9to5 Staff

The BBC Trust just made a bad decision, acting to prevent the BBC offering its iPlayer technology to other UK broadcasters.

The BBC had hoped to turn its Adobe AIR application into a standard for UK broadcasters, offering them an alternative, non-US-owned way to bring their UK content to viewers online.

The BBC had proposed that ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 should have access to iPlayer to enable them to compete with other TV companies when the UK switches over to digital TV in 2012.

The Trust said it "supported the principle of sharing the iPlayer more widely" but said the plans would not deliver value to licence-fee payers.

Diane Coyle, BBC Trustee and Chair of the Trust’s Strategic Approvals Committee said: "The iPlayer is a success, and we believe that access to its technology could be useful to other broadcasters. The Trust supports the BBC’s aim of sharing the benefits of the iPlayer.

"When assessing the proposals submitted by the BBC Executive, the Trust weighed up a number of factors. These included their strategic significance, their impact on other BBC activities, the potential competitive impact, and their overall value to licence fee payers.

"We concluded that the open iPlayer plans in their proposed form, combining both commercial and public service elements, were too complicated. We were not convinced that there was enough potential value to licence fee payers in the public service part of the proposal, and we have therefore rejected the BBC Executive’s proposals for an open iPlayer federation.

"We will look again at future public service models for the online delivery of programming as part of the strategic review now in progress. In the meantime, the Trust is open to considering an alternative proposal for the licensing of the iPlayer technology to third parties if that can be done on a simple, fair and commercial basis."

As a response, Channel 4 has announced it will be offering full-length shows through Google’s YouTube.
 

MacRumors users stumbled upon a note in the Magic Mouse user guide that suggests that an upcoming 10.6.2 will have built in features for the Magic Mouse.  Apple likely didn’t include this software in its previous system software to conceal the the existance of the new Mouse.  10.6.2 should be right around the corner.

Engadget posts a link to iFixit’s MacBook teardown.  They get some information which is not in Apple’s specs.  Some of the highlights of the new Polycarbonate MacBook below:

• The bottom (lower case) is actually aluminum with rubberized coating injection-molded onto one side
• It has the same CPU and GPU as the base model MacBook Pro
• Obviously, the MacBook is now made of plastic Unibody (we’d like to se ehow strong that really is) You obviously have a new rounded edge design.  Along with that goes a new "built-in" battery that has a lot more life (7 hours) than the previous models (5 hours).  This is done with only 23% more battery meaning there is a lot of energy efficiency in this thing.
• Curiously, no SD card slot like the iMacs and MacBook Pros.  Also no IR port for a remote – the only shipping Mac without one.  Bluetooth+3rd party remotes or USB IR is available however.
• MacBook loses the traditional MagSafe power adapter and gains a MacBook Air-like bent adapter.
• The MacBook loses a Firewire port and combines the mic and audio out ports. It also loses Mini-DVI in favor of the Mini DisplayPort adapter
• The MacBook gains a full sized multi-touch touchpad, similar to the Pro models except the glass is white instead of silver.
• This new MacBook weighs in at 4.7 lbs. That’s .3 lbs less than the old plastic MacBook, but .2 lbs more than the 13" Unibody MacBook Pro.
• It has a pretty amazing new heat sync (below) that spans the length of the computer.

Oh, an no more fake screws!

Much more at iFixit

We’re not sure we can remember any Apple non-event (and few events) with so much new hardware announced.  As we look through the announcements, we’re finding interesting little updates and new technologies.

One such update is the Apple Wireless Keyboard.  Striving for continuous improvement, Apple’s Wireless Keyboard now only needs to use two AA Batteries instead of three.  This makes it slightly lighter than the previous version.  The design is otherwise unchanged.

Apple’s new 27" iMacs can be used as monitors for other machines using the Displayport-in slot.  While it is hard to imagine needing something like this for computers (the iMacs are pretty fast), these would make a nice gaming monitor or even a nice small-medium sized HDTV display – if That also use DisplayPort.  Also FYI, the 27" iMac with its 2560×1440 display costs $100 less(!!!) than Apple’s 2560×1600 30" display alone.  We’re not so sure this 30" Cinema Display will be around much longer.

