Chart Watch is 17 Tracks’ weekly look at the happenings on the Billboard Hot 100 with chart expert Hunter Schwarz.

Apple marked the passing of its co-founder and former chief executive Steve Jobs Wednesday, calling him “a visionary and creative genius.” In the coming weeks, much will be said of Jobs and how he revolutionized the  way we live. Evidence of his impact can be found in pockets carrying app-filled iPhones, DVD collections sprinkled with Pixar films and of course, the Billboard Hot 100.

Before the launch of the iTunes digital store in 2003, the record industry was facing the unprecedented threat of online piracy. Consumers were freed from forking over $15 for an album with one hit song and a tracklist full of filler by file sharing services such as Napster. Suddenly, an industry that had made record profits in the late ’90s with this model (think Chumbawamba, Eiffel 65, Natalie Imbruglia, etc.) scrambled to restore revenue by resorting to lawsuits.

Apple provided an alternative when it signed deals with the five major record labels to offer their artists’ music on the iTunes digital store, which made Jobs, a man who didn’t even play an instrument, one of the most influential men in popular music history; the “father of digital music,” as Billboard called him this week.

An ingenious marking campaign with silhouettes dancing with their iPod earbuds in ensured that Apple’s product would be the king of MP3 players. In 2005, Billboard finally added digital downloads to its tabulation of the Hot 100, and suddenly, the sleepy charts of the early ’00s came alive.

The period from 2002-2005 were a rather dull time for chart watchers. Record companies had killed off the physical single to force consumers to buy full length albums which meant the only way to have a chart smash was to rule the airwaves. From 2002-2005, the only songs to go No. 1 on the chart were hip-hop and R&B songs which occupied the penthouse for weeks on end and the occasional American Idol coronation song. The streak was broken by Gwen Stefani’s “Hollaback Girl” in May 2005 (it was No. 1 the week I graduated high school) which also became the first song to ever sell a million downloads.

The following year, the chart landscape was completely different with hits by artists as diverse as James Blunt and Justin Timberlake who rubbed shoulders with Chamillionaire and Ludacris. The charts were democratized in a way never before possible, and the charts reflected the true diversity in musical tastes. While there were only eight different No. 1 hits in 2005, there were 18 in 2006.

The effect of Steve Jobs, the iPod and iTunes is felt in the charts this week. Adele’s “Someone Like You” returns to No. 1. The song first shot there a month ago on the strength of digital downloads and returns as radio catches up, a common pattern for songs in the digital age. Rihanna also scores her 20th top 10 hit, setting a record for the fastest time to do so among solo artists.

The span between her first top 10 hit, “Pon De Replay,” to her latest, “We Found Love” feat. Calvin Harris, is six years and four months, besting previous record holder Madonna by five months. Interestingly, Rihanna’s recording career lines up with Billboard’s embrace of iTunes. Her debut single was released six months after the Hot 100 began tracking digital sales. While there are other reasons the singer has tabulated so many hits in such a short time, such as her rate of releasing new music or constant feature credits (half of her top 10 hits feature another artist), it’s not a stretch to say her success is a product of the iTunes era.

But Rihanna isn’t the only artist to have rewritten Billboard’s record with the aid of iTunes. The cast of Glee, Kelly Clarkson, Lil Wayne and Taylor Swift are among those who have made a significant impact on the chart made possible by iTunes. Records held for decades by legends like Elvis Presley and the Beatles have tumbled in the past five years as hits materialize on the Hot 100 entirely thanks to rabid fans downloading songs. But how long can it last?

Facebook’s F8 conference held in September introduced new ways of integrating music into social media, and noticeably absent from the conference was the “old guard” of music distribution. But “old guard” meant more than the nation’s biggest music retailers like Wal-Mart and Best Buy. iTunes, Amazon and eMusic weren’t invited either. Instead, streaming services like Spofity and Turntable.fm were promoted, suggesting that the record industry might be headed into a digital revolution 2.0. What implications that has for the Hot 100 is unknown.

