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Is iTunes ditching DRM tomorrow???!

According to an article on Gizmodo,  it looks as though Apple might just be ditching DRM tomorrow across most if not all of it’s music store.

Speculation about if when iTunes would score DRM-free tracks from all major studios like Amazon and Walmart has been rampant, but according to a rumor at AppleInsider, all this speculation may come to an end tomorrow.

AppleInsider cites a Dec. 3 story from the French publication Electron Libre that says iTunes will remove DRM from Sony BMG, Universal and Warner tracks on December 9th, like it already does with EMI and indie content. The story doesn’t say what percentage of tracks from the major labels, or what the cost bump for the new tracks might be, if any, though it seems to say the thing might cover every single album and track on iTunes. In fact, check out this rather ungraceful machine translation of the French story for yourself:

…The signals are clear today. iTunes should offer catalogs of three majors Universal Music, SonyBMG Music and Waner [sic] rid of technological protection measures next Tuesday, Dec. 9. The transition to DRM Free should be at a global level…

With that opener, it almost reads like a fortune. I for one hope this fortune comes true. [Electron Libre viaAppleInsider]

Somehow though, I don’t see this happening tomorrow.   This isn’t something Apple would do lightly, and with the Macworld keynote coming up in around a month,  why not save it until Steve is on stage?  It seems like a strangely un-Apple sort of move, though they’ve surprised me before.

I suppose like most things Apple, I’ll find out somewhere around noon eastern time.

Apple’s netbook/tablet to be based on ARM architecture?

In other news that doesn’t surprise me at all, rumors are swirling that Apple’s entrance into the netbook/tablet arena will not be running an intel based chip.   To be honest, I’m not sure why this is shocking anyone.

Apple has always been big on playing with the wording of it’s public statements.  At the last Jobs keynote, the CEO of Apple stated that they didn’t know how to make an inexpensive Mac without compromising quality.   So whatever this device is, you can bet on the fact that it will NOT be a full on Mac.   Hence, it probably won’t run a full on intel processor.   I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again.  Apple does not want to release a cheap product that will cannibalize the sales of it’s oh-so-popular MacBook line.

So what IS this mystery device that is hidden beneath the bowels of 1 Infinite Loop, Cupertino California?  Likely something that is based more on the iPhone archetecture than anything else.  In fact I’d expect it to resemble Nokia’s N-series tablets more than an iMac or a Macbook Air.  This article from Computerworld, makes a good argument for that as well:

To recap, here are the reasons, I believe that Apple will choose the ARM platform for their upcoming Netbook/Tablets.

1. Apple has an internal PA Semi team working on future ARM chips for the iPhone/iPod Touch
2. ARM chips cost an order of magnatude less (to license) than Intel equivalents
3. ARM chips take up less space on a motherboard
4. ARM chips use many times less power, enabling much longer battery life and much sleeker design.
5. You won’t need to virtualize Windows on these types of devices.  Most other Apple applications can be easily ported between chips.
6. Apple wants more control over the processors, which it can’t have with Intel.
7. While a variant of the iPhone version of OSX is the most likely of candidates, Snow Leopard’s optimization release might also be for ARM as well.

So Whatever we’re looking at here. It isn’t a Mac.  I can be pretty sure of that.  With companies starting to produce netbooks running Android,  I can totally see Apple modifying the iPhone OS and subsequently the App Store, so that they will run on a netbook style device.

Hopefully the App Store will become device aware,  only allowing you to download apps written for your specific device, as that would seem to provide the most Apple-like user experience.

So what are the advantages to this new kind of device?   Likely a bigger / higher resolution display,  possibly a physical keyboard, perhaps USB ports for extending the functionality, a faster processor and graphics chip allowing for more complex / graphically intensive apps and games.   Not to mention the fact that a physical keyboard would likely entice devs to write some good office software for the platform as well.

Regardless of what is coming.  I certainly am in the camp that believes that this (comparatively) low-priced device will NOT be a full on Mac, but more of an extension of the iPhone / iPod touch platform.  Either way, January can’t come fast enough.  I want to find out!

The Fake MacBook Nano makes us want an Apple netbook even more!

I know it’s never going to happen, or at least, Steve Jobs will do his damnedest to make sure such a product never sees the light of day,  but I’ll be damned if I don’t really want a Mac netbook like one of these.

Gizmodo posted these pictures of what is likely an MSI Wind modded into a shiny new MacBook Nano.  It’s obviously fake, but probably not very far from what Apple could come up with.  So why don’t they?