Another new technology that Apple is touting is in-plane switching (IPS) on the new iMacs.  This technology allows LCDs to have viewing agles similar to old fashioned CRT displays.

The 1TB Mac Minis don’t use the new 1TB Western Digital drives that we had originally thought.  They use two 500GB drives.  As far as we can tell, they didn’t make the case any bigger.  So how’d they do it?  Update – they took out the DVD drive and it now it is just block of aluminum.  We’ll know more when the first of the tear aparts are done (iFixit?  TechRestore?)

The MacBook has a new (plastic) Unibody design but is the same thickness as the previous version.  It is significantly lighter however, and has a full sized touchpad just like the MacBook Pros.  It also get an internal battery ending Apple’s use of replaceable batteries in Laptops

Apple has chosen to go with 16:9 screens in the iMacs.  While this is a controversial decision, it would allow iMacs to play 1080P, the BluRay dimensions, without letter-boxing…except that Apple didn’t include a BluRay option.  Also, iMacs are often the first in Apple’s lineup to get new technologies so it wouldn’t urprise us to see  16:9 going down the line of products in the future.

With a screen resolution close to that of a WQXGA 30-inch screen, this 27-inch iMac will likely satisfy those who were calling out for a 30-inch iMac.  In fact, with the Quad-Core i7, 16GB RAM and insane screen, this thing meanders pretty seriously into workstation-land.  Check Gizmodo’s  Magic Mouse,  iMac and  13-inch MacBook unboxing/hands-on.

Seriously, pretty fast Engadget.  

Some quick observations on the new Magic Mouse: It looks thinner than any mouse I’ve used before.  Will it feel like one of those mice that fits into your laptop’s PC card slot? And I wonder how the right and left clicking action will be.  Remember, Apple isn’t 100% awesome when it comes to mice.  Anyone remember Jobs unveiling the "Puck Mouse" as the next greatest thing?  Even the Mighty Mouse ball never worked perfectly for me – I reverted to a Logitech when the ball died.

Anyway, I’ll judge it when we get to play with it – which I am excited about.

We love these…

 Apple has updated so much stuff today that the little things keep slipping by.  Have you seen the new aluminum Apple Remote?  It controls iPhones and iPods with Universal Docs as well.  It sells separately for $19.99 

In a wave of announcements which saw the term Apple shoot into the top ten trend topics on Twitter as Apple Stores worldwide shut down in a synchronised tease, Apple today introduced its all-new wireless Magic Mouse, the first mouse to use MultiTouch technology, the same tech used on the iPhone, iPod touch and MacBook range.

Just as in those products, this will let you navigate your Mac using intuitive finger gestures. Instead of mechanical buttons, scroll wheels or scroll balls, the entire top of the £55/$69Magic Mouse constitutes a seamless Multi-Touch surface.

It makes it a breeze to scroll through long documents, pan across large images or swipe to move forward or backward through a collection of web pages or photos.

“Apple is the MultiTouch leader, pioneering the use of this innovative technology in iPhone, iPod touch and Mac notebook trackpads,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “Apple’s Multi-Touch technology allows us to offer an easy to use mouse in a simple and elegant design.”

Magic Mouse features a touch-sensitive enclosure that allows it to be a single or multi-button mouse with advanced gesture support.

Magic Mouse works for left or right handed users and multi-button or gesture commands can be easily configured from within System Preferences.

The Magic Mouse laser tracking engine provides a smooth, consistent experience across more surfaces than a traditional optical tracking system. It uses Bluetooth wireless and works from up to 10 metres from your Mac.

The mouse also includes an advanced power management system that works with Mac OS X to automatically switch to low power modes during periods of inactivity. The wireless Magic Mouse is powered by two AA batteries which are included.

The new mouse ships as standard with the new iMac and will be made available through Apple’s various retail channels at the end of the month (wonder if this is the doo-dad Apple hopes to fly about and get under a few Mac user’s Christmas trees?)

