MacRumors

Apple will be providing an "advance preview" of the iPhone 3.0 firmware at a special media event today. This sort of advance public unveiling has become necessary so that 3rd party developers can update their applications to accommodate any major changes to the iPhone's operating system. As a result, we're likely looking at weeks to months of beta releases before actual delivery of the firmware to end users.

The iPhone 3.0 firmware could also be the basis for the rumored next-generation iPhone. In January, ZDNet ambitiously posted that we might see a quad-core iPhone running the 3.0 firmware. While quad-core seems quite ambitious, we'd also heard rumors of a multi-core iPhone in the works. Unfortunately, the lack of availability of multi-core ARM processors this year seems to argue against this possibility.

The software features to be delivered in the 3.0 firmware have been the hot topic this past week. It seems likely that both copy/paste and an improved homepage will be featured as there have been multiple sources suggesting these features. MMS and tethering, however, seem far less certain with only a single questionable source.

We will not be providing live web coverage for today's event, but will provide twitter/SMS updates on @macrumors. Our usual RSS news-feed twitter account is @macrumorsRSS.

We will, however, provide a collection of links to other locations for live coverage as the time approaches. Our forums, of course, will also be open for live discussion of the event.

The Mac web has been abuzz over the past few days regarding the possibility of an "authentication" or "DRM" chip included inside the headphones for Apple's new iPod shuffle released last week. After several days of investigation, explanations, and misunderstandings, the chip appears to contain no authorization or encryption component.

Following up on comments from iLounge regarding the existence of such a chip, Boing Boing Gadgets discovered the chip located inside the new iPod shuffles' headphone control module. The discovery touched off speculation that Apple had added the chip as a means to force third-party manufacturers to pay a licensing fee in order to produce headphones compatible with the new iPod shuffle.

Macworld, however, contacted an Apple spokesman about the matter. While the spokesman confirmed the existence of the chip, its intended purpose is said to be related to the "Made for iPod" program alone. Boing Boing Gadgets was also able to speak with Apple and received what is so far the clearest explanation regarding whether the chip contains DRM:

Just spoke with Apple. There is no encryption or authentication on the chip, so clones could conceivably be made, just not with "Made for iPod" official certification. And now we know!

Update: Apple offers a "Made for iPod" licensing certification for accessories that work with their iPods. With the introduction of this chip, Apple seems to have extended "Made for iPod" certification to headphones/remotes that work with the iPod shuffle. Previously, these accessories were not required to be "Made for iPod" certified. So while there is no DRM in the chips, themselves, it is unlikely that a 3rd party manufacturer would be carried in an Apple Store unless they are "Made for iPod". The implication is that Apple has further extended their control over 3rd party accessories for the iPod.

During a live taping of Diggnation, Kevin Rose revealed details about the expected "Copy and Paste" functionality coming in iPhone 3.0. World of Apple reports on the event with a link to a video of the moment (warning: strong language).

According to Rose, to invoke Copy and Paste, you simply double tap on the word, and a magnifier bubble will appear with two quotes that you can drag around your selection. Once you make your selection, you can copy, paste or cut. Rose has been accurate in the past with details about upcoming Apple product revisions. As well, we have also heard that Copy and Paste will be arriving in 3.0 alongside a much improved homepage/springboard with the ability to organize in categories.

Apple will be revealing iPhone 3.0 in detail on Tuesday, March 17th at a special media event.

Since more of the new Mac Pros have been delivered, it seems some of the early benchmarks underestimated the 2.26GHz Mac Pro's performance in single threaded tasks. The latest numbers show that the new 2.26GHz 8-Core machines appear to have both single-threaded and multi-threaded performance equal to or better than the previous generation 2.8GHz 8-Core machines. Another set of benchmarks are also compiled in this graph by Tesselator.

Meanwhile, Engadget posted a nice video showing the internals of the Mac Pro including the new CPU and Memory drawer which can easily slide out of the chassis.

