It's been less than 24 hours since Apple released iTunes 10 and its integrated social networking functionality, Ping, but spammers and scammers are already starting to spread their messages via the service. The first major instance appears to be a "free iPhone" scam that has seen multiple accounts posting replies to entries from a number of the most popular music artists currently using Ping.
While it shouldn't be a surprise that spammers would seize upon any opportunity to get their links in front of a large number of people, Ping's linkage to the iTunes Store would at first glance appear to make things more difficult for spammers, who would need to create verified iTunes accounts before spamming.
But while Apple has touted over 160 million iTunes Store accounts with credit cards associated with them, a credit card is not required to open an account, as Apple allows users to create accounts to download free iTunes Store content without the need for confirmed payment details that might otherwise discourage spammers.
It remains to be seen how well prepared Apple is to deal with this influx of spam, although the company has built in the ability to report postings containing offensive, inappropriate, or spam content. The multiple spam accounts for the first "free iPhone" spam wave remained active for up to four hours before being disabled just minutes ago, although their posts still remain visible in Ping.
Engadget notes that Apple's new iPod touch introduced yesterday has appeared on the website of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Along with other standard information on radiation emissions required by the FCC for approval, the documents contain a series of internal and external photos of the device, which will not be making its way into the hands of consumers until next week.
Here, the FCC got its greasy paws on the new Retina Display-packing iPod touch, aka "Apple A1367," and in the gallery below you can see exactly where Cupertino keeps that A4 processor, 3.44 watt-hour battery, internal antenna, and 802.11 b/g/n 2.4GHz WiFi.
Engadget's gallery of images from the FCC's site shows how Apple has been able to pack the iPod touch's internals into an increasingly thin form factor now checking in at just 0.28 inches thick. Also included are shots at various stages of disassembly, as well as several individual parts.
We'll likely have to wait until next week for teardown experts like those at iFixit to get their hands on the device and rip it apart to perform complete analyses of the components found inside, but the FCC's photos provide an interesting first look inside the new iPod touch.
Engadgetalso notes that the FCC has posted documents relating to the new Apple TV, but that photos of the device are not included. According to a letter included with the documentation, Apple has requested confidentiality on such photos for a period of 180 days.
With yesterday's release of iTunes 10, Apple also deployed a new music-focused social network feature known as Ping. When it initially launched yesterday, users creating their profiles were presented with an option to use Facebook Connect to find friends who had already created their own Ping profiles. It is unclear, however, whether the feature was functioning properly, as a number of users reported that searches yielded no results.
The Facebook Connect feature now seems to have disappeared from Ping, with many users not even realizing it was ever there. The flurry of activity has generated some confusion in the Apple media, especially after All Things Digitalchatted with Steve Jobs about the lack of Facebook integration before people realized that the functionality was in fact partially present.
And Facebook is nowhere on Ping too. Currently, there is no linking, sharing or participation of any kind with Facebook - or Twitter or MySpace either - on Ping, which will work only on the iTunes software on computers, iPhones and iPods.
When I asked Jobs about that, he said Apple had indeed held talks with Facebook about a variety of unspecified partnerships related to Ping, but the discussions had gone nowhere.
The reason, according to Jobs: Facebook wanted "onerous terms that we could not agree to."
Despite Jobs' claim that discussions with Facebook regarding Ping were unproductive, ample evidence of the integration is present in the form of the earlier Facebook Connect option in the service itself, as well as mentions and screenshots of it in Apple's promotional materials for Ping. Consequently, Apple observers are left scratching their heads until (or unless) Apple makes a statement about the incident.
In an unsurprising move, Apple has rebranded its developer program and portal for the iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch as the iOS Dev Center. The change from its previous "iPhone Dev Center" name follows a similar shift in the name of the devices' operating system made back in June.
Apple notes in a brief news posting that the iOS Developer Program offers the exact same benefits and resources as the iPhone Developer Program. The basic iOS Developer Program is priced at $99 per year, with a free program available for higher education institutions and a $299 program available for enterprise customers looking to develop proprietary, in-house applications for their business.