Magic Mouse requires Mac OS X Leopard version 10.5.8 or later.

As Apple explains the new product on its website: “It began with iPhone. Then came iPod touch. Then MacBook Pro. Intuitive, smart, dynamic. Multi-Touch technology introduced a remarkably better way to interact with your portable devices — all using gestures. Now we’ve reached another milestone by bringing gestures to the desktop with a mouse that’s unlike anything ever before. It’s called Magic Mouse. It’s the world’s first Multi-Touch mouse. And while it comes standard with every new iMac, you can also add it to any Bluetooth-enabled Mac for a Multi-Touch makeover.”

Wow – that was worth the wait. Apple today introduced new iMacs, now equipped with 21.5-inch and 27-inch LED-backlit displays. The new Macs also ship with the all-new wireless Magic Mouse (more follows).

More on the displays – these feature a new edge-to-edge glass design, while the body of these models features a seamless all aluminium enclosure. They offer a 16:9 aspect ratio. Prices on the new models start at £949 (inc. VAT) , or $1,199 in the US.

These consumer desktops are pretty fast, running Intel Core 2 Duo processors starting at 3.06 GHz, and Core i5 and i7 quad-core processors for up to twice the performance.

They ship with a wireless keyboard and the all new wireless Magic Mouse. This mouse is the world’s first mouse to feature the same Multi-Touch technology pioneered by Apple on the iPhone, iPod touch and Mac notebook trackpad.

Instead of needing mechanical buttons, scroll wheels or scroll balls, the entire top of the Bluetooth Magic Mouse is a seamless Multi-Touch surface. Using intuitive gestures, you get to scroll through long documents, pan across large images or swipe to move forward or backward through a collection of web pages or photos. The Magic Mouse can be configured as either a single button or two button mouse, just as you like.

“The iMac is widely praised as the best desktop computer in the world and today we are making it even better,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “With brilliant LED displays and the revolutionary Magic Mouse, the new iMac delivers an amazing desktop experience that we think customers will love.”

The new 21.5-inch iMac features a high resolution 1920-by-1080 pixel display. The 27-inch iMac features a 2560-by-1440 pixel display that offers 60 percent more pixels than the previous 24-inch model. Both 21.5 and 27-inch displays use IPS technology to deliver consistent colour across an ultra wide 178 degree viewing angle.

The iMac features improved graphics across the line with NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphics or ATI Radeon HD 4670 discrete graphics in the 21.5-inch model, and ATI Radeon HD 4670 discrete graphics or ATI Radeon HD 4850 discrete graphics in the 27-inch model.

The new iMac line now also features 4GB of 1066 MHz DDR3 memory and capacity up to 16GB across four SO-DIMM slots. Every iMac features a built-in iSight video camera, mic and stereo speakers. AirPort Extreme 802.11n Wi-Fi networking, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, Gigabit Ethernet, a total of four USB 2.0 ports, one FireWire 800 port and a new built-in SD card slot complete the picture.

Both the iMac and Mac mini (see here) extend Apple’s leadership in green design. iMac and Mac mini meet the new, more stringent Energy Star 5.0 requirements and achieve EPEAT Gold status.

The new iMac now features LED-backlit displays that are mercury-free and made with arsenic-free glass. Both iMac and Mac mini use PVC-free internal components and cables, contain no brominated flame retardants, use highly recyclable materials, and feature material-efficient system and packaging designs.

The new 3.06 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo iMac and Mac mini lines are now shipping and available through the Apple Store, Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorised Resellers.

The Intel Core i5 and i7 quad-core iMacs are available for order and will begin shipping this November. Mac mini with Mac OS X Snow Leopard Server is available from the Apple Store and Apple’s retail stores.