Wired revives rumors of a "premium" App Store dedicated to applications for the iPhone and iPod touch priced at $20 or more. The move could provide a means for more sophisticated apps to be featured and protected from the downward pricing pressure seen in the App Store.

We're hearing rumors that Apple could introduce a "premium" section in the store, in order to sell more expensive third-party programs. The premium section would largely be focused on games, giving game makers a channel to offer more in-depth (and pricier) titles without getting lost in the clutter of free and $1 apps.

Wired also speculates that a "premium" store could be popular with business-oriented software companies.

This "velvet rope" section of Apple's store could feature software programs that cost $20 or more, making it friendlier to publishers whose products are too complicated to be created in one developer's spare time. That change would make the App Store more friendly to game publishers, as well as enterprise software companies such as SAP that would otherwise prefer to focus on the more business-user targeted BlackBerry phones.

PocketGamer.biz reported on similar rumors in late January. While PocketGamer.biz had no information on a possible release date for the new App Store, they speculated that Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference this summer would be an obvious opportunity, but that a special games-focused media event could also be a possibility. Apple's iPhone OS 3.0 media event scheduled for next Tuesday provides yet another opportunity for such an announcement.

AppleInsider reports that Apple is planning to release an update to their Final Cut Studio professional video editing package in late April, around the time of the annual National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) conference in Las Vegas.

While Apple won't be attending NAB, those familiar with the company's plans say it holds ambitions of debuting a new version of Final Cut Studio, currently late in its development stage, at or around the same time the conference kicks off during the third week of April. Further details weren't provided.

Apple had been a regular participant at NAB, announcing a number of Final Cut Pro and Final Cut Studio releases there, put pulled out of the 2008 conference as part of their continuing shift away from trade shows and conferences.

Previous reports had pointed to a possible Final Cut Studio update at a rumored March 24th media event that had initially surfaced as a possibility for hardware releases. With the introduction of new iMacs, Mac minis and Mac Pros on March 3rd and yesterday's announcement of an iPhone OS 3.0 media event on March 17th, a March 24th event is looking increasingly unlikely.

News that Apple will be hosting a media event next week about iPhone 3.0 has generated a lot of speculation about what might be coming in the new release.

BoyGeniusReport claims to have heard two possible features that would certainly make many iPhone users happy. They believe that iPhone 3.0 will introduce MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service) and Tethering.

MMS would finally offer iPhone users the ability to send photos by way of SMS, and tethering would allow you to share your iPhone's internet connection with your laptop computer. An alleged Steve Jobs email even confirmed that Apple had been working on a thethering solution, so it certainly seems feasible. BoyGeniusReport's record, however, has been spotty, so we can't be entirely confident of the report.

A more interesting report comes from John Gruber about his "guesses" for iPhone 3.0 from back at Macworld:

First, a new home screen app (a.k.a. SpringBoard), designed from the ground up for a system where users have a few dozen or more extra apps installed. Managing dozens of apps on the iPhone today is simply a pain in the ass. Second, maybe an answer to the question of where the background notification API is you know, the one we were told at WWDC to expect a few months ago, but which we havent heard a word about since. And maybe pretty please, Mr. Forstall, with sugar on top copy and paste.

While Gruber labels this as his "wish list", we have good reason to believe that these features will indeed be found in the iPhone 3.0 firmware. That could mean a better app-managing SpringBoard (with categories?), a solution to "push" notifications (background tasks?), and, yes... even copy and paste.

Finally, there has been evidence in the latest version of Snow Leopard's CoreLocation framework (which is shared by the iPhone) that Apple is building in support for magnetometers, which could suggest the use of a digital compass in future devices, much like the Android G1.

Engadget is reporting that Apple will be hosting a media event on Tuesday, March 17th to demonstrate iPhone OS 3.0, the next major upgrade to the iPhone operating system. Apple will reportedly also provide details on a new iPhone Software Development Kit (SDK) to aid developers in creating applications for the new operating system.

