Appletell

Opening day of WWDC ‘08 appeared to kick off a string of software updates from Apple. Quicktime was updated to Quicktime 7.5 and iMovie has been updated to iMovie 7.1.2. Following close behind was an update to iDVD ‘08, which has been updated to iDVD 7.0.2. The download is 20.27MB.

Logging onto Apple’s support page, you’ll find that the update “fixes general compatibility issues, improves overall stability, and addresses a number of other minor issues.” However, if you are searching for additional information about the update, Apple isn’t talking about it. I’ve found that annoying, and always wished Apple would release more information about its updates.

More after the jump.

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Since its introduction by Apple on January 9th, 2001, iTunes has become one of the most popular music library organization apps ever.  It started off simple and eventually became what it is today, a place not only to organize files, but to shop, learn, and watch.  With so much growth, large deals, and new features in the past few years, it makes me wonder where iTune’s place will be in the future.  When digital sales take over physical media, will it be because of iTunes?  Will iTunes one day start a revolution in how we purchase and handle all of our DVDs, music, and TV shows?  Or will iTunes eventually slip away into the past and be replaced by a whole new app or movement?

With the direction iTunes is headed now, it seems like it very well could be the driving force behind moving totally to digital sales for some.  It has one of the biggest music selections available anywhere, allows you to rent movies, releases new DVD titles the same day as hard copies, and contains all sort of other media, such as podcasts and TV shows.  With only a couple more deals and updates, iTunes could soon be the place to go for all of your media.  This would almost completely eliminate the need for physical media.  Don’t get me wrong though, I don’t think this will happen anytime very soon, but it is possible.  But what would seal the deal for moving completely to digital media?

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Hate rushing to the store to make sure you are able to get one of the few copies available of your favorite movie on the day of its DVD release?  We’ve all been there, and it sucks.  Well, Apple has now come to the rescue.  You are now able to purchase iTunes movies on the same day as their hard copy DVD release.  This deal covers a ton of studios, including 20th Century Fox, The Walt Disney Studios, Warner Bros., Paramount Pictures, Universal Studios Home Entertainment, Sony Pictures Entertainment, and Lionsgate.  The new releases go for $14.99 currently at the iTunes store.

“We’re thrilled to bring iTunes Store customers new films for purchase day-and-date with the DVD release,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s vice president of iTunes. “We think movie fans will love being able to buy their favorites from major and independent studios.”

It was going to happen eventually, and I’m glad the time has finally come.  Could this be one of the largest steps in a while towards moving completely to digital entertainment, or is there still a long way to go?

First Fox did it, and now Lionsgate will be joining them in using iTunes Digital Copy on some DVDs. Digital Copy allows DVDs to be transferred and imported to iTunes in a DRM format, essentially giving buyers multiple ways to watch the movie, rather than simply playing the DVD on a standard player and television. Fox took advantage of this a few months ago, and Lionsgate plans to do the same. The first two titles from Lionsgate to receive the Digital Copy treatment are Rambo and The Eye. Alright, so they didn’t pick the best films, but if you were planning on buying these on DVD anyway, things just got better. Lionsgate says that the Digital Copy will only be included on the special edition DVD and the Blu-ray version. Of course, these two are a bit more pricy than the plain DVD, which is a disadvantage if you’re a chronic DVD buyer and are looking to budget. Lionsgate said that more titles will be released after, and it is rumored that these first Digital Copy versions will be hitting stores sometime this summer.

Via [Ars Technica]

When you’re awestruck by the MacBook Air’s strikingly thin design - you start to forget about its drawbacks. Obviously, the major drawback is its optical drive - it doesn’t have one. This means you’ll either have to lug around an external drive (which costs an extra $99) or you’ll need to “borrow” another computer’s drive via WiFi. When you think about how the Remote Disc feature works, you start to think about its limitations. Because it’s transferring data from one computer to another through a wireless connection, the rate is much slower and will vary all the time. It won’t write discs, which is acceptable considering how it works. But you may not have known that it doesn’t play DVDs either (or rip them for that matter). So if you’re planning to watch movies on your MacBook Air, you’ll have to rip them on another computer and transfer them to it.

For a computer that costs almost as much as a MacBook Pro - the MacBook Air seems extremely expensive for only having the advantage of being thin and light. It’s still the same size as a MacBook, 13 inches. Maybe Apple’s decision to remove the optical drive was deliberate - so that more people would buy or rent movies from iTunes.

Via [MacUser]

Have you ever inserted a disc into your Mac’s drive and then shut it down - completely forgetting that you had a disc in there? Disctop will prevent that from happening again. It’s a cool free app that displays a semi-transparent picture of a disc on your Mac’s desktop. What’s even cooler about it is the amount of detail that has been put into it. If you’re inserting a movie DVD or an audio CD, it will download the disc art from Amazon.com and beautifully display it on top of the disc. Disctop will even ask you what kind of Mac you have, to ensure that the disc is on the right position on the screen, and that the eject timing is perfect. A lot of time has gone into this and it really is an amazing app, even though its purpose is small.

You can download it from the developer’s website.

Via [TUAW]

We’ve heard dozens of rumors about iTunes movie rentals - but this rumor seems very realistic - and it is not simply movie rentals as the spectators at Macworld would expect, it’s done in a new kind of way, Apple style. When you insert an iTunes-compatible DVD from Fox to your Mac or PC, iTunes will start up and prompt you to copy the file into your iTunes library. This file will be in H.264 enhanced digital at 1.5mbps. Which is pretty good quality. I’m pretty sure that these files are intended for on-the-go usage. For example, you copy the files into iTunes, transfer to your iPod and watch it on the plane. This is a new system and I think it will work perfectly. The only problem is that these files are likely to be heavily loaded with DRM, and that’s not good news coming from a company that is trying to push the DRM-free format.

A tipster at TUAW, Stewart, said he bought an early copy of a Family Guy DVD due for release on January 15th (Macworld date), and that it was branded iPod-compatible. He posted pictures and screenshots on the TUAW post linked below.

Via [TUAW]

Along with rumors of Fox partnering with Apple for movie rentals this morning, rumors of DVD copying have risen as well. Apple’s infamous DRM system, FairPlay, will be used to allow the copying of Fox DVDs to iTunes, iPods, iPhones, and AppleTVs. Although users have been able to copy DVDs and import them for a while, a one click system would be easier and faster. Hopefully, other studios will hop on board if this is a success. All will hopefully be unveiled at the Stevenote.

Via [Valleywag]