iSuppli has released a report outlining their predictions for how the tablet market will change in terms of market share over the next couple of years. They ultimately find that Apple will maintain a dominant market share for at least that long.

The report states that Apple will have 74.1% of the tablet market in 2010. This market includes the “PC-style” tablets as well, and slates such as the iPad. With several competitors launching their own devices in the near future, iSuppli still believes Apple will hold 70.4% of the market in 2011, and 61.7% in 2012.

“Although the iPad has been on the market for only a few months, powerful interests throughout the technology business are devoting enormous resources to challenge and topple Apple’s domination in this fast-growing marketplace,” said Rhoda Alexander, director of monitor research at iSuppli. “However, if recent history is any lesson, it will take some time for these companies to get their products to market, longer for them to offer necessary software support and infrastructure, and an even lengthier period to begin to rival the overall user experience Apple is able to deliver.”

The thing about this is, it’s all entirely speculation. Little in the report is given in the way of data that might suggest Apple will hold or lose their current market share.

Engadget is reporting that Apple has begun sending out media invitations for Apple’s annual iPod/music event scheduled for September 1st. The event will be held in San Francisco at the usual Yerba Buena Center for the Arts.

As a recap, Apple is expected to introduce a new iPod touch capable of making FaceTime calls, along with other iPod updates. Additionally, it’s expected that Apple will introduce a new Apple TV (possibly renamed iTV) set to sell at $99 and offer 99¢ TV show rentals.

This announcement of course, negates Bloomberg’s recent report claiming that the event will be held on September 7th. Oops.

I haven’t seen the film yet, and I’ve been meaning to get around to it. Regardless, the opening credits looks great.

Apple has released Security Update 2010-005, for Mac OS X Server 10.5, Mac OS X Server 10.6, Mac OS X 10.5, and Mac OS X 10.6.4. and fixes wholes in CFNetwork, ClamAV, CoreGraphics, libsecurity, PHP, and Samba.

The update even fixes a security flaw in Core Graphics which would allow for a security breach similar to the one we saw not too long ago on iOS with the JalbreakMe website.

You can read the full details on Apple’s support document here.

Bloomberg is reporting that Apple is nearing the end of negotiations with News Corp to allow iTunes customers to rent TV shows for 99¢, with other content providers also considering the plan.

Viewers would be able to rent programs from News Corp.’s Fox for 48 hours, said the people, who declined to be identified because discussions aren’t public. CBS Corp. and Walt Disney Co., where Apple Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs is a board member and the largest shareholder, also are in talks about joining the effort, the people say.

The report goes on to say that Apple is hoping the video content would increase appeal for their iOS devices. Bloomberg also goes on to report more of what we’ve heard lately. That is, an iPod touch with a high-resolution screen, and a $99 Apple TV coming soon.

We’ve heard of 99¢ iTunes rentals before. It is believed that this is a “plan B” because Apple couldn’t secure a deal allowing for a TV subscription service through iTunes.

M.I.C. gadget (via MacRumors) has found another front panel and LCD screen for the next-gen iPod touch. This time the part was found at a Chinese e-commerce site selling for around $95USD.

The part clearly shows a front-sided hole that would leave room for a front-facing FaceTime camera, and the part is labeled “Apple (c) 2010″.

An iPhone parts supplier is responsible for the store, and this supplier claimed that they got these parts through a “special channel”, maybe this is the iPod touch 4th generation prototype which is leaked from the factory.

MacRumors just recently revealed images they had received claiming to be an Apple manufactured (complete with Apple ©, the same as the LCD in question) front panel/LCD screen. Only marginal difference have been found between this new panel and the first one MacRumors revealed.

More and more evidence is mounting that the new iPod touch expected to be announced sometime next month, likely the second week, will be equipped with at least one camera, possibly two. Both a front and back camera, capable of making FaceTime calls.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs has purportedly answered an email sent to him by a customer enquiring whether a fix was on the way for the performance issues seen by some iPhone 3G users who have upgraded to iOS 4.

Here is the customer’s email:

I’ve waited patiently through 4.0.1 and 4.0.2, looking for a fix that will make my phone work again. I’ve read the forums that advise me to jailbreak my phone or use some other method so I can downgrade back to a version of iPhone 3, however I’m not prepared to use a method that is not supported by Apple.

And Jobs replies:

Software update coming soon.

Sent from my iPhone

Of course, Jobs said nothing else about the release, but one could make an educated guess and assume he is referring to iOS 4.1 which has been in development for some time, and has reportedly fixed some of the issues seen with iOS 4 on iPhone 3G. I would wager that the update will be released whenever Apple holds their annual music/iPod event (likely Mid-September) bringing the OS to all of their iOS devices including the iPad.

Fortune is reporting on a findings on Charlie Wolf, a Needham analyst, who has broken down Apple’s Mac sales by market segment for Q2 2010. He then compares them to overall PC sales in the same segments. Calling the growth that Wolf found “strong” is an understatement, especially in the government market segment.