Apple's calling this an "advance preview of what we're building," so we're not expecting anything ready to go as of the 17th, but hopefully this will allow developers to start building toward future functionality (hey, how about some push notifications?), and presumably users won't have too many months to wait after that for the real deal.

Apple previously hosted a media event in March 2008 to provide a "roadmap" for iPhone developers, and it appears that this upcoming event may follow a similar theme. The event is scheduled for 10 AM Pacific in the Town Hall auditorium on the company's campus in Cupertino, CA.

Several MacRumors readers have pointed out that the extension of the iTunes "Genius" feature to include movies and TV shows does not appear to be present in iTunes 8.1. The feature was advertised on Apple's site prior to the release of iTunes 8.1 and is still mentioned in the release notes that accompany the download.

References to the updated Genius feature have been removed from the "iTunes A to Z" features page, and Apple has revised their "What's New" page, replacing the Genius section with details on the extension of Autofill to all iPods.

The reason for the removal of the feature remains unknown, although it certainly appears that it was a last-minute decision.

As foreshadowed by Apple earlier today, iTunes 8.1 has been released and is now available from the iTunes download page.

The supporting documentation included with the download details the changes present in the update:

iTunes 8.1 is now faster and more responsive. You will enjoy noticeable improvements when working with large libraries, browsing the iTunes Store, preparing to sync with iPod or iPhone, and optimizing photos for syncing.

In addition, iTunes 8.1 provides many other improvements and bug fixes, including:

- Supports syncing with iPod shuffle (3rdgeneration)
- Allows friends to request songs for iTunes DJ
- Adds Genius sidebar for your Movies and TV Shows
- Improves performance when downloading iTunes Plus songs
- Provides AutoFill for manually managed iPods
- Allows CDs to be imported at the same sound quality as iTunes Plus
- Includes many accessibilityimprovements
- Allows iTunes U and the iTunes Store to be disabled separately using Parental Controls

Earlier today, Apple also released an update for their Remote application for the iPhone and iPod touch, adding compatibility with iTunes 8.1 and including assorted bug fixes.

Update: Apple has also released Front Row 2.1.7, which weighs in at 12.6 MB and adds iTunes 8.1 compatibility to Front Row.

Close on the heels of rumors from the Commercial Times on Monday and Dow Jones Newswires on Tuesday, Reuters reports on a source close to touchscreen manufacturer Wintek saying that the company has received orders from Apple for 10-inch touchscreens expected to be delivered in the third quarter of 2009.

Taiwan touchscreen specialist Wintek already makes small screens for Apple iPhones, and has received orders for the larger ones that are roughly the same size as those used in mini PCs, said the source close to the Taiwan firm. He asked not to be identified because he was not authorized to talk to the media.

He added that he did not know what the final product would be, or who would make it.

It is unclear whether this is one of the same sources quoted by the Commercial Times and/or Dow Jones Newswires, but Reuters' claim that the source provided the information "on Wednesday", after the previous reports had been issued, suggests that this is either a fresh repetition of the information by a previous source or a new source entirely.

As noted in its technical specifications, the new iPod shuffle released today requires iTunes 8.1, which is yet to be released. Apple's iTunes download page also includes a note about the upcoming release on the download button itself.

Apple's "What's New" page for iTunes highlights a few of the changes coming in the update, including speed boosts for library loading, iTunes Store browsing, and device syncing, expansion of the Genius feature to include movies and TV shows, and a change in the default audio import settings to 256-kbps AAC.

In addition to the highlighted features, Apple's "iTunes A to Z" features page suggests several additional changes, including updated Parental Controls that appear to add the ability to disable access to the entire iTunes Store while still allowing access to iTunes U content. The page also adds an entry for Autofill, which does not clearly specify what the changes are, although it appears possible that the feature implemented for the smallest-capacity iPods is being extended to all models.

Update: Based on new screenshots scattered throughout the iTunes pages, the iTunes "Party Shuffle" feature has apparently been renamed "iTunes DJ".