So the world has been obsessed with Microsoft's version of the famed "iPod killer," and now that the device is lurking the streets and craftily making its way into the homes of unsuspecting musicphiles, side-by-side comparisons with Apple's products are inevitable.

And yes, we're going to feed the inevitability by providing you with a brief overview of Microsoft's new, unproven Zune software, compared to Apple's battle-hardened iTunes.

As you may have read yesterday, I made the ultimate sacrifice: I paid $250 of my own hard-earned (ha!) money and bought a black Zune, as well as a Zune Marketplace subscription. To review Microsoft's latest foray into the desktop jukebox/music store market, I'm going to post a bunch of screen shots and provide some opinion on its features and functionality.

Click on to read all about the new Zune software...

Today, I fulfilled my dutiful obligations as an open-minded journalist (ha!)/hard-core masochist and purchased a Microsoft Zune to replace my SanDisk Sansa as my music subscription device of choice. (I am a fan of the subscription model, in case you're wondering.) The Zune device itself is truthfully pretty slick: the interface is responsive and intuitive, not to mention purdy. It's a little bulky, granted, but the outer-casing is smooth and it feels comfortable and "right" in the hand. The controls are a bit sloppy -- plasticky and noisy -- but they work as expected.

My real gripe here, that kinda ruins the deal for me and I'm sure for a lot of you, is the craptacular suckiness of the Zune Marketplace. First, as Engadget adequately reported: install is a pain. I had no errors, but just the amount of work involved was exhausting. Then I bought a Marketplace subscription, and lo-and-behold: some of my -- nay, most of my -- favorite bands are nowhere to be seen. And other albums I've searched for (ie, Radiohead) require that you purchase them, even if you have a subscription. (And the album price isn't even in dollars -- it's in Microsoft's convoluted points scheme.) Some albums -- ie, This Providence -- offer most of the songs for download, but the most popular (in this case, "The Road to Jericho...") you're only able to get if you actually buy the whole album. That leaves me asking: With all of these limitations, what the hell is the point of actually buying a subscription?

So not only have I graciously donated a buck to Universal for simply buying a Zune, they've decided to screw me over by sabotaging the $15/month subscription they're dreadfully eager to impose on customers.

I was cheering Microsoft on here: As I mentioned, I'm a fan of subscription services, and the Zune device isn't so bad. I wanted to see some decent competition, and I want to see Apple add a subscription option to iTunes. But they totally screwed this one up, and no amount of prettiness will save them. Microsoft, fix your Marketplace and your subscription details, then we'll talk. Until then -- stay away. Stay far, far away.

(Stay tuned for my Zune vs. iTunes comparison. Post any questions you'd like me to cover in the comments below.)

I nearly choked on my own excitement when OmniWeb was finally universal, and it seems The Omni Group is making one last push to send me to an early grave: For the month of November, they're offering OmniWeb for a nifty $9.95 -- $20 off the original price.

I know what you're thinking: Why pay for a browser? Because, my friend, it doth rocketh. Workspaces, thumbnail tabs, advanced auto-saving features, site-specific preferences, super-speed...uh...pretty icon...etc.

If you've never used OmniWeb, I suggest giving it a try before November's end; you may like it, and if you do, now's the perfect time get that license.

iPodfun.de, a German iPod enthusiast site, did some digging and actually stumbled across a document (PDF) on Apple's own website making mention of a "touch-screen" iPod. It specifically covers the Note feature similar to the current implementation, but states that "other Notes feature capabilities described in this document are supported for iPod models with display screens, beginning with the touch-screen models." (Emphasis mine.)

Unless Apple is just messing with us -- distinct possibility -- I think this basically all-but-confirms the touch-screen 'Pod's impending release. As if we really needed a botch like this to convince us.

Here again is the link to the actual PDF document (grab it before Apple does!), and you can visit iPodfun.de's original (German) article here.

[Via MacDailyNews]

Update: Several readers are pointing to the MacRumors analysis of the document: It seems to be referencing older Notes features of the iPod, and when it says "all other Notes feature cabailities," it actually means the less-advanced features. And when they say "touch-screen," they actually mean "touch-wheel" a la click-wheel. A typo. All of this over a typo. They probably did it purposely. Pfff.

Chalk it up to excitement, I suppose.

