Everyone that's anyone in the world of computers and electronics was in Las Vegas last week for the previously reported Consumer Electronics Show. Well, except one. It has become a tradition in recent years that Apple chief Steve Jobs avoids announcing anything at CES, preferring instead to take centre stage at his own Macworld Expo event in San Francisco, ensuring once again he enjoys media coverage somewhat out of scale with his company's actual status in the whole scheme of things.
So it is that all eyes in the techy world will fall on Jobs later today when he reveals where Apple plan to go next. Much of his keynote speech may well centre on the new slimmer cheaper notebook computer that Apple are expected to launch this year - the first product from Apple's new partnership with Intel. But what of digital music, the one area where Apple really are the major player?
Among the many iPod/iTunes developments that rumour suggest might come up in Jobs' speech today are major new additions to the iTunes video store, maybe including partnerships with CBS and/or Fox; a stack of new functionality features across the iPod range; a revamp of the cheaper iPod Shuffle; the launch of a 1GB iPod nano in place of the Shuffle; and even some kind of gesture towards the variable pricing system that the record labels are so desperate for Apple to introduce. Whether any of those do, in fact, appear, I'll guess we'll know by 6.30pm tonight our time.