MacRumors

According to Fortune, the Copyright Royalty Board in Washington D.C. is expected to rule on Thursday about a request by the National Music Publishers' Association to increase royalty rates for downloads from online music stores such as iTunes. The request asks for an increase in rates from 9 cents to 15 cents a track. It should be noted that this group represents the copyright holders of songs and is distinct from the record companies themselves.

Understandably, Apple is opposed to the rate increase and, in a statement submitted to the board, even suggested that Apple might close iTunes altogether:

"If the [iTunes music store] was forced to absorb any increase in the ... royalty rate, the result would be to significantly increase the likelihood of the store operating at a financial loss - which is no alternative at all," Cue wrote. "Apple has repeatedly made it clear that it is in this business to make money, and most likely would not continue to operate [the iTunes music store] if it were no longer possible to do so profitably."

Apple claims that the market would not accept an increase in the per-track price and that overall sales would decrease. The Fortune article writer doubts that Apple would take such drastic measures as closing the iTunes Store as Apple has used it to leverage hardware sales of iPods and now iPhones.

- Users can customize their AIM for Mac experience with AIM Expressions - Change your AIM sounds, wallpaper, emoticon set or Buddy Icon.
- File Transfer, Tabbed IM conversations, friendly names, AIM Groups, AIM Blast groups are supported.
- With a single click, you can view your mail in AOL or AIM webmail.

AOL had previously released a version of AIM for the Mac but that version was last updated in 2004. AIM for Mac Beta 1 is available as a free download.

Flash Magazine reports on comments made by Adobe's Sr. Director of Engineering Paul Betlem during a Town Hall meeting at the Flash on the Beach Conference.

Betlem provides some followup for comments made by Adobe's Chief Executive Shantanu Narayen in March. Narayen claimed that Adobe would develop an iPhone Flash player themselves and release it through the App Store. There was some debate about the feasibility of this given the restrictions of the iPhone SDK.

Betlem now confirms that an Adobe Flash player for iPhone depends entirely on Apple's approval, but claims that a player could be made available "in a very short time" if they are given the go ahead.

"My team is working on Flash on the iPhone, but it's a closed platform." He noted that Apple makes all the decisions, so in other words, the ball is in Apple's yard at this time.

Apple's Steve Jobs has claimed that the full version of Flash would not run well on the iPhone.

The big news amongst Mac gamers this past week was the release of Call of Duty 4 for the Mac. The sequel to the popular first-person shooter has been available on PCs and gaming consoles since November of 2007, but the Mac version has only just been released.

Featuring a tense storyline, filled with plot twists, the title thrusts players into battle like never before. With amazing special effects, including rim-lighting, depth of field, texture streaming and character self-shadowing, players are enlisted into one of the most photo-realistic gaming experiences imaginable.

Some early physical copies of the game have been found to be faulty, causing activation problems, but this appears to have been resolved. The game can be found at Amazon or your local retailer. Aspyr is also offering the game as a direct digital download from GameAgent.

The game requires an Intel Core 2 Duo Mac running at 2.0GHz. The game is not compatible with integrated video chipsets or PowerPC Macs. Apple recently highlighted the game on their website.

While we typically don't follow the ebb and flow of Apple's stock (AAPL) price on MacRumors, today the value of the company dove over 15% when two analysts cut their ratings on Apple.

As reported by The Wall Street Journal, RBC Capital Market and Morgan Stanley both downgraded Apple's value from bullish "outperform" or "overweight" to more neutral "sector perform" or "equal weight". Both cited concerns that Apple may not be able to maintain its traditionally high margins in the face of decreased consumer electronics spending and heightened competition.

Indeed, Apple had hinted at possible margin erosion in their last quarterly conference call. Tomorrow is the last day of the fourth fiscal quarter of 2008.

Update: AAPL closed today at $105.55 per share, down 17.69%.

9to5mac claims to have heard from a "tipster" that Apple could announce a Verizon iPhone as early as Macworld San Francisco 2009. 9to5 points to "falsely reported rumors" about Apple's exclusivity deal with AT&T "if one exists".

