So what's really going on with the iPod patent?

So it started last Tuesday (the 9th) with an AppleInsider post regarding how Apple's patent application on much of the iPod's technology was rebuffed by the USPTO in favor of a prior filing by John Platt. Ok, got it. But as WizBang points out, step two, and three, etc., is where it gets sticky, wherein TechWeb brings Platt's employer, Microsoft, into the mix (and bungles the deets on the patent in question), adds their two cents on the matter, and the Independent adds their spin on the TechWeb piece.
Things apparently start spiraling out of control, and what we have now is something of a muddy mess of reporting that might take a little while to sort out—but the long and short of it is Apple can't be held liable. Why? Prior art: iPods were shipping before Platt's patent was even filed. Hmm, go figure.