Apple’s homepage is featuring a teaser message that suggests a major iTunes announcement is on the schedule for tomorrow. So what could it be? The Apple Rumor Mill has their imaginations running wild, with claims all over the board.

Here are some possibilities for Apple’s iTunes announcement tomorrow:

• iOS 4.2 Release – We do know the release of iOS 4.2 is very close, but Apple typically rolls out iOS updates without this level of anticipation
• Expanded iTunes Content Library – A significant addition to the iTunes content library would be a big deal and immediately accessible to anyone without an iTunes update. This could also be tied to a streaming or subscription service
• iTunes Live Streaming – This rumor is based on an entry in an iTunes 10.1 plist file, this could mean that iTunes will natively support live streaming of events or television, and this could be completely different than a general media streaming service.
• iTunes Streaming Service – The iTunes streaming concept has been around for a long time, and the massive North Carolina data center only serves to feed this rumor. Perhaps you’ll be able to buy content through iTunes and stream it to your Mac, iPhone, iPad, AppleTV, where ever
• iTunes Subscription Service – A monthly subscription model for iTunes has long been thought to be in the works. This could expand beyond music to things like magazines, news papers, TV shows, etc
• Facebook and Ping Integration – I’m not sure if this would warrant the anticipation level that Apple is building for tomorrow, but it’s entirely possible
• Apple TV Apps – Ever since it was discovered that the new Apple TV runs iOS, there has been speculation that Apple will unleash an App Store for it. I think this is coming too, I just don’t know if it’s tomorrow
• Mac App Store – Will the Mac App Store be released tomorrow ahead of schedule? I think the Mac App Store will be it’s own separate application outside of iTunes completely, but perhaps this would be an iTunes announcement
• The Beatles Library on iTunes – Anytime a rumor about iTunes comes about, inevitably there is the claim that The Beatles library is going to finally be available. The Beatles are great, but again, is this worthy of the hype? This idea seems to be born from the Apple.com splash page vaguely resembling the HELP! album cover (see below)…. sort of…

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This is a neat trick that lets you mute your Mac audio and adjust sound output on a Mac from your iPhone. It’s a little involved so it won’t be for the average user, but it is kind of interesting anyway.

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If you have a jailbroken iPhone 3G or iPhone 2G, you can dual boot between Android OS 2.2.1 Froyo and iOS 3.1 to iOS 4.1. The installation really isn’t that difficult, especially if you already have a jailbroken iPhone (apparently it must be jailbroken with PwnageTool, redsn0w, or blackra1n, not quite sure why), it’s basically just a matter of downloading a few apps (Bootlace and OpeniBoot), and then installing Android onto the iPhone.

The following video walks you through the installation process, it’s pretty short and easy to follow, courtesy of RedmondPie:
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The popular LetterBox plugin for Mac OS X’s Mail app has been updated to be compatible with the release of 10.6.5. Prior to the plugin update, Letterbox required a manual fix for Letterbox to work with Mac OS X 10.6.5. The new version prevents the need for the hack.

If you’re interested, you can head over to the developers site to get the newest version with full 10.6.5 compatibility.

Want to fall asleep when listening to music on a Mac, and then have your Mac automatically stop playing music? You know, kind of like a sleep timer for iTunes? Well you’re in luck, Sleepytime does exactly that for Macs!

Sleepytime is a simple app that functions as a sleep timer for iTunes and your Mac.

You set a time for iTunes to stop playing and then set a fade interval, and your Mac will stop playing iTunes gradually, before finally sleeping your Mac.
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You can easily determine if your iPhone can be jailbroken or unlocked using a tool called f0recast. The f0recast utility works for both Mac OS X and Windows and lets you quickly identify if your iOS device qualifies for hacking. The tool works with iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, and all the iPod touch models.
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Just in time for the holiday shopping season, you can now pre-order Civilization 5 for Mac through Amazon! The pre-order includes free shipping for the release date of November 23.

Amazon is offering their pre-order price guarantee, meaning if the price drops after you buy the game but before it is released, they’ll refund the price difference.

Pre-order Civilization V for Mac from Amazon

Civilization 5 is one of several highly anticipated game releases this year for the Mac OS X platform.

If you bought an iPhone app and it didn’t work on your device due to technical failures or limitations, or perhaps the app purchase was made in error by a child or someone else using your device, you may be eligible for a refund from Apple. Apple will selectively refund app purchases, though it’s not without limits, and there must be a compelling reason to receive the app refund.

This tutorial will show you how to request an app refund from Apple for an iPhone app or iPad app.

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How’s this for a great setup; a MacBook Pro 15″ is hooked up to an Apple Cinema Display in front of a great city view. Both the MacBook Pro and the Cinema Display are set on adjustable articulated arms for easy swiveling and movement.

If you’re curious what the monitor and laptop mounts are, here they are on Amazon:

Visidec Focus Articulated Monitor Arm (Supports Displays to 24″)

Visidec Focus Notebook Arm (Nonslip surface, supports up to 18″ or 17.5 lbs)

I must say, ever since seeing the iMac wall mount I’ve wanted to get hardware mounts on my desk. They definitely look great and I love the idea of being able to adjust where the MacBook Pro and display rest in the air, in addition to freeing up the desk space below them.

This is awesome Mac setup was found on Flickr.