Rihanna is the perfect pop star for the digital age. She has yet to produce a No. 1 album, but in just over five years, she has racked up an incredible 10 No. 1s (If she continues at her current rate, she’ll break the Beatles’ record for most No. 1s—20—by 2017). Her chart record suggest consumers are willing to spend $1.29 for a song, but don’t necessarily want her whole album. Marketing an artist like her before iTunes would have been an entirely different beast and in the age of streaming music, it could change again. If streaming digital music is the way of the future, how will Billboard react? Will there be even more people willing to stream a Rihanna song than there is to download it? Will different artists benefit from it more?

Billboard has always adapted to the times when compiling its lists (even if they’re one or two years late), so the answers to these questions will come. If Spotify and streaming music do indeed make iTunes a thing of the past, however, they’ll still have Steve Jobs and Apple to thank for laying the foundation for digital music in the 21st century.

Here’s what happening on the rest of the Hot 100:

• Foster the People’s “Pumped Up Kicks” holds at No. 3 for a sixth consecutive week. Anyone know the record for most weeks in third place? They’ve got to be up there by now. The song’s sales figures are dropping but airplay is on the rise.
• LMFAO prove they’re more than a one-hit wonder. Summer might feel like a distant memory, but “Party Rock Anthem” is still a top 5 hit while “Sexy and I Know It” moves 10-6.
• The week’s highest debut is B.o.B.’s “Strange Clouds” feat. Lil Wayne. Remember how I said Lil Wayne has iTunes to thank for his chart records? He does, but he can also thank the countless artists who have asked him to contribute a verse or two to their song.

Here’s this week’s top ten:

1. “Someone Like You” – Adele
2. “Moves Like Jagger” – Maroon 5 feat. Christina Aguilera
3. “Pumped Up Kicks” – Foster the People
4. “Stereo Hearts” – Gym Class Hero feat. Adam Levine
5. “Party Rock Anthem” – LMFAO feat. Lauren Bennett and GoonRock
6. “Sexy and I Know It” – LMFAO
7. “Strange Clouds” – B.o.B. feat. Lil Wayne
8. “Without You” – David Guetta feat. Usher
9. “We Found Love” – Rihanna
10. “You Make Me Feel…” – Cobra Starship feat. Sabi

I’m not dropping the phone because it’s not a great phone or because of AT&T’s coverage, nor am I dropping it because of their piss-poor service. I’m ditching because of their new data plan pricing, just announced this morning.

One of the biggest reasons I find that people don’t switch to the iPhone is that it’s too expensive — not the phone itself, but the minimum iPhone plan runs about $100 a month. After you pay for the required 3G data plan, the minutes and the texting, you are left paying quite a hefty price. My counter argument is normally that it’s worth it, that having that unlimited data connection and non-stop access to the Internet is a life-changer, that it will change your daily routine and the way you communicate with the world.

A year ago, Apple announced it was bringing the much requested tethering feature to the iPhone. For those who don’t know, tethering is a feature that allows you to use your phone as an Internet connection, making it possible to use a laptop or other wireless device in a location where there is no WiFi but  your phone gets 3G service. The catch to this announcement? The iPhone would have the tethering option in almost every market internationally, but AT&T would not yet be supporting tethering in the United States. AT&T said it needed to get its already over-taxed network prepared to be able to handle tethering, and promised that tethering would be available to iPhone customers by the end of 2009.

Well, here we are — it’s June of 2010 and guess what? My iPhone still can’t tether. That puts AT&T six months past their own deadline to provide tethering to its customers. This morning they announced that tethering would finally be available with the release of iPhone OS 4.0 in the coming month. Better late then never — or is it?

With tethering, AT&T also announced new data plan pricing schemes for its customers. Currently on both the iPhone and the iPad, customers pay $30 a month for unlimited data. Under the new pricing scheme, however, customers will have the option to pay $15 a month for 200 megabytes of data (and $15 a month for every 200 megabytes after that) or $25 a month for two gigabytes of data (and $10 for every gigabyte after two).

For those who want tethering, they must have the $25 plan and pay an additional $20 per month. AT&T touts this as a great way to give customers more flexibility and reduce their charges as only (according to AT&T) 2 percent of iPhone users use more then two gigabytes of data a month.