- At 35%, Mac shipment growth in June easily exceeded the market’s growth rate of 20.9%.
- Mac shipments grew 31.4% in the home market, topping the market’s growth rate of 25.2%.
- At 49.8%, the Mac’s growth in business was three times higher than the market’s 15.7%.
- Mac shipments in government grew 200%, sixteen times faster than the market’s 12.1%.

The next strongest segment, the business market, saw it’s strongest growth (around 100%) with companies that fall in the “large” and “very large”.

Lastly, Wolf notes that Apple’s growth in Europe. The iPhone has sparked renewed interest in Apple’s products, and thus their unit share has doubled and revenue tripled in the past six year.

So, here is yet another report backing up the fact that Apple is experiencing massive growth in all areas.

Patently Apple is reporting that an Apple patent application has surfaced revealing how Apple may implement system transitions on a single Mac. That is to say, transitioning between a mouse-driven Mac OS X, and touched-based iOS.

All of this would be triggered by sensors like a rotation hinge in an iMac-like computer or accelerometers detecting the orientation of the screen. Vertically, the machine would function as a traditional desktop computer. Horizontally, it would function more like an iPad. Lastly, the patent describes yet another way this transition could occur, which is touch sensors in the display that will activate an iOS mode when coupled with a change in the screen’s orientation.

The change in the orientation of the display can be detected by one or more sensors. For example, an accelerometer in the display can sense the force of gravity along an axis, and the measured force can be used to determine an angle of the display with respect to the ground (i.e., the plane perpendicular to the direction of the force of gravity). A transition between input modes can be performed when the orientation of the display crosses a predetermined threshold, such as when the vertical angle (tilt) of the display crosses a predetermined angle.

All of the methods described in the patent lead to one end, and that is, the transition from high resolution mouse-based controls in a vertical orientation, and lower-resolution touch based controls when in a horizontal orientation. Additionally, this transition technology isn’t limited to desktops in the patent. Notebooks are included too.

I buy this one. Not just because it’s from the horse’s mouth, but it sounds likely. It wouldn’t be hard for Apple to build an iOS layer on top of Mac OS X. I’m thinking this would look like Mac OS X’s Dashboard feature, but this is purely speculation on my part.

Leo Laporte explains why he’s dumping Google Buzz. This of course in itself isn’t terribly interesting, but how he’s come to this decision, is.

Kevin Rose, the boy wonder behind Digg, is reporting details in a blog post regarding the revamp of the Apple TV (which could possibly be rebranded to “iTV”) reportedly slated for September.

Rose goes on to report that the iTV will have it’s own App Store dedicated to the device, along with ad-supported TV channels, MobileMe integration, and iPad integration so the device can be used as a “big badass remote control” that would allow for direct control of iTV content.

Rose’s timeframe sounds correct. We’ve heard previous reports that suggest Apple has scheduled the event for Mid-September. In fact, most everything he has said all sound reasonable. However, I’ll bet my last dollar that the iPad will not be the only way to control the new iTV. It’s a lot to expect someone to have a $500 device lying around to control a $100 device hooked to your tv.

This chart is a great (and snazzy) reference for web developers looking to use HTML5 (and who wouldn’t?).

Hint: FAIL.

Sage advice from Frank Chimero.

Apple has seeded a second build (Build 10H529) of Mac OS X 10.6.5 to developers. This new build comes less than a week after the previous build was pushed out to developers. iPhoneinCanada goes on to note that this build fixes the two documented issues seen in the previous build.

Apple is no longer asking developers to focus their testing on iCal, but instead now asks them to take a look at the Apple Filing Protocol (AFP) network file services.

Apple hasn’t even waited a week to release the second build of 10.6.5, which suggests that Apple is working on this update at break neck speed. Perhaps we’ll see a slowdown in seeding cycles in the future, but there’s also a great chance we’ll be seeing a public release of this update in the near future.

Apple has rolled out a new “Compare Macs” feature which allows users to compare technical specifications between up to three models. You can access this new feature either here or by selecting the feature in the Mac product line menu bar.

Additionally, Apple has added collapsable areas to their configuration pages all grouped by configuration types (hardware, software, peripherals, etc).

I’ll eat my hat if the bulk of this isn’t made with HTML5, and what HTML5 can’t do Javascript picks up the slack. It’s an impressive feature.

Fortune is reporting that Apple and Time Inc. have finally come to an agreement, and Apple is now allowing Time to offer their print magazine subscribers free access to corresponding issues published on the iPad. Additionally, non-subscribers can purchase individual issues for $3.99.

Until now, the iPad versions of People, Time, Sports Illustrated and Fortune have cost the same as the newsstand price — $3.99 for each issue of People, $4.99 to $5.99 each for the rest — even if you were are already paying to get the paper edition in the mail.

That changed with this week’s People iPad app, which is, for the first time, free to People subscribers. Fortune and the rest of Time Inc.’s (TWX) flagship magazines are expected to adopt the same pricing structure within the next 30 days.

Sounds like a good deal. However, and this is the shame of it, you still can’t subscribe to the magazine from within the app.

