High hopes for Macworld

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which includes programs such as iPhoto, iMovie and GarageBand. It is unclear whether the move is related to a GarageBand update, but Apple said on Monday that it has discontinued its standalone Soundtrack movie scoring program. The program continues to exist as a feature within Apple's high-end Final Cut Pro HD movie-editing program.

Piper Jaffray's Munster said he believes that a flash iPod is likely, as is an upgrade boosting the capacity of the iPod Mini from 4GB to 5GB. However, while he said he believes that Apple is working on a low-cost Mac, he thinks it most likely will debut later this year rather than at Macworld.

As a result, some people may walk away from the show disappointed, Munster predicted.

But even if Mac fans don't get everything they want on Tuesday, Munster said he expects Wall Street to get better-than-expected results when Apple posts earnings on Wednedsay.

In addition to the rumored new product introductions, Jobs is likely to spend a fair amount of time on Tiger, the next version of Mac OS X. When Apple unveiled the latest cat last June, the company said the OS would come out in the first half of this year. Jobs could well announce a specific date for that release, as well as pricing and other details.

While the biggest announcements will be those from Apple itself, Macworld will produce plenty of other news. One of the more popular Mac add-ons is Elgato's EyeTV, which turns the Mac into a TiVo-like device capable of recording video programs onto a hard drive. A current version supports recording of over-the-air high-definition programs, but the company is expected to unveil a version at Macworld that will enable the recording of high-definition cable as well.

Elgato's product is important for the Mac platform because Microsoft has a version of Windows XP--Windows XP Media Center Edition--that bundles TV-recording features. Apple, meanwhile, has shied away from that realm, with Jobs saying he sees a limited market for watching television on a computer.

Drive maker LaCie is also announcing that it will offer drives with LightScribe, a technology developed by Hewlett-Packard that allows labels to be etched onto CDs and DVDs through the use of a laser built into the drive. Last week, HP announced that LightScribe would be available on its PCs this month, as well as later this quarter from third-party drive makers such as Royal Philips Electronics and BenQ.

And what would Macworld be without a protest? Past Apple events have seen demonstrations or threats of demonstrations from people unhappy about their iBooks, as well as from disgruntled Mac dealers. This year, an environmental group is targeting Apple for its policies on recycling old gear.

No More Soundtrack?

Wow. What a bummer. I wonder if they're going to introduce something else instead.

[Jonathan]

Apple better have a Headless iMac or...

With this much expectation they had better announce it or their stock is going to go through the basement and probably end up showing up in mole people's area of the center of the Earth. That and there will be a lot of pissed off wanna-be switchers who would be interested in such hardware. Me being one of them even though I wouldn?t really be switching. More of a merging.

why?

Getting upset because of a(as of yet) unsubstantiated rumor; and getting mad at a company for somethng they are not responsible for, is more then a bit silly.