This is a smokescreen. 200 megabytes of data will be beneficial to only a handful of people. I am hard pressed to see how it would suffice for even the lightest of iPhone users. Many customers will switch to the cheaper 200 megabyte plan not realizing how much data they actually use and will find themselves needing more — and paying AT&T $15 more, which comes out to $30, saving them no money with a lot more hassle. The $25 plan will be admittedly beneficial to most people — they can save $5 per month as two gigabytes will be enough for them.

However, of the supposed 2 percent of people that use more then two gigabytes a month. I am one. I love my iPhone. I use it for email, GPS, a plethora of apps, and streaming video and audio. I stream most of my podcasts as it saves me the hassle of having to sync my phone and wait for podcasts to download. Considering I listen an average of three podcasts a day, this comes out to a lot of audio being streamed over my phone.

I also love some of the streaming video applications. When the NCAA tournament happens, there is an app released every year that allows you to stream the games at a pretty good quality. The Major League Baseball app allows you the same convenience, not to mention the coming Netflix app. The ability to tune into a game in progress is one of the best uses of my iPhone. It’s great to get a text saying such-and-such is three outs from a perfect game and being able to instantly, no matter where you are, tune in to that game on your phone and catch history.

Apple is all about the user experience. Everything about their product design is geared towards convenience and ease. If I want to download an app, one click and it’s there. If I want to listen to a podcast, one click and I’m able to do it. Watch a game in progress or use the GPS? Apple’s goal is to make it seamless, thoughtless, and natural.

To me, AT&T’s new plans run contrary to that policy. No longer will these things be thoughtless — you will be worrying about how much you have left on your cap. Want to watch that video? Listen to a podcast? Play with Google Earth? Better check your cap first, because you don’t want to go over. It would seem to go against the form factor and design mentality — and perhaps demonstrate an ever-growing gap between the companies.

AT&T has stated that current customers can keep their unlimited plans, but all new customers will have to make the choice. I will be keeping my unlimited plan, thank you very much, but I don’t know for how long. What happens when my upgrade is available and I want to pick up the next iPhone? Will I be able to keep my unlimited plan then? What flaming hoops will I have to jump through in order to keep it?

That is why I won’t be getting another iPhone — not unless AT&T changes the pricing scheme or the phone becomes available on another network. In the age of unlimited broadband connections, AT&T wants to take us back to the AOL/Earthlink pay-by-the-minute business model of Internet access.

Why should I go along with it? There are some really great Android phones out there (which, by the way, now offer tethering applications for free) whose pricing plans can hopefully offer me the ability to use as much data as I want. I just don’t ever want the day to come when I get a text saying,”Hey, Tim Lincecum is three outs away from a perfect game” and I can’t watch it, because I’m just a few megabytes away from my AT&T data cap.

The first thing you notice about the iPad is how responsive it is. It’s incredibly fast, and it’s the most responsive touch screen I’ve ever used. Rarely do I register bad touches or find that it didn’t pick up my finger. Everything you do on the device feels fast, from switching between applications to launching websites to even the simple act of switching between pages on the home screen.

Typing on it is also surprisingly effective — when held in the portrait (vertical) orientation, my hands are large enough that I am able to use just my thumbs as I would on my iPhone. When used in the landscape (horizontal) orientation, the keyboard is about the same size as the keyboard on a netbook and I am able to type almost as fast as I would on a tactile keyboard — and this is just after a few days. I’m sure with a few months practice I’ll be able to type at a really decent pace.

The built-in applications that come with the iPad are all vast improvements to their iPhone counterparts. The calendar application seems especially more robust. The Safari Web browser is significantly improved to function more like a desktop browser than the iPhone version. Probably my favorite application out of the built-in ones is the Photo app.

As a photography enthusiast, it’s great to be able to have my entire digital photo library on hand, and able to be displayed and viewed whenever I want on a high resolution screen. The best thing about the photos app though is its interface and the gestures within it; The first time you begin pinching and swiping to navigate the photos is the first time you feel like you are holding the future in your hands.

While there are not nearly as many native iPad applications available as there are iPhone apps, there are still over 3,000 available for download, not to mention that the iPad will run most of the iPhone apps. I have already tried out a significant number of iPad applications and, while I won’t go into detail on them individually, on the whole I have been very impressed by them. I can’t wait to see the applications we have available in a few months.