Tonight Twitter released a new update to their popular Twitter application that makes it a Universal app with native support for the iPad's large display. While native support has been a long requested feature for the official Twitter app, the company has also implemented a number of new interface features that seem quite natural on the iPad's large screen.
The most obvious feature is the use of movable Panes that allow you to actively manipulate content around the screen. Panes can be swiped left/right to move to cover or expose other panes and works surprisingly well.
What Twitter has done is create an amazing user experience for reading information. This is thanks to an intuitive user interface that layers on top of itself. So, for example, if I click on a link in my tweet stream, Ill have a new layer that rolls over to show that webpage in a customized browser window. If you've used Flipboard, it's somewhat similar, but better because its much easier to go back to where ever you previously were before you clicked the link. You simply swipe something to the side to move it temporarily or swipe it again to get it off the screen (in portrait mode anyway, where there's less space).
Beyond that, the Twitter app also incorporates multi-touch gesture support to provide useful but more hidden functionality. Pinch-zoom can be used on a tweet to get more details about the user. Meanwhile, two-finger drag down on a tweet instantly shows the previous replies.
Even if you're not a regular Twitter user, it's probably worth a peek to see their take on an iPad user interface. As Engadget notes, we also expect other iPad apps will start adopting these user interface features.
Apple has posted the full stream for today's Media event. While the stream had been available for Mac OS X 10.6 and iOS users immediately after the broadcast, it is now provided in multiple formats that can be viewed cross platform on both Windows and Mac. The video is also available as a podcast on iTunes.
Apple introduced a number of new products which we covered earlier today:
Apple has finally posted the iTunes 10 release for download. iTunes 10 was introduced today during the keynote event. The new version of the media management application features a streamlined interface and a new networking feature called Ping, along with a new, more modern icon.
Ping is a social network for music that will help users discover new music, allowing users to follow favorite artists and friends. Ping will also create a custom chart showing music selections based on those followed. Users can choose to allow others to follow them automatically or by approval. There are over 160 million iTunes users, all of whom will be able to sign up for the new Ping service immediately.
During today's media event, Apple CEO Steve Jobs introduced two new commercials, one each for the new iPod touch and iPod nano. Apple has now posted the commercials to its product-specific sites, as well as its YouTube page.
The iPod touch commercial utilizes Chappo's "Come Home" [iTunes Store] and demonstrates the device's ability to capture and play video, as well as a wide variety of games available for the platform. Finally, the commercial wraps up by highlighting the new FaceTime video calling feature first introduced with the iPhone 4 and now made possible in the iPod touch by its front-facing camera.
The new iPod nano commercial features Cake's "Short Skirt/Long Jacket" [iTunes Store] as the soundtrack and shows off a number of features of the new device, including the versatility allowed by its rear clip, its multi-touch screen supporting swiping and rotation, and the ability to display album art.
Apple hosted their media event today and announced a number of new products and updates. For a summary of those announcements, see our previous coverage:
Here are some notes and observations about today's announcements.
- The iPod Classic is still for sale but with no changes. - According to the tech specs, the new iPod Touch's back camera takes still photos at a disappointingly low 960x720 resolution. - The new Apple TV is running an A4 processor. Previously it used a low end Intel chip. This means the Apple TV is running on the same hardware as the iOS devices, though Apple has not revealed any other connections. - Apple's iTunes 10 Open/Minimize/Close buttons are vertically oriented (see screenshot above) - The impressive game demo by Epic Games is now available on the App Store as a free download. - The new iPod nano has no camera and apparently can't play video any longer. - PING Golf has announced that it has entered into a trademark agreement with Apple to allow for the use of the "Ping" name in the new social networking feature of iTunes. - Live Nation has acknowledged that it is powering the concert listing included in Ping. Ping's concert listings offer links to purchase tickets directly through Live Nation. - The golden master build of iOS 4.1 has been seeded to developers ahead of its public release apparently scheduled for next Wednesday.