If you use an iPhone or iPad primarily with a Windows PC, you’ll be happy to hear that sn0wbreeze 2.1 is now available to download. Sn0wbreeze 2.1 serves a similar function as PwnageTool does for Macs, allowing Windows-based jailbreakers to preserve their current baseband (to preserve a carrier unlock) and also to use custom IPSW files.

Sn0wbreeze 2.1 works with iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 3G, iPad, iPod touch 4G, 3G, 2G, as well as the new Apple TV. The utility is verified to work with iOS 4.1 for iPhone and iPod touch, and iOS 3.2.2 for iPad, but there is no word on iOS 4.2 support yet.
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Ping is a feature in some versions of iTunes, and you can easily disable Ping in the newest version of iTunes 10.1. (Remember, despite sharing a name Ping in iTunes which is a social network of sorts is completely different from ping at the command line which confirms if an IP address is available or not).

This works on both Mac OS X and Windows versions of iTunes 10.1:

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The iTunes 10.1 update has been released for download, this is a required update to install the upcoming iOS 4.2 release on your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad.

The release notes from Software Update are simple and as follows:

What’s new in iTunes 10.1

• Use AirPlay to instantly and wirelessly stream videos from iTunes to the all-new Apple TV.

• Sync with your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch with iOS 4.2.

• Provides a number of important stability and performance improvements.

Download iTunes 10.1

The update available is for Mac OS X and Windows users. You have two options to download the update:

Software Update – You can use the Software Update feature from inside of iTunes, or you can go to Software Update from the Apple menu. Both will show you the download for iTunes 10.1.

Directly from Apple – If you go the Apple route, you don’t need to fill out your email, you can just click on the “Download Now” button. This will download an installer and you can then update iTunes yourself.

You know how it goes; you’re reading something on your iPhone or iPod in bed while laying down, then you accidentally drop the device, and *smack*, it lands right on your face.

Oh, that didn’t feel so great now did it. Yup, let’s just admit that hurt. This comic convinced me that it’s not unique a unique issue to my own digital life, so don’t act like this hasn’t happened to you when using an iPhone in bed!

I hear it’s a lot more painful with an iPad, which I can attest to only having dropped one onto my chest, which felt just lovely…

A big thanks to Colin for sending this to us! We’re not sure the source of the comic, but if you happen to know then pass it along here, plus it would be great to see this artists other works, we have a hunch it’d be funny too.

Got any other goofy comics that are nerdy or relevant to the world of Apple? Send those our way too! In the meantime, you can catch up on some of our more light-hearted posts by browsing through the fun section, which is full of goofy and out-there oddities that are sure to bring a smile to the geekier folks out there like myself.

Want to project holographic text and graphics over anything using your iPhone or iPad? Grab Holographium and your digital camera. Combining the two, you can create the appearance of 3D text and images by using the app and then dragging an iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch in front of a camera with a long exposure. The end result is a really cool 3D effect.

The developer explains how it works:
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You can mute the quack sound that your Mac makes when adjusting audio levels by adjusting a system preference setting. Yes, that means you can completely turn it off and stop the little quack / pop sound from happening anytime the volume changes. Here is what you will want to do in OS X:
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Update 2: LetterBox for Mac OS X 10.6.7 has been released and it resolves the latest incompatibilities. If you’d rather fix the plugin yourself, follow the instructions below but use these two UUID’s instead:

9049EF7D-5873-4F54-A447-51D722009310
1C58722D-AFBD-464E-81BB-0E05C108BE06

Thanks to Vincent for providing the UUID’s in the comments!

Update: A new version of Letterbox for Mac OS X 10.6.5 has been released.

Letterbox is a popular plugin for Mail.app that gives you a wide screen three-pane view in Mail, unfortunately the Mac OS X 10.6.5 update broke this plugin. If you don’t mind getting your hands a bit dirty in the Finder, you can fix the plugin to work in 10.6.5 by editing a file. We’ll walk you through it:

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For whatever reason, the Mac OS X 10.6.5 update did not include AirPrint shared printing support (meaning you can’t print from an iOS device to a shared Mac printer). But, you can unofficially enable AirPrint by downloading a few AirPrint files from 10.6.5 beta releases and then putting them in the appropriate location on your Mac.

Update: There is now a much easier way to make any printer AirPrint compatible for both Mac OS X and Windows.

This is a pretty straightforward process, but remember you are using software that was pulled from the release of 10.6.5, proceed at your own risk:
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ReBirth is a software synthesizer from the 1990’s that has been reborn with a vengeance for the iPad, and it looks absolutely awesome. ReBirth for iPad emulates a Roland TB-303 Bass synthesizer, and Roland TR-808 and 909 Drum Machines, which are the basically staples of music created in the last 30 years (80’s, techno, hip hop, electro, dance, pop, etc). It takes full advantage of multi-touch support and has some pretty amazing features, here is the description from the App Store:

“ReBirth faithfully emulates dance music’s three backbone devices: The Roland TB-303 Bass synth and the Roland TR-808 and 909 drum machines. Combine these with FX units, fully featured pattern sequencers and a gorgeous-looking interface and you’re ready to make killer tracks on your iPad. Share your music with friends on Facebook, Twitter and more using the built in sharing features.”

To really grasp how cool this iPad app is, I’d highly recommend watching the video below, it walks you through the app and shows you how easy it is to make loops and then full songs, which can then be exported as an MP3.

ReBirth for iPad costs $14.99 and is available now through the App Store.
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