Of course, the device also has its known negatives. It cannot use Adobe’s Flash player, which is used on many Internet sites to stream video, as well as display a lot of games (Farmville). I personally don’t mind the lack of Flash; In fact, I kind of like it. The iPad browser is extremely stable and fast, and I’ve always found Flash buggy. And I’ve found that a lot of the Web sites I normally visit have started using the iPad-compatible HTML5 to display video.

The iPad also doesn’t currently multi-task. However, this is coming with the OS update in the fall, and to be honest the iPad is so fast at switching applications that I have yet to find a situation in which I would need multi-tasking.

In the world of technology, it’s a general rule that you shouldn’t buy the first generation of a new device — they are always buggy, and normally with the second generation all the kinks are worked out. This is not true with the iPad. When it comes down to it, despite its few shortcomings, the iPad is a fantastic device. It doesn’t at all feel like a “first generation” device — the hardware and software are extremely well polished.

At the end of the day though, the question everyone asks is do they need an iPad? Do they need something in addition to their smart phones and computers? If you think there’s a place for the iPad, if you see the role it would play in your day-to-day technological life, then I would highly recommend it. If you don’t see where it would fit into your life, then there’s no reason to get it.

However, I would recommend playing with one regardless. Stop into the store and check out what the fuss is about, because this style of mobile computing is the future of technology — and at some point you will want to be part of it.

You can stream the podcast by simply clicking on the link below, or you can download it to your computer by right-clicking the link and selecting “Save Link As” from the menu.

Tech: Podcast: HP/Palm, iPad Sales, Apple Hates Flash

You can stream the podcast by simply clicking on the link below, or you can download it to your computer by right-clicking the link and selecting “Save Link As” from the menu.

Listen to: Rhombus Tech Podcast: iPad, iPhone OS 4.0, and Sprints 4G Episode 1

Fandango (Free) — I’ve been using Fandango for a number of years now (literally, since the *gasp* dial-up days). However when it comes to finding movie times on my iPhone, I’ve been using the Flixster app. I recently tried out the Fandango app and, while I’m not sure if I like it as much when it comes to looking up movie times, it has an excellent feature for buying movie tickets. It easily integrates the ability to buy movie tickets just like the full Fandango website. So if you’re on the go and need to buy tickets for a show you think might be sold out, this is an excellent app.

Angry Birds ($0.99) — I tend to really like “quirky” and quick iPhone games. Angry Birds really fits that bill. It’s a game you can just open and get right into fast, play for two minutes, hit the home button and be done. Word’s can’t really do it justice, but the game involves shooting various breeds of birds at green pigs, who begin constructing various ways of defending themselves as the game progresses. The game is quick, addictive, and crazy fun. For 99 cents, this is really a must buy.

Digg (Free) — I’m a huge fan of news aggregator Digg.com. For those of you who aren’t familiar with it, Digg is a Web site where people submit stories they find from across the internet. People can “digg” a story and when a story has sufficient “diggs” it makes it to the front page of Digg.com. It’s one of the best places to find the day’s best online news, jokes, pictures, videos, etc. The iPhone app incorporates all the features of the regular website into a native app allowing you to get all the day’s best content while mobile.

Tetris ($4.99) — Tetris… for iPhone. I would write more about it, but I don’t have any time as I’m too busy playing it.

BlogPress ($2.99) — This past semester I’ve been assigned to maintain a blog for one of my English classes. Not soon after I created the blog and had a couple of posts up, I started looking for a way to manage and add new blog posts on the go. After reading and listening to several recommendations, I settled on trying BlogPress and I haven’t been dissapointed. BlogPress is very easy to use and allows you to create blog posts right from your iPhone. It’s extremely simple while still allowing you to maintain multiple blogs and upload text, photo, or video posts to them. I would highly recommend this one for the avid bloggers out there.

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 ($9.99) — If you’re my age, this game was probably an important part of your adolescence. I spent a good chunk of my formative teenage years playing this game on the original PlayStation. I had all the best tricks perfected. I knew the location of every secret tape. I was once challenged to beat the entire game in under an hour — and I did it in less then 45 minutes. I’ve never been beaten in a head-to-head game. I own this game.

