Apple to announce, detail iPhoneOS 4 today

Say what you will about Apple, Inc, it is not one to sit on its laurels. Less than a week after the first Apple iPads shipped, they are having a media event to discuss iPhoneOS 4 - the next generation of the operating system powering the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad. Early rumors suggest that among the announcements will be: multitasking for 3rd party apps, release of iAds - an advertising service to allow more developers to release their apps for free, and direct printing support within the operating system.

Is today the beginning of the iTablet Era?

Today, Apple reveals their "newest creation". No one knows for sure, but most rumors are predicting a Table Computer from Apple. A few minority sites are predicting new iPod Touches with cameras or a Verizon iPhone. Others are predicting the release of iPhoneOS 4.0, perhaps even a preview of the iPhone 4.0 hardware. Still others, a revamped iTunes Store selling magazines and books. No matter what, this is sure to be an interesting day. If you want to follow along with the announcements, Engadget is offering a liveblog. It is sure to be a day to remember, even if all Steve Jobs does was come onstage, announce a minor upgrade to AppleTV, and humiliate the tech press.

Apple Event - January 27

The Apple Blogsphere has been abuzz for weeks with rumors about a "special event" in late January, which many posited would be the release venue for the new Apple Tablet Computer. Now Apple has sent out official invitations to the event (pictured below). Speculation about the event is running rampant, with FoxNews claiming confirmation that the main announcements will be an Apple Tablet Computer (perhaps called the "iSlate"), details about the iPhone 4.0, and iLife 2010. Whatever is coming, it is sure to be more exciting and notable than the annual Consumer Electronics Show which closed out recently, and failed to generate much buzz for new products (mostly because the tech journalists were breathlessly awaiting the next big thing from Apple).

MacWorld Keynote Info

Sean left this in the comments section, but I thought it was worth escalating his "round-up" of MacWorld Keynote announcements to the front page.

New iPhoto - face recognition, geotagging, facebook & flickr integration

New iMovie - Better editor, image stabalization

iTMS: DRM free music (80% now entire catelog by end of quarter)

MacBook Pro 17"

The other interesting announcement was iWork '09 which includes "iWork.Com" integration, which appears to be a competitor to Google Docs. The Beta will be free, but the eventual service will be pay. Hopefully, the cost will be included in a MobileMe subscription.

Proof that in I/T "No" Always Means "Yes"

For years, there have been rumors of a GoogleOS and a Google Web Browser. For years, Google has exhaustively denied the rumors, claiming that they had NO desire to compete with Mozilla, Apple, and Microsoft in the browser space. But, just as Apple's denial of the existence an iPhone turned into confirmation of the iPhone, Google's denials have become confirmation of a new Google-originated browser called Google Chrome. Imaginatively, Google released the announcement as a webcomic.

Perhaps most interesting is Google's choice to use Webkit - the same underpinnings as Apple's Safari - as the basis of Chrome. Why is this interesting? Because Google spends millions of dollars a year supporting the Mozilla Foundation. This choice means that Mozilla has been unable to find a user for their Mozilla rendering engine, even among their own biggest fans.