Jobs and Gates kiss and make up.

Thanks to All Things Digital, here are the highlights from the D5 Conference.

iTunes Plus brings DRM-free tracks Worldwide.
The DRM-free EMI music tracks featuring high quality 256 kbps AAC encoding have a sound quality that is 'virtually indistinguishable' from the original recordings (isn't that what they said about 128Kbps AAC?). They're priced at 99p each and iTunes even calculates how much it will could for you to upgrade your past purchases. You'll need to update to iTunes v7.2.
They also announced the launch of iTunes U - "a dedicated area within the iTunes Store featuring free content such as course lectures, language lessons, lab demonstrations, sports highlights and campus tours provided by top US colleges and universities including Stanford University, UC Berkeley, Duke University and MIT."
A bit like Open University programmes then?

Could the Mac mini be axed?
AppleInsider's sources reckon so. I could see it coming. The poor little Mac. Still without a Core 2 Duo and a little too expensive. The Mac mini was supposed to be a cheap way of switching to Mac from a PC. In reality, it was too low spec'd for the price. We were told it was a byomkm (bring your own monitor, keyboard and mouse) but why on earth would anyone wasn't too keep what was most likely a CRT monitor, and old beige input devices, when they could get the whole thing in nie shiny black and silver from Dell. It happened when I suggested a mini for my Mother-In-Law a few month's back. We ended up opting for an entry-level Dell that included a 19" monitor - something you don't get with a mini, but that's another story.
As Apple will be bringing out a new iMac soon, perhaps they'll also pull an entry-level version out of the hat too. But rumour has it that they'll be ditching the 17" iMac in the process. What will they do? Expect 1st-timers to pay extra for an 19" iMac or give the AppleTV, which is after all a mini with no optical drive, the extra bits to become a basic media hub with internet access? II bet they opt for the first suggestion.

Let us dip into the MacBore video vault.
Back through the mists of time...long before AAC, long before the iPod, long before I'd bought my first portable mp3 player (a Rio 600 Special Edition), long before you could download music legally, iTunes was merely a mp3 library and player. Apple had hired the developer of the popular SoundJam MP, redesigned it and released it as iTunes. This was slightly annoying for me as I had just spent good money on a copy of SoundJam and now Apple had brought out virtually the same thing for free.
I digress. The thing that made iTunes a killer app was that it was really easy to compile your own CDs (before this I was using MiniDisks - what a waste of money that fad was).

De La Soul, Liz Phair, Lil' Kim, Barry White, Chuck Berry, Iggy Pop, Ziggy Marley, Deep Dish, Aimee Mann, Wilco and Smashmouth (you'll remember their songs) all feature in this long version that probably wasn't even aired here. Soon after, due to music piracy concerns, Apple stopped using the word 'Rip' on their website and ads. Rip was a swear word back then.
Sit back with a cocoa and enjoy.

Apple UK asks Ann Summers to 'take them down'.
Phnar, Phnar. I am of course refering to the in-store posters for the iGasm. They're not happy. MacWorld has reported that Apple is claiming the ad to be an abuse of the silhouette-based images it uses in its own advertising and threatens court action if they're not taken down. The same thing happened over an poster for the Ann Summers Rampant Rabbit a few years back. They'll be happy for the free press. Anyway, what is it with all of these vibrating iPod add-ons? Who would want to partake in self-pleasuring whilst wearing headphones? That's just sick!

Lost Game comes to iPod.
This looks like something you wouldn't be asshamed of playing on your daily commute (unlike most of the other iPod games). Well, as long as you don't mind the eye strain. You play Jack (the one with the rabbit stare) in this 3rd-person adventure. It's yours for £3.99.

The proof is in the iChat.
Last week, someone called WalterB was defending the new Die Hard film on the Ain't it Cool forum. When he revealed that he was in fact Bruce Willis, nobody believed him. So what did he do? He typed "Send me your biggest doubter, who has iChat/video ability, and have them call." He called and just look at the reaction of the doubting Thomas above. Unfortunately Willis told everyone his iChat ID. Cue thousands of iChat calls. You can read about the whole thing on Guardian Technology site and see the original Ain't It Cool forum here.

Kate Walsh to play Live From London next Tuesday.
If I remember rightly, she had an iTunes Single of the Week a few month's back. She's a sort of KT Tunstall without the drink problem. So if you like acoustic folk sung by a lady, get yourself down to the Apple Store on Regent Street before 9pm.

New MacBooks are faster and cheaper.
The top of the range Black book has a 2.16Ghz Intel Core 2 processor, 1GB of memory and 160GB hard drive, all for £50 cheaper. It's a bit of a shame that they still have the same graphics cards. I guess they can't go stepping on the toes of the MacBook Pros. All are available now.
Could a MacBook fill the boots of my creaking G4 iMac? I'm tempted to go back to a portable because I'm fed up with having to sit in a room by myself when my wife's using the PowerBook. They keep promising me one at work, but I'll probably be retired by the time that happens. They'll probably try to fob me off with a Dell Inspiron (or an old iBook if I'm lucky). Stingy bastards!

Here's the full spec:
Entry Level White:
2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
1GB memory
80GB hard drive1
Combo drive
£699.00

Mid-Priced White:
2.16GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
1GB memory
120GB hard drive1
Double-layer SuperDrive
£829.00

Top Of The Range Black:
2.16GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
1GB memory
160GB hard drive1
Double-layer SuperDrive
£949.00
(That's still too much for just black pigment and slightly bigger drive).
Fantasy MacBook time:
Black MacBook with max Ram (2 GB) and the largest 200GB drive (but slower at 4200rpm) is only £1,129.01. It's still less than a MacBook Pro.
Hang on! £110 for another gig of Ram? You're better off buying it from Crucial where it's only £65.79. That's a Shuffle's worth. These are only £49 now.

Macca's Solo work for iTunes.
MacWorld have broke the news that Paul McCartney's solo back catalogue is soon to be made available via the iTunes Store. This includes Wings and the Number one smash "The Frog Chorus". In the words of Alan Partridge: "Wings, what the Beatles could've been!"

Multi-sided touchscreen iPod plans sent to patent office.
It looks like one big mess of greasy finger smears to me.
Read all about it at AppleInsider.

Two new UK Apple Stores are planned.
MacWorld said so. They'll be at Reading and Lakeside, Essex. As mentioned before, another one is rumoured to be opening in Liverpool.
It seem that they're popping up everywhere. There is no escape.
It reminds me of an old joke.
What is MacBore's favourite w(h)ine?
I wanna go t' Lakeside! This bit must be cried out in the voice of a lady from Essex (err, I'm not a lady from Essex, by the way).

Oo-er madam!''
This is has just popped up on YouTube. It's for the iPod's most thrilling add-on yet. Soft Paris' Oh Mi Bod is a vibrating wand device that moves to the music played on your iPod.

Apple has promised to go greener than Dell and begin using LCD backlit displays (as in iPods) that don't contain mercury. The open letter from Steve Jobs also said that LCD displays will be introduced on Macs this year. Could this be the new iMac? We need a new iMac.

Apple Store to open in Liverpool next year.
Hey! Hey! Alright! Calm down!
It'll be in the new Liverpool One development, and will bump the total number of Apple Stores to fourteen.