So imagine my surprise when I woke up this morning and saw that Mr. Tony Hawk himself had tweeted that the game had finally arrived for the iPhone. Never has getting an app been more of a no-brainer for me. What I found upon launching it is that the game is a surprisingly good port from the original PlayStation version. The on-screen touch controls were actually much better then I anticipated and all the same levels, goals, and tricks are still there. If you’re as big a fan of the Tony Hawk series as I am, you should pick this one up.

Unless you’ve been living in a technology-free zone for the last six months, you probably heard the rumors of the secret Apple tablet computer (and when I say secret, I mean officially the worst kept secret in the history of technology).

Well, today Steve Jobs and his black turtleneck finally unveiled the product to the masses at a media event in San Fransisco. Despite sounding more like a high-tech feminine hygiene product than a groundbreaking media device, the iPad demonstrated impressive capabilities and Apple appears poised to have another huge hit. We at Rhombus, of course, are here to bring you the breakdown of what you need to know about this next-generation mobile computing device.

What is it?
Basically, it’s a giant iPod touch. The iPad looks identical to the iPhone except, instead of a 3-inch screen it features a 9.7-inch LED backlit display. It uses the same multi-touch technology used on the iPhone/iPod Touch, only made even more responsive by the enlarged screen.

What does it do?
The iPad is based on the iPhone operating system, so it will run almost all of the 144,000 iPhone apps on the day it launches. That means if you already have an iPhone or iPod touch, you’ll be able to play Bejeweled all you want right on your iPad — and the best part — without having to pay for the app again. The iPad will also have apps specifically developed to take advantage of its larger screen and increased processing power. So eventually, there will be an app for pretty much whatever you want your iPad to do.

The iPad was shown as using a bigger version of mobile Safari for Web browsing that looked quite slick and seemed very fast and responsive — about the same, if not faster than using Safari on a MacBook. Apple also demonstrated that eBooks are a large part of their plan for the tablet, with several big name publishers on-board to provide reading content through an iTunes-like store called iBooks. The iPad has completely redesigned the mail, calendar, and photo applications, with each one taking full advantage of the larger screen with more robust interfaces and features than their iPhone counterparts.

Video-wise, the iPad will do full 720p HD video, whether it be by buying them from iTunes, HandBraking them from existing copies, or watching them on the redesigned YouTube app. Furthermore Apple demonstrated new iWork apps for the iPad, allowing you to make spreadsheets, presentations, or even do word processing. Of course, the iPad syncs with iTunes on a PC or Mac so you can manage your content between your computer, iPad and iPhone. Really, the possibilities of what this device can do are limitless. For more information, you can see Apple’s promotional video.

What doesn’t it do?
Apple didn’t appease everybody, and some of the features people were expecting and hoping for aren’t in the final product. There is no multi-tasking on the iPad. Therefore, you are unable to do things like listen to music on Pandora while you work on a spreadsheet — one app at a time. Also, the iPad features no camera. A lot of people were hoping for a front-facing camera so  one could use programs like Skype for video conferencing. However, the tablet features no camera, front- or rear-facing. There is no Verizon connectivity either, which many were hoping for. Finally, there is no Adobe Flash capability on the iPad, which means (sadly) no Hulu.

How much is this going to cost me?
There are six models of the iPad. The low-end model will be priced at $499, much lower than what people were expecting. This will be a 16GB storage model with no 3G wireless capabilities. If you are okay with just Wi-Fi, then your options are the 16GB model at $499, 32GB for $599, or 64GB for $699.

You can purchase upgraded models that have 3G wireless capabilities built in for $130 added onto the price of whichever sized model you get. In the U.S., your options for 3G are limited to AT&T. You have the option of a 250MB a month limit for $14.99 a month, or an unlimited plan for $29.99 a month. Fortunately for us , the 3G connectivity is done on a month-to-month basis instead of on a two-year contract. So if you can’t afford it one month, you can just cancel it and reactivate it the next month.

When can I get one?
The Wi-Fi-only iPads will be available in 60 days or so, with the 3G models shipping in approximately 90 days. If you want one, be sure to order early as they are sure to sell out quick.