 The new 21.5-inch 3.06 GHz iMac, for a suggested retail price of $1,199 (US), includes:

• 21.5-inch 1920 x 1080 LED-backlit display;
• 3.06 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 3MB shared L2 cache;
• 4GB 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM expandable to 16GB;
• NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphics;
• 500GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 7200 rpm;
• a slot-load 8x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW);
• Mini DisplayPort for video output (adapters sold separately);
• built-in AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;
• built-in iSight video camera;
• Gigabit Ethernet port;
• four USB 2.0 ports;
• one FireWire 800 port;
• SD card slot;
• built-in stereo speakers and microphone; and
• Wireless Apple Keyboard, Magic Mouse.

The new 21.5-inch 3.06 GHz iMac, for a suggested retail price of $1,499 (US), includes:

• 21.5-inch 1920 x 1080 LED-backlit display;
• 3.06 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 3MB shared L2 cache;
• 4GB 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM expandable to 16GB;
• ATI Radeon HD 4670 discrete graphics; with 256MB GDDR3;
• 1TB Serial ATA hard drive running at 7200 rpm;
• a slot-load 8x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW);
• Mini DisplayPort for video output (adapters sold separately);
• built-in AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;
• built-in iSight video camera;
• Gigabit Ethernet port;
• four USB 2.0 ports;
• one FireWire 800 port;
• SD card slot;
• built-in stereo speakers and microphone; and
• Wireless Apple Keyboard, Magic Mouse.

The new 27-inch 3.06 GHz iMac, for a suggested retail price of $1,699 (US), includes:

• 27-inch 2560 x 1440 LED-backlit display;
• 3.06 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 3MB shared L2 cache;
• 4GB 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM expandable to 16GB;
• ATI Radeon HD 4670 discrete graphics; with 256MB GDDR3;
• 1TB Serial ATA hard drive running at 7200 rpm;
• a slot-load 8x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW);
• Mini DisplayPort for video input and output (adapters sold separately);
• built-in AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;
• built-in iSight video camera;
• Gigabit Ethernet port;
• four USB 2.0 ports;
• one FireWire 800 port;
• SD card slot;
• built-in stereo speakers and microphone; and
• Wireless Apple Keyboard, Magic Mouse.

The new 27-inch 2.66 GHz Core i5 iMac, for a suggested retail price of $1,999 (US), includes:

• 27-inch 2560 x 1440 LED-backlit display;
• 2.66 GHz Intel Core i5 quad-core processor with 8MB shared L3 cache;
• 4GB 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM expandable to 16GB;
• ATI Radeon HD 4850 discrete graphics; with 512MB GDDR3;
• 1TB Serial ATA hard drive running at 7200 rpm;
• a slot-load 8x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW);
• Mini DisplayPort for video input and output (adapters sold separately);
• built-in AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;
• built-in iSight video camera;
• Gigabit Ethernet port;
• four USB 2.0 ports;
• one FireWire 800 port;
• SD card slot;
• built-in stereo speakers and microphone; and
• Wireless Apple Keyboard, Magic Mouse.

Build-to-order options for the 27-inch Core i5 quad-core iMac include a 2.8 GHz Intel Core i7 quad-core processor.
 

Apple has updated the MacBook range, introducing a new, durable polycarbonate unibody design featuring an LED display, a glass Multi-Touch trackpad and the same built-in battery as found on the MacBook Pro, offering seven hours battery life.

The new MacBook costs £799 (UK) or XX (US).

on the innovative MacBook Pro, such as an LED-backlit display, glass Multi-Touch trackpad and built-in long-life battery,” said Phil Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “With the only lineup of notebooks all featuring unibody enclosures, LED-backlit displays and long-life battery technology, there’s never been a better time to switch to a Mac.”

The new design includes a unique non-skid bottom surface and weighs just 4.7 pounds. It hosts a 2.26 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 2GB RAM, a 250GB hard drive, and NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphics.

At nearly three times the lifespan of conventional notebook batteries, Apple’s built-in battery results in fewer depleted batteries and less waste. Depleted batteries can be replaced for £99 (inc. VAT), which includes installation and environmentally responsible disposal of your old battery.