Simply because they won’t make enough money off of them.

Of course Steve Jobs says that they don’t know how to make a cheap laptop that isn’t “a piece of junk”,  but what that really means is,  we dont know how to make a cheap laptop that isn’t a piece of junk that we still make a 50% profit on.  If Apple has been consistent on one thing since the return of Steve Jobs well over 10 years ago, it’s that they won’t release a product unless they are absolutely sure that they will be able to make a serious profit margin on it.

Even Apple’s iPhone 3g which retails for $199 makes Apple a serious profit margin,  it’s just that we don’t really pay it.  AT&T does.  It’s rumored that AT&T pays Apple $399-499 for each iPhone 3g and then subsidizes it to the price we see today.

Apple doesn’t want to cannibalize the sales of it’s wildly-successful MacBook line with a line of laptops which at the $500-700 price range, would be of serious interest to average consumers.  Not to mention the fact that the sub-optimal performance of OS X on an Atom based netbook would hurt the user experience, something we know Apple is NEVER interested in doing.

So what WILL show up in that open $500-$700 slot in Apple’s product line?  I have a feeling that we’ll find out the answer to that question in January at MacWorld.

Is Microsoft considering using WebKit for IE?

AppleInsider today posted an EXTREMELY interesting article proporting that Microsoft may be considering WebKit as a replacement rendering engine for it’s currently lackluster Internet Explorer web browser.  From the Article:

The student put Ballmer on the hot seat by asking, “Why is IE still relevant and why is it worth spending money on rendering engines when there are open source ones available that can respond to changes in Web standards faster?”

“That’s cheeky, but a good question, but cheeky,” Ballmer replied, according to a report by TechWorld. Ballmer explained that Microsoft would need to consider the future of the browser and determine if there is any lack of innovation for the company to capitalize upon with ‘proprietary extensions that broaden its functionality.’

“There will still be a lot of proprietary innovation in the browser itself so we may need to have a rendering service,” Ballmer said, adding, “Open source is interesting. Apple has embraced Webkit and we may look at that, but we will continue to build extensions for IE 8.”

Ballmer also admitted the delays in moving from IE 6 to IE 7 during the development of Vista under the Longhorn project. “But I don’t what to go there,” he said.

Will it happen?  I doubt it.  At least not in the desktop version of IE.   Microsoft has far too much vested in it’s proprietary technologies in IE.  I highly doubt they’d give them up just for the sake of standards compliance.

What I think is more likely is a shift to WebKit as the rendering engine of the next generation of MOBILE Internet Explorer.  WebKit has proven its worth in the mobile space as the core of both Apple’s Mobile Safari, and as the core of the browser on Google’s G1.

Without a doubt WebKit is the fastest and highest quality mobile browser available today, and Microsoft moving it’s mobile offerings there would make a significant improvement over the current iteration of Mobile Internet Explorer without requiring the development time needed to develop their own version.   Considering how fast Microsoft is falling behind in the Mobile Space, with Windows Mobile 7 now scheduled for a few YEARS from now,  incorporating a better browser and some UI improvements into something like a “Windows Mobile 6.5″,  could be the only way to save their marketshare which is quickly being sucked away by the likes of Apple and RIM.

The fact that Ballmer even MENTIONED this says a lot about the fact that Microsoft knows it’s missing the boat in the browser war and is starting to wake up to the fact that they need to work on it quickly.

Apple ISN’T making a netbook. Get over it.

Investors on Apple’s quarterly conference call, asked Steve Jobs if Apple was planning on making an entrance into the world of inexpensive netbooks.  Jobs’ characteristically dodged the question by saying that if the market grew large enough Apple would consider getting into it, and then noted that the iPhone performs many of the same functions as a netbook.

A lot of the pundits out there are jumping to some really silly conclusions and saying things like  “APPLE IS WORKING ON A NETBOOK!! YAY!!! LETS SIT AROUND AND WAIT FOR APPLE TO RELEASE A $400 LAPTOP!! WOO!!”

No.  They AREN’T doing it, and they likely NEVER will.   At least not a netbook like we know them today.  Why?  Read after the jump.

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FIRST SHOTS FROM THE NEW STAR TREK MOVIE!

(click to enlarge)

Here are the first exclusive shots from the marketing campaign that is starting on the new Star Trek movie, being released next year. So far, I have to say that this looks freakin AWESOME!

To see the rest of these great new shots, check them out after the jump.

Shots courtesy of UGO, TrekMovie, MTV, IGN, and Aint it Cool News

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