Fortune is reporting that iPad supply constraints are just now beginning to ease up slightly. The shipping window for an iPad bought via Apple’s online store in the U.S. used to quote a 7-10 day shipping timeframe. Now it quotes a 3-5 day timeframe.

“iPad demand remains strong with production ramping above expectations,” writes Fidacaro. He has revised his iPad build forecast for Apple’s (AAPL) fourth fiscal quarter to 7 million units, up from 6 million units. And his 4Q iPad shipment estimate now stands at 4.75 million units, a 45% increase from Q3.

Another report from GigaOM claims that a research note from Ashok Kumar, a Rodman Renshaw analyst, that states that production for the iPad and iPhone 4 is finally beginning to meet demand.

The wait for a new Apple iPhone 4 order should be shorter by the end of September, which would help Apple sell 14 million new handsets in the third quarter and another 15 million in the final three months of 2010 according to an industry analyst. With the expectation that LG is ramping up production of 9.7-inch display panels, iPad orders should flow faster as well, with Apple having the capability to sell 5 to 6 million tablets this quarter.

So, if you’re waiting to get your hands on either one of these devices, your wait appears to have just shortened a bit.

Just like it says on the tin.

Apple has launched a new TV commercial for iPad, that should be airing anytime now. As usual, Apple has also posted the ad to their site.

The ad itself (much like the last one) demonstrates the device’s capabilities while describing it as “playful”, “literary”, “friendly”, “Magical”, and many more.

The last ad in this series aired in May, and it was very reminiscent of the Newton ads from the mid-1990s. However, this ad has definitely veered away from that pattern, and let’s the product do more of the talking, instead of a narrator.

Wired has pointed out that Apple’s Director of Applications Technology for the App Store, Phillip Shoemaker, was a former App Store developer himself. That would be expected. Hire a guy who knows the ropesOH MY GOD HE USED TO MAKE FART APPLICATIONS FOR THE APP STORE. Yes, it seems Mr. Shoemaker was the creator of such fine works as “iWiz” and “Animal Farts” sold under the GrayNoodle LLC. name.

“Simulate the experience of urinating for a long time,” iWiz’s app description reads in iTunes. “Convince your friends that you’ll never stop. iWiz allows you to simulate urination: faster, slower, or just a trickle.”

The game Animal Farts features various cartoon images of animals with their buttocks facing forward, giving users buttons to trigger “Fart,” “Poot,” “Drop” or “Wiz” sounds accompanied with animations illustrating said emissions.

An Apple spokesperson said that his applications were approved for the App Store before he was employed at Apple.

“Phillip’s apps were written, submitted and approved before he became an Apple employee,” an Apple spokeswoman said in a statement. “His experience and perspective as a developer is one of the valuable things he brings to Apple’s developer relations team. Apple’s policy allows for employees to have apps on the App Store if they’re developed and published prior to their start at Apple.”

However, App Store data shows that three of Shoemaker’s apps showed up around six weeks after he posted that he was now working at Apple on Twitter. Even stranger, since Wired published the piece, Shoemaker has deleted his Twitter accounts, and removed mention of his apps and GrayNoodle from his LinkedIn profile.

Make of this what you will.

Apple released the Snow Leopard Graphics Update the other day to fix issues experienced by some users when playing high-performance games on a system with Mac OS X 10.6.4 installed. Valve Corporation was the original entity that brought this issue to Apple’s attention, while also telling their customers to hold off on upgrading to 10.6.4 until Apple fixed the issue.

In the weeks since, Valve had been working with Apple and hardware companies to resolve the issue for their Mac-based customers. Valve has now released a note fraught with technical jargon explaining what they did to improve frame rates for their customers. With all that said, some customers have could see anywhere from 15% to 120% in frame rate performance.

We are seeing dramatic performance improvements on iMac (Late 2009 and Mid 2010), Mac mini (Early 2009 and Mid 2010), Mac Pro (Early 2009), MacBook (Early 2009 and Mid 2010) and MacBook Pro (15-inch, Mid 2010) and MacBook Pro (17-inch, Mid 2010) models. Depending on the game, video settings and the hardware, we have measured frame rate improvements from 15% to 120% on these systems. On older systems, we are generally already operating at the limits of the hardware, so it is not obvious that any significant performance improvements can be achieved in the future.

What a world of change, just last April, the gaming community on the Mac was essentially nonexistent. Now, Valve has put all of their high profile games on the platform, and opened up their Steam online store to any developer who wishes to do the same.

I can tell you exactly why dirpy exists. You know all of those “videos” that have been uploaded to YouTube that are nothing more than an still image accompanied by a song? Yeah, dirpy exists so you can rip those songs. This of course, is a form of piracy.

I expect the powers that be, to try their damnedest to shut dirpy down.

To me, it just looks like they’ve cleaned up the edges and details and updated the typeface. That said, I like it, although I don’t know why.

Buy a shirt. It’s great way to show your support for “The Incident”, which is a fantastic game.