My overall impressions of the device are that it does pretty much exactly what I wanted a tablet device to do. I definitely can see myself taking my laptop or netbook with me less and less and instead using the iPad for a lot of situations. While it surely won’t ever replace traditional computers, I think it is the next step towards a true all-in-one device, capable of doing what we previously needed two or three devices to do.

Ben Wagner is a technology correspondent for Rhombus and is undoubtedly counting his pennies to pre-order an iPad. Follow him on Twitter @ben_wagner.

Google's Android: The future of the smartphone market?

I love Apple. The iPhone is a really great gadget — it’s smooth, fast and has really cool features. I’ve been on the verge of getting one several times and nearly won over by its amazingness, yet never fully committed to it. I have two reasons for this. First, because it doesn’t have a physical keyboard, and second, because I am a Google fan(atic). Last year Google entered the smartphone market, not with any hardware but with an operating system (OS) called Android.

Let me make clear what can be considered a “smartphone.”  This category does more than texting and calling; they can also do e-mail, web-browsing, word processing and anything else a normal, run-of-the-mill phone does not. The way these devices are used varies immensely, and thus there are a huge number of distinctive features. Many are affiliated with physical attributes, i.e. a slider, flip, headphone jack, touch screen, keyboard, or other general aesthetics. Second, and sometimes the more important issue, what can the software do? Can it handle games, business tools, social networking functions, etc.?  Whether you’re a corporate mogul, college student or teenybopper, one smartphone is going to satisfy your needs with a huge variety of apps and functionalities available.

That is, in essence, the appeal of the iPhone. According to a Canalys Q3 2009 report, Apple owns 17% of the global smartphone market. That’s just one product bringing in a giant chunk of change. The iPhone’s success with apps has been so great that an app store actually made its way into the OS of many competitors, including Windows Mobile, Palm, Symbian, RIM (Blackberry) and Android, making each respective phone more nimble and prompting almost every cell manufacturer to try and come out with the iPhone “killer.”

It’s virtually impossible to compare and contrast every new device to Apple’s unstoppable behemoth. Not many aim to accomplish what the iPhone has, which is provide the most dextrous product to the widest range of consumers. Google had the right idea when it created Android by designing it for everyone. Android apps can be developed by anyone. You can go out there, download the necessary tools, learn the required skills, create an app and publish it to the market. No need to buy into a developer program, have your app approved (although Google does screen for malicious or illegal apps), or even own an Android phone. I can speak lightly of Palm, Symbian and RIM in saying they are not as versatile, and heavily against Windows Mobile with its many failings.

There are some failings to Android, of course: you have to have a Google account and it runs on only a small selection of phones (for now). But what product was perfect in the first year? The iPhone wasn’t, and  Google’s Android now promises to start taking on the lone warrior with an army of new devices. In its first year, Google has already secured 3.5 percent of the global market and is experiencing growth with the rollout of each successive new device.

One smartphone to check out is the Motorola Droid; it sports a larger screen with better resolution than the iPhone and, while it’s only 1.4mm thicker, it has a four-row, slide-out keyboard. The Droid will be running the newest Android version 2.0 with the new Google Maps Navigation. While it probably wont be the iPhone “killer” (I highly doubt any phone will ever be as successful), the Droid might provide some real competition.

There’s still a lot of ground to be covered by Android and any devices it will run on but, as already proven with the downward trend of Windows Mobile, the market is open for some change and new product growth.

Jon Schwarzmann is a new tech correspondent for Rhombus.

Steve Jobs

Steve’s Back!
After a six-month absence, Steve Jobs is finally back at Apple and gave the event’s keynote speech, complete with his ever-present black turtleneck and jeans. It is well known that Jobs has been the face and creative driving force behind Apple for the last 10 years, and has experienced various health issues of late, including pancreatic cancer and most recently a liver transplant. The crowd offered its approval with a standing ovation as Jobs returned to the stage. It should be a huge boost to the investors to know that Jobs is back behind the wheel at Apple.

iTunes 9
This may be the biggest announcement from the event, mainly because everybody uses iTunes — if not the store, at least to organize and play all their music. This newest version adds several new features to the popular media center:

• Genius mixes — The Genius feature allows you to pick a song, then iTunes uses data collected from you and from its massive user base to create a playlist comprised of songs similar to the one you’ve chosen. The new Genius mixes feature creates 12 mixes for you to choose from; for instance, a soundtrack mix or an alternative rock mix. As a big fan of the Genius feature, I’m very impressed with the new Genius mixes and I think it’s a fantastic step forward.