The energy-efficient MacBook joins the industry’s greenest lineup of notebooks, with every Mac notebook achieving EPEAT Gold** status and meeting Energy Star 5.0 requirements. The entire Mac notebook line now comes standard with energy efficient LED-backlit displays that are mercury-free and made with arsenic-free glass. Mac notebooks contain no brominated flame retardants, use internal cables and components that are PVC-free and are constructed of recyclable materials.

The new MacBook is available now through the Apple Store, Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorised Resellers.

Features:

• 13.3-inch widescreen LED-backlit 1280 x 800 glossy display;
• 2.26 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo with 3MB shared L2 cache;
• 1066 MHz front-side bus;
• 2GB 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM, expandable to 4GB;
• NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphics;
• 250 GB serial ATA hard drive running at 5400 rpm, with Sudden Motion Sensor;
• a slot-load 8X SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW);
• Mini DisplayPort for video output (adapters sold separately);
• built-in AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;
• Gigabit Ethernet port;
• built-in iSight video camera;
• two USB 2.0 ports;
• one audio line in/out port, supporting optical digital out and analog in/out;
• glass Multi-Touch trackpad;
• built-in, 60WHr lithium polymer battery; and
• 60 Watt MagSafe Power Adapter.

Build-to-order options include the ability to upgrade to 4GB 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM, or 320GB 5400 rpm, 500GB 5400 rpm hard drive, Mini DisplayPort to DVI Adapter, Mini DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI Adapter (for 30-inch DVI display), Mini DisplayPort to VGA Adapter, Apple MagSafe Airline Adapter and the AppleCare Protection Plan.

Another update lost in all the chaos today is the new multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) technology added to the Airport Express and Time capsule.

According to Apple, those improvements in antenna design give you up to 50 percent better Wi-Fi performance and up to 25 percent better range than with the previous-generation AirPort Extreme Base Station.

The FCC accidentally leaked this information out last night.

In tandem with its new Mac introductions today, Apple also introduced a new model AirPort Extreme alongside two new Time Capsule products.

All three new products offer SIM Dual Band in the US. The new model Time Capsules ship with your choice of 1TB or 2TB hard drive/

In related news, the company also introduced an Apple Vesa Mount Adaptor and new 60W MacBook Magsafe power adaptor.

More follows…

Confirming speculation, Apple is introducing new model Mac minis.

There’s three in all, including a 2.26Ghz and 2.53GHz model with 160GB and 320GB drives respectively. The third model offers a 1 terrabyte drive and is configured as a media server.

Starting at £499 (inc. VAT), or XXX in the US, the entry level Mac mini hosts a 2.26 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor and 2GB of DDR3 1066 MHz memory, a 160GB hard drive, five USB 2.0 ports, FireWire 800, NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphics and a SuperDrive.

Higher in the range, the £649 (inc. VAT), or XXX in the US Mac mini features a 2.53 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 4GB of memory and a larger 320GB hard drive.

Seizing an opportunity, Apple  has also introduced a Mac Mini server for $999/£799. This is configured with Mac OS X Snow Leopard Server and features two 500GB hard drives for a total of 1TB of server storage (in the form of two 500GB drives) in the tiny 6.5-inch square by 2-inch tall Mac mini enclosure.

This is aimed at small business and consumer users seeking an affordable media hub.

oth the iMac and Mac mini (see here) extend Apple’s leadership in green design. iMac and Mac mini meet the new, more stringent Energy Star 5.0 requirements and achieve EPEAT Gold status.

Both iMac and Mac mini use PVC-free internal components and cables, contain no brominated flame retardants, use highly recyclable materials, and feature material-efficient system and packaging designs.
 

Sorry everyone – this made it to "published" accidentally before it was supposed to go live…but it is out there so here’s where we are consolidating info…

As anticipated by many, the iMac line got updated with a new, low cost 21.5 inch HD model. Utilizing a new 1920×1080 16:9 aspect ratio screen, the new iMac replaces the previous 20 inch models.  A new 27 inch model replaces the 24 inch model.

Mac Minis got a mild refresh updating processor speeds mildly while getting a new 1TB version media center model.

New MacBook…

Airport Extreme and Time Capsules will get the new 3×3 MIMO radios.

