One more thing...

In a few hours, Apple will make a major new product announcement. Since everyone else is making their predictions, allow me to add mine to the mix. The event will begin with announcements of minor hardware updates to the Mac Mini and PowerMac/PowerBook lines, followed by an update to the HDD iPods that will be slimmer and have basic video playback capabilities. I think they will still be primarily for music playback rather than for watching feature films. Apple will also announce their sale of music videos from the ITMS, with the videos able to be played back on the new iPods. At this point, we will hear, "and one more thing..." which will be the real announcement of a new home digital media device marking Apple's first venture into the world of home theater. I'm envisioning a device that falls somewhere between a Mac Mini, an Airport Express, and a TiVo--some sort of wireless networked device for your living room. This paves the way for Apple's journey into video--not on a small iPod screen, but on your TV. Imagine purchasing or renting Finding Nemo from the new Apple Video Store rather than having to run to Blockbuster. The device would be matched by some sort of application that facilitates getting your video to whatever device you want to watch it on simple, but still DRM protected. OK, so maybe this is less of a prediction and more of a dream, but we'll find out tomorrow.