• Improved synching — This one is mainly for iPhone and iPod touch users. You now have greater freedom over exactly what you sync with your handheld device. Especially useful is the new Apps tab on the device page, where you can choose what apps to sync on your device, as well as organize what apps show up on the home screen and additional app pages.

• New iTunes Store — the iTunes store now has a new and improved interface. I like it a lot. It seems to be even easier to navigate than before, which is saying something.

• Home sharing — I haven’t tried this one out yet, but it allows you to keep your iTunes libraries synced throughout a household. If your family has music and videos spread across several different computers, you can sync them up so you can access the entire collection from any computer. Pretty cool.

iPhone OS 3.1
This one was only briefly mentioned, but a new software update for the iPhone came out this same day, fixing many of the bugs present in the 3.0 software update. After trying it out for a few days, I have had no problems with the update and my phone seems to be running fine. The software update may have also been necessary to prepare customers using AT&T to finally get multimedia messaging on September 25th.

iPod Line Refresh
As expected, Apple announced a new slew of iPods for the upcoming holiday season. Many of the rumors before the announcement revolved around a possible camera and/or video camera on the new iPod touch. To the disappointment of many, Jobs announced that the third generation of iPod touches will not include any camera features. The iPod touch line now includes three models: a more aggressively priced 8gb model for $199, a 32gb model for $299 and a whopping 64gb model for $399. Other then that, no new features were announced for the iPod touch and it remains essentially the same, except for a newer model with more storage.

The big announcement was about the new iPod nanos. The nano will retain the same form, but will now contain a built-in video camera, allowing users to shoot 30 frames-per-second video right from their portable music player. Jobs said this was a definite attempt to crack the growing market of small portable video cameras like the Flip. This announcement was surprising to many, as most expected Apple to build camera functionality into the iPod touch.

However, the move makes sense: if someone wants to buy a portable video camera and they can choose between the Flip cam, which shoots only video, or the iPod nano that plays music, videos and photos and shoots video, the thinking is they will obviously choose the iPod nano, especially considering there is almost no price difference. This will undoubtedly help Apple begin to lock down the portable video camera market and make the iPod nano a hot seller this holiday season. Look for the 4gb version at $149 and the 8gb version at $179.

Ben Wagner is a tech correspondent for Rhombus. He got a little weepy upon Steve Jobs’ return to the big stage.

Apple heralds "Snow Leopard's" August 28th release.

Big news out of Cupertino, Calif., today as Apple announced they will release their new operating system this Friday, Mac OS X.6 or “Snow Leopard.” Snow Leopard will feature mostly “under the hood” improvements to OS X, improvements that Apple claims will “prepare Mac OS X for future innovation.”

Some of the changes will be immediately noticeable to some users, such as the changes to the QuickTime media player. Also, Snow Leopard is significantly smaller than its predecessor, Mac OS X.5 (or “Leopard”), and it will free up seven gigabytes of hard drive space just through installation. However, most of the changes will be in the way the operating system works, such as the switch to 64-bit or the use of Open CL technology and will not be immediately apparent to the average user.

Snow Leopard will most certainly be an important step toward the future of the Apple operating system and I would suggest most Mac users upgrade. Apple is making this incredibly easy by offering Snow Leopard at a price of only $29.99 (or $49.99 for a five-license family pack). However, this price will only be applicable to those currently running Leopard. If you are still using Mac OS X.4 (or “Tiger”) the upgrade will cost you $169. If you pre-order today, the upgrade will arrive on your doorstep this Friday. Look for my full review of the new OS to be up next Monday.

Ben Wagner is a technology correspondent for Rhombus and would be happy to talk your ear off about Open CL technology over on Twitter @ben_wagner.