At today's keynote event, Steve Jobs announced the upcoming availability of iOS 4.1 for the iPhone and iPod touch. Jobs noted that the long running proximity sensor, Bluetooth, and iPhone 3G performance bugs that have been raised by users will be fixed in this update.
New features to iOS 4.1 include High Dynamic Range photos, HD video upload over Wi-Fi, TV show rentals, and Apple's Game Center will make its official debut.
High Dynamic Range photos are photos created using 3 separate photos captured in quick succession at varying exposure levels. The photos are then combined using some complex algorithms to create an enhanced composite photo. Game Center, which was first introduced earlier this year, will officially be included in iOS 4.1 and allows gamers to invite others to play, post scores to online leaderboards, and more.
iOS 4.1 will be available next week for iPhone and iPod touch and will be a free update.
Jobs also revealed that iOS 4.2 will be released in November, finally bringing iOS 4.x support to the iPad. The free update will include wireless printing as well as a new feature called AirPlay, which replaces AirTunes. AirPlay will offer streaming of video, music, and photos. iOS 4.2 will be compatible with the iPad, iPod Touch and iPhone.
Update: While Apple's U.S. and many other sites simply states that iOS 4.1 is coming soon, some international sites such as the Spanish one, as well as the company's press release announcing the new iPod touch note that iOS 4.1 will become available next Wednesday, September 8th.
Existing second and third generation iPod touch users can update to iOS 4.1 free of charge on September 8 to enjoy new features including Game Center.
As hinted early in the keynote with the mention of TV show rentals, Steve Jobs today announced the second generation of Apple TV hardware, a significant redesign for the device. At one-fourth the size of the original Apple TV, the new device features HDMI and digital audio outputs, as well as Ethernet and 802.11n Wi-Fi and will offer only rentals from the iTunes Store.
Unlike the previous Apple TV, the new model will not have any significant internal storage, relying on streaming content only. Additionally, media can no longer be purchased but only rented. First-run HD movies can be rented for $4.99 on the day the DVD is released. Renting HD TV shows will cost $.99. At launch, only ABC and Fox will offer their HD shows for rental at this price.
Apple today announced the new Apple TV which offers the simplest way to watch your favorite HD movies and TV shows on your HD TV for the breakthrough price of just $99. Apple TV users can choose from the largest online selection of HD movies to rent, including first run movies for just $4.99, and the largest online selection of HD TV show episodes to rent from ABC, ABC Family, Fox, Disney Channel and BBC America for just 99 cents.
Apple TV also streams content from Netflix, YouTube, Flickr and MobileMe, as well as music, photos and videos from PCs and Macs to your HD TV. Enjoy gorgeous slideshows of your photos on your HD TV using Apple TV's selection of built-in slideshows. Apple TV has built-in HDMI, Wi-Fi, Ethernet and an internal power supply for easy set-up, and features silent, cool, very low power operation in an enclosure that's less than four inches square - 80 percent smaller than the previous generation.
The new Apple TV's support for Netflix's streaming service allows subscribers on a DVD rental plan costing $8.99 or more per month to access streaming content for no additional charge. Apple TV users will also be able to stream content from YouTube, Flickr, and MobileMe.
Apple's new AirPlay, which replaces AirTunes, will allow the streaming of content from an iOS device to an Apple TV. During the keynote, Jobs demonstrated streaming a movie from an iPad to an Apple TV over a Wi-Fi network.
Apple TV content will be available in six countries to start, with more coming later this year. The new Apple TV, priced at $99, comes with a remote control and will be available starting in about four weeks, with pre-orders starting today.
Alongside new iPod models, Apple today introduced a new version of iTunes, dubbed iTunes 10. The new version of the media management application features a streamlined interface and a new networking feature called Ping, along with a new, more modern icon.
Ping is a social network for music that will help users discover new music, allowing users to follow favorite artists and friends. Ping will also create a custom chart showing music selections based on those followed. Users can choose to allow others to follow them automatically or by approval. There are over 160 million iTunes users, all of whom will be able to sign up for the new Ping service immediately.
