of a venture capital fund seems to make sense, particularly because, in addition to the gains that are possible through venture capital, Apple could also fund companies that will increase demand for Apple's products: software companies, companies that make Ipod accessories, and so on.

But here's another idea for Apple's cash hoard. If you own the stock, presumably you believe it's undervalued. So what better investment could Apply make then increasing the company's share buy-back program?

Don't trash your DVD players just yet. The box that is destined to take over living rooms everywhere by the end of February is now being pushed back a couple weeks into March. "Wrapping up Apple TV is taking a few weeks longer than we projected, and we now expect to begin shipments mid-March," an Apple spokesperson told Macworld.

One possible explanation for the delay is that Apple has not received approval for the device from the Federal Communications Commission. "A pushout of two to three weeks suggests to me more of an issue with the FCC than with anything else," says analyst Dave Carey of Portelligent.

Tim Beyers from the Motley Fool added that "for as long as Microsoft has been setting -- and missing -- schedules, Apple has been announcing and simultaneously shipping its biggest breakthroughs. Until recently, that is." Mr. Beyeres can't be serious. Apple's two-week delay on a single product pales in comparison to Microsoft's history of delayed product intros.

Arik Hesseldahl of BusinessWeek reports, "Whatever the cause, if it does meet its mid-March deadline and Apple TV is a success, Apple will still be well ahead of the pack."