And now you can mount your iMac on the wall?

New Magic mouse as well

More coming shortly…

We now have some part numbers form AppleInsider:

MC207LL/A – K84 BEST BTR- USA
MC238LL/A – MAC MINI 2.26/2x1GB/160/SD/AP/BT-USA
MC239LL/A- MAC MINI 2.53/2x2GB/320GB/SD/AP/BT-USA
MC340LL/A – AIRPORT EXTREME (SIM DUALBAND) – USA
MC343LL/A – TIME CAPSULE 1TB (SIM DUALBAND) -USA
MC344LL/A – TIME CAPSULE 2TB (SIM DUALBAND) – USA
MC408LL/A – MAC MINI 2.53/2x2GB/1TB/NO ODD/AP-BT-USA
MC413LL/A – IMAC 21.5"/3.06/2x2GB/1TB/4670-256MB-USA
MC434LL/A – APPLE VESA MOUNT ADAPTER
MC461LL/A – MACBOOK 60W MAGSAFE POWER ADAPTER – USA

Update: We’ve updated the 9to5mac Livepanel to refresh every 5 seconds. Today it has Apple PR page + Apple US, UK and Australia Stores.  Get there!

Update: US and Europe are going offline.  We might just have an announcement.

Here it comes? Hong Kong, China, Japan, New Zealand and Australia stores are all down.

Update: Yep, we can tick Stuff off of our list of reliable sources.

In a move destined to create much gnawing and gnashing of teeth among company watchers, Apple today allegedly denied it intends introducing any new products later on.

An Apple source has poured cold water on the hubbub of expectation, denying the company plans any announcement “today or tomorrow”.

Stuff reports: “We’ve been in contact with Apple to see if there was any comment to the rumoured announcement. We were first told we "hadn’t missed any Apple announcements", and when pressed on if there was any news on events today or tomorrow, we got the simple reply: "Nope".”

Clutching at straws, we’d like to point out that not every Apple product upgrade actually makes it all the way to “announcement” status, some just quietly slip into being on the Apple Store, but these tend to be slight model upgrades rather than the whizz-bang credit-card attention-seeking new product salvos we’ve learned to love.

We’ll wait and see if there’s any change in the situation, but as of 11.57am UK time, the Apple Store remains open for business and there’s no news there.

NOTE: Above image is illustrative only, as explained above the Apple Store remains open for business.

UPDATE: In the last half hour, Apple Stores in Australia, New Zealand and Japan have gone offline…check back for what happens next…
 

Interesting notes from Taiwan this morning as we sift through the many miles of rapturous reporting that Apple’s business plan (make good products, don’t brag, respect customers enough to give them things they enjoy using and so make money) continues to work, we come across yet another hint at the company’s future plans.

Apple’s results have generated stellar stock movements, not just as regards AAPL stock, but also that of key partners. Early morning news from the East reveal that shares of Apple’s contract manufacturer, Foxconn, have also shot up 6.33 percent at time of writing.

That’s nice, but that’s not the news…seems the company’s parent firm, Taiwan’s Hon Hai Precision Industry has plans to build an all-new $1 billion factory in China that “could be gearing up for the next generation of Apple products,” and that speculation doesn’t come from us, but from MarketWatch.

That Apple is already working up to five years ahead in terms of its product plans should surprise absolutely no one. No company could deliver such a substantial growth story since 1999 without having sat down and mapped out some kind of a vision, Apple’s boss, Steve Jobs, is known to adopt five and longer-term plans when it comes to business.

There’s no way yet we lesser mortals can predict what this new billion dollar factory is going to be churning out, but relatively recent moves such as the acquisition of PA Semi and the decision to create a huge data centre in North Carolina can only lend a little extra spice to any near-term speculation we can create.

In the medium-term, we hope for more notions of what’s to come at WWDC next year, when we consider it likely the company will begin to explain just some of the ideas it hopes to explore in a future iteration of Mac OS X, now it has been able to strip the majority of legacy PowerPC code from within Snow Leopard, which should be seen as a framework for future innovation.