Apple today introduced iTunes 10 with Ping, a new music-oriented social network for following your favorite artists and friends to discover what music they're talking about, listening to and downloading. iTunes Ping lets you post your thoughts and opinions, your favorite albums and songs, the music you've downloaded from iTunes, plus view concert listings and tell your friends which concerts you plan to attend. iTunes 10 also features HD TV show rentals for just 99 cents an episode and AirPlay wireless music playback.
In a demonstration, Jobs showed how users can post videos and photos to the service, as well as search concert information and tag concerts attended. Ping will be included in the iTunes app on the iPhone and iPod touch.
iTunes 10 will be available later today as a free download.
Along with announcing iOS 4.1 and the forthcoming iOS 4.2 for the iPad, Apple announced all-new iPod models at today's keynote event.
The new iPod shuffle will see the return of buttons and will still include the VoiceOver feature that debuted in the last Shuffle model. It also has playlists capability and will take advantage of the Genius Playlists recently introduced. It will have 15 hours of battery life and will come in 5 colors: silver, pink, gold, blue, and green. The 2 GB Shuffle will cost $49.
The iPod nano has also been updated, removing the click wheel and adding a multi-touch interface to reduce the device's overall size. The new nano is 46% smaller than its predecessor and will have 24-hour battery life.
The nano's new touch interface is similar to that of other iOS devices with a home screen populated with icons to access photos, artists, playlists, control playback, and more. The display's orientation can be manually rotated to accommodate the device's position when clipped to clothing. The nano will come in graphite, pink, blue, silver, green, gold, and a Product Red version will also be offered. It will cost $149 for 8 GB and $179 for 16 GB.
Finally, the next generation of the iPod touch includes the Retina Display with 324 pixels per inch that made its debut on the iPhone 4. The new iPod touch will also get Apple's A4 chip, a 3-axis gyroscope, a rear-facing camera that can record HD video, and a front-facing camera that will work with Facetime. The iPod touch will have iOS 4.1 with Apple's Game Center and will offer 40 hours of music playback battery life. The iPod touch will cost $229 for the 8 GB model, $299 for 32 GB, and $399 for 64 GB.
All new iPod models will be available starting next week and are available for pre-order on Apple's site today.
Outside Apple's media event in San Francisco (Source: CrunchGear)
Apple today is holding its traditional fall media event where it is expected to introduce several new and updated products and services, with iPods, iTunes, and Apple TV serving as the most frequent topics of rumor and speculation. The event is scheduled to kick off at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco at 10:00 AM Pacific Time / 1:00 PM Eastern Time, or just about one hour from now.
Just yesterday, Apple announced that it will be offering live video streaming of the event on limited platforms. In addition to Apple's video stream, we will be updating this article with coverage as the media event unfolds. We will also be issuing Twitter updates through our @MacRumorsLive account.
Apple's online stores around the world are currently down in advance of the event.
- Apple's live feed is now active and available through this link. For users on non-compatible systems, this stream appears to be working well. - Announcer notes the event will begin in a few minutes and asks attendees to silence electronic devices.
- Steve Jobs on stage, points out "partner in crime" Steve Wozniak in the audience. Thanks audience for coming. "Really cool stuff" to show you. - Apple retail update: Showing off new stores in Paris, Shanghai, Covent Garden (London). Now 300 stores in ten countries with Spain coming soon. Some days see over 1 million visitors to retail stores. 80,000 One to One classes per week. Over half of Mac purchasers in retail stores are new to Mac. - iOS update: Have now shipped 120 million iOS devices. Activating 230,000 new iOS devices per day. We think some of our friends are counting upgrades in their numbers, but we think strictly new activations is a better metric. Over 6.5 billion app downloads, 200 per second. 250,000 apps in App Store - 25,000 for iPad. - Introducing iOS 4.1: Fixes bugs (proximity, Bluetooth, iPhone 3G performance), Adds High Dynamic Range (HDR) photos, HD video upload over