The problem with the report is that the Apple and AT&T exclusivity deal is fact, not rumor. AT&T's Stan Sigman announced that the iPhone was exclusive to AT&T in a "multi-year" contract at Macworld San Francisco when the iPhone was first launched.

While the length of the contract remains up for debate, the last report from USA Today claims that AT&T's exclusivity with the iPhone has been extended to 2010:

In exchange for its payout, AT&T got a year extension, into 2010, on its exclusive distribution deal with Apple, people familiar with the matter say. Sources asked to not be named because the terms are confidential.

Unless this most recent USA Today report is wrong, Apple will be unable to launch an iPhone on Verizon's network until at least 2010. And if they do decide to do so, Apple will have to manufacture a different iPhone to be compatible with Verizon's network.

Joe Wilcox of Microsoft-Watch analyzes the latest notebook marketshare data from the NPD Group. He specifically looks at the revenue breakdown and Apple's long term decision to compete at the high-end market for notebooks.

Despite Apple's relatively modest marketshare (~10%), they capture 30% of the revenue amongst notebook manufacturers. As Wilcox puts it, "for every three dollars spent on notebooks at U.S. retail, one went to a Mac." This reflects the higher sales cost of Apple's notebooks which have an average sales price of $1471 as compared to Windows laptop average sales price of $694. Wilcox questions if the growth of low-cost netbooks will change Apple's strategy but acknowledges Apple's success with this high-margin plan.

Apple's notebook marketshare may be even more impressive in select markets. MacUser reports that Amherst College has seen a shift in computer ownership of their incoming freshman. Students in last year's and this year's incoming class are now more likely to own a Mac than a PC.

Over the weekend, Apple has implemented some changes to the way their iTunes App Store listings and reviews are handled.

One issue that had been the source of developer frustration is that anyone had previously been allowed to leave "Customer Reviews" -- even for apps they had not personally purchased. This led to a frequent comments complaining about price from individuals who had never bought the application. A simple change this weekend now requires customers to have bought the application in order to be able to leave a customer review. Both customers and developers seem pleased about this change.

Another change has been the removal of the "All iPhone Applications" link which has typically provided a method for customers to view the most recently released applications. Instead, users must visit individual categories to see the latest releases. This change may be part of larger changes, however. One developer claims (via AppleInsider) that App Store listings are now organized by true release dates rather than most recent updates. In the past, any version update would bump an application to the top of the list, increasing its exposure.

While this would be a welcome change that should prevent frequent and unnecessary app "updates", without the presence of the "All iPhone Applications" listing, the benefit is limited, since users have to visit each individual category to find new applications.

In the meanwhile, readers can use these RSS feeds (currently in testing) to find new applications, version updates, and price drops in the App Store:

All Changes
New Apps (All)
New Apps (Free)
New Apps (Paid)
Price Drops (and Increases)
Version Updates

A new photograph claiming to be the new MacBook Pro has been circulating since yesterday. We've neglected to post the image since we felt it was clearly fake. Based on his sources, Jason O'Grady now confirms that the image isn't real and also provides some additional tidbits about the upcoming MacBook Pros.

O'Grady has heard that the new MacBook Pros will retain its more traditional boxy-look and not adopt the tapered edge design of the MacBook Air. We're not sure if that completely correlates with the previously leaked MacBook Pro image that does seem to depict a tapered edge. O'Grady also believes the new MacBook Pro will be thinner and "as much as a half-inch narrower" than existing models. The space savings will reportedly come from a smaller bezel (border) around the screen.

Other details spotted in early prototypes: black "flat top" keyboard like the MacBook Air, slightly smaller trackpad than existing MacBook Pros, and even a split trackpad with two buttons. O'Grady warns that Apple may build multiple prototypes and all these features may not make it to production machines.

In addition, O'Grady claims the incorporation of "full Multi-Touch support" in the new trackpads. At present, the capabilities of the current MacBook Pro trackpad offer basic Multi-Touch support but are limited to a few gestures per application. What "full" support means remains to be seen, but Apple has researched many options.