With the accent of industry innovation – at least on the software side – now focused on cloud-based services and pervasive internet devices, we’re curious just how important the product we all now call the tablet in certain knowledge the MultiTouch device we see will be something other than we expected, we’re wondering just what kind of product family Apple believes is worth convincing a key partner into building a billion dollar factory to create. Though certainly part of that fabricator’s output will be future model iPhones.

Back to watching the betting on new product upgrades today. Don’t be surprised if Apple keeps us waiting though – the company can be like that from time-to-time. After all, they already have plans to fly something in by Christmas.

While Apple’s iTunes team becomes ever more serious about Twitter, DVD John’s DoubleTwist has reintroduced sync support for the iPhone and iPod touch (Windows) within its latest update.

DoubleTwist 2.4 for Windows is available now and introduced numerous new features, including playlist creation and sync, library search, and a persistent DoubleTwist library. “While we’ll still access your iTunes and/or Windows Media Player [collections] you can now add folders/directories from anywhere on your system to use as your DoubleTwist library for syncing and transferring to your device(s),” the company said.

Music and Video sync is also now available for the latest iPods abnd iPhones in the Windows version of DoubleTwist, the company said.

Apple gets Twitter (a little)
Twitter is big, really big, and while those short info-nuggets lack substance as a reflection of the subconscious murmurings (and marketing messages) of the internet population, it’s hard to beat.

Apple’s iTunes team has been on Twitter since March, when the company introduced iTunesTrailers, an account which now has over a million followers. That million mark likely generates some traffic, which is why Apple has now introduced several more feeds, as follows:

iTunesMusic
iTunesMovies
iTunesTV
iTunesPodcasts

Some of these accounts have only a few followers, though Apple has created a custom background for each available feed, TechCrunch informs.

Apple’s recent iTunes Live festival in London also saw the company introduce an iTunes UK Facebook page, which now boasts 286,291 fans.

Despite this, Apple’s adventures in social media remain shy, with a few small features spread across some apps, principally YouTube export from QuickTime X and “please buy me this” pester messages within the iTunes Store. Hopefully the company will get its hands on some social networking knowledge soon enough.

Apple will extend the iTunes Store into many more European countries in the coming year, following a critical meeting with European competition commission regulators.

Following yesterday’s meeting, European authorities released a joint statement in collaboration with Apple, music rights bodies and smaller online music operators detailing a series of agreed principles that should make online music sales in Europe more consumer friendly.

Apple and others agreed to the statement during a round table meeting in Europe yesterday, the fourth meeting of the Roundtable on the Online Distribution of Music, chaired by European Commissioner for Competition Neelie Kroes.

Amazon, BEUC, EMI, Nokia, PRS for Music, SACEM, STIM and Universal also took part.

Apple immediately announced that it was encouraged by progress towards more efficient online music licensing and that it is "optimistic" in making the iTunes store available to consumers in more European countries in the coming year.

Commissioner Kroes stated: "European consumers want and deserve better online music offerings. Today’s agreement by the Roundtable on core principles represents real progress in this direction. It is the first time that players from various parts of the market have agreed on a common roadmap. I also welcome the concrete steps and commitments that have been made and which should improve the availability of online music for consumers."

In a key move which should open iTunes up for business in many more European countries, roundtable participants committed to pursuing new EU licensing platforms comprising the repertoires of collecting societies from more than one country. These platforms should consolidate the widest possible repertoire in their catalogues and should be based on voluntary cooperation among right owners.

They also agreed to work toward providing multi-territorial licences and set up a working group to create a common framework for the identification and exchange of rights ownership information. This will make it easier for commercial users to identify the relevant right owners and secure the necessary rights.

EMI announced that it expects to take an important step forward in digital licensing in Europe via forthcoming non-exclusive deals with the Spanish (SGAE) and French (SACEM) collecting societies.

SACEM will now actively cooperate with as many European authors’ societies as possible with a view to building a common, non-exclusive  portal able to offer the largest possible repertoire to online services on a pan-European basis.

The joint statement as agreed yesterday is available to view here.