Laurie just covered the release of the new Core 2 Duo MacBook Pros, which tout an impressive 39% speedboost (or so Apple claims). But some of the best new tidbits are hidden inside the press release:

• All MacBook Pro models now include a FireWire 800 port -- meaning we can all rest assured in the belief that Apple isn't slowly abandoning FireWire after all. Also great news for everyone who purchased FireWire 800 hard drives during the PowerBook G4 reign.
  
• The MacBook Pros also support more memory -- up to 3GB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM.
• Storage capacity has increased, too -- you can get a 200GB HD via Apple's online store.
• All MacBook Pros also now come standard with a double-layer SuperDrive (I don't remember specifically if these were included in the previously-updated MBP models -- if not, they are now!)
  

The gap between the MacBooks and MacBooks Pros is constantly growing, as we see Apple pushing the Pros in a more Pro-line direction. At least now it's easier to justify the huge price difference.

Update: Interestingly, Apple also released a MagSafe airline adapter. From Apple: "With a MagSafe Airline Power Adapter, you'll never again worry about losing power while traveling. Just plug it into your airline seat power port and keep your MacBook or MacBook Pro powered up for the entire flight." It comes with two different connectors (EmPower and a 20mm adapter) and costs $59.00.

During The Grube's UI presentation at C4, he pointed to one particular example of "functional inconsistency" in Apple's software: the discrepancy in results when you drag-and-drop text in Carbon apps (TextWrangler, AppleWorks, etc.) vs. Cocoa apps (TextEdit, Safari, etc.).

When you select text in Carbon applications, you're able to drag the text by simply clicking the selection and dragging it. In Cocoa apps, however, you need to click the selected text and hold the mouse button down for a fraction of a second before you're able to drag it. Your cursor changes from the text selector to the pointer. But clicking and immediately dragging results in you re-selecting the text.

The Cocoa differentiation is a result of NeXT designing a way to enable both dragging and re-selecting, which was carried into OS X.

It's a minor inconsistency, but has frustrated me countless times. Glad that's all cleared up.

Thanks John!

"Gee," said the man across the table, clearly pushing for my attention. "You haven't posted anything yet!"

I looked up from my complimentary breakfast muffin, confused.

"You're supposed to be blogging this!"

Oh, right. Good idea.

I'm here in Chicago, Illinois, after traveling a great distance (3 miles) to attend Jon "Wolf" Rentzsch's two-day C4 Mac developers conference. And like every Mac conference before it, it makes me giddy with glee.

Glee.

Let's forfeit the pleasantries and get straight to it, shall we? Click on to read my Day One recap of C4.

Yes, glee.

We really didn't need any more vindication that this product exists -- what with photos of them sitting on store shelves and all -- but Apple would never leave us without a nice official announcement: the officially-dubbed iPod nano (PRODUCT) RED Special Edition is now detailed on Apple's website, verifying all the facts we reported on yesterday ($10 per iPod donated to The Global Fund, same $199 price, it's red!, etc., etc.).

Not much else to add, other than "buy one, you cheapskate -- it's for a good cause." Oh, and check out "The Oprah Winfrey Show" today for what will probably be the official officially official live announcement by Bono and Oprah.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]

Update: In my haste to get this post out before I had to abandon the computer, I neglected to mention (as reader Greg notes) that Apple will also begin selling new iTunes RED gift cards for $25 (though they don't mention how much is donated to the charity).

Reader Jim Judd tipped us off early, and AppleInsider reports: Just as Think Secret speculated last month, Apple is collaborating with its fave musician-gone-activist, U2 frontman Bono, and Oprah Winfrey (of all people) to release a red iPod nano that will promote an AIDS charity. According to AI, Apple will price the color-of-love iPod for $199, and for each one sold donate $10 to Project Red.

Bono and Oprah will supposedly unveil the new Apple product during tomorrow's episode of "The Oprah Winfrey Show." And since this seems like an official announcement, one of them -- and frankly I don't care who -- better be wearing a black mock turtle neck and jeans.

Update: Reader tom points to an article on the Chicago Tribune website about Bono and Oprah's trip down Chicago's Michigan Avenue, including their visit to the Apple Store, where Oprah "bought 10 new red iPod Nanos." The picture accompanying the article shows the iPods already on the tables.

The real news here, though, is that both Oprah and Bono were at the N. Michigan Avenue Apple Store, which is only ten minutes away from me! Oh man, that's so awesome! They were so close! I'm freaking out, omg!*

*Please don't take that seriously.

Not much to say about this, other than check it out: A Macteens gallery member posted a pictorial history of Apple's iTunes icons, starting from the wonky multi-note CD to the slick blue one gracing us now. Most of us remember these icons pretty well, but it's cool to be able to analyze the subtle differences in each (i.e., how the CDs get more pronounced with each iteration).

That's right, we will be providing "live" coverage of the Apple "It's Showtime" event...sorta. None of the TUAW team is actually at the event, but we'll be using our quick refresh skillz and super-typing-speed to relay you the information from sources like MacRumors, iLounge, and our buddies at Engadget.

Of course, if that broadcast does in fact turn out to be live, we will be providing our own, up-to-the-minute coverage, for you folks stuck at work or on a computer/connection not suited for streaming video.

Click the "Continue reading..." link to see the updates, posted newest-at-the-top. Also check out Engadget for pictures and a build-up to The Big One.

When ADHOC/MacHack went bye-bye last year, the Mac development community was aching for something to fill its Big Foot-sized shoes. Drunkenbatman threw his hat into the ring with Evening@Adler, which I thought was a huge hit.

And now Jon "Wolf" Rentzsch is taking it one step further by hosting a three-day, session-packed developer conference in Chicago, with presentations from some of the Mac dev world's Most Notable (including Brent Simmons, Gus Mueller, John Gruber, drunkenbatman, and many more!).

Jon has the full schedule on his blog, and you can look at the conference in more depth at its website. There are only 75 attendee spots, most of which have filled, but Jon tells me there are still a few openings: so register quick! I'll certainly be there, and will post a recap of the whole thing here on TUAW.

Our buds and brothers at Blogging Stocks recently dove into news that Apple has developed a band-spankin'-new in-print ad campaign: notably, a 14-page booklet (!!) included in a few US magazines, including a recent issue of Entertainment Weekly. MacDailyNews first reported on it, and BS sees it as an opportunity for Apple to break their trend of promoting form over -- nay, instead of -- function.

Check out both Blogging Stocks for their analysis and MacDailyNews for the story. You can also view the entire booklet, compliments of an MDN reader.

Wow, that's a long title. Blame it on AppleInsider, who believes most -- if not all -- of those yummy goodies will be delivered to us in a nice wrapped package by The Jobs himself at next week's supposed media event. According to the rumor peddler, at the yet-unconfirmed September 12th event Jobs will take the wraps off...drumroll please:

• An $9.99-a-pop movie download service with films from at least one major studio. The idea is that the rest will see how Freakin' Amazing it is and follow suit -- a la TV shows.
• A new 23" iMac that we reported on earlier.
• A new non-scratch metal iPod nano with "at least double the storage capacity of today's models."
• What they believe is a new Airport Express-like device designed to stream video content from your Mac to your TV/home entertainment system. AI says "it's arguably been one of the most closely guarded secrets at Apple since the evolution of the first iPod digital music player."
  

That list makes this year's Macworld seem lacking.

I'm most interested in that streaming device. This isn't in the article, but imagine: plug your Airport Express to a TV and be greeted by a Front Row-like interface that streams videos/music/photos directly from your Mac, controllable by the included Apple Remote. Pipe dream? Maybe. But I guess we'll find out next week.

Check out the article for more in-depth information and AI's standard "it could be pushed back a little" disclaimer.

Chalk this one up to the Mac's growing popularity. Typically the Macworld San Fransisco expo is held in the Moscone center's South wing, which is just large enough to fit all the exhibitors. Not anymore, says Chris Saribay, who discovered that for MWSF 2007, IDG will actually be utilizing both Moscone South and, for the first time in years, North. According to Chris: "Apparently the main exhibit hall is already nearly filled to capacity, making sense to bring another exhibit hall online."

Is this Good or Bad? Well, let's see:

Upside: More Mac users
Downside: More Mac users (you know what I mean)
Upside: More Mac products
Downside: More substandard Mac products
Upside: More press coverage for the platform
Downside: More work to do Macworld week
Upside: More free swag from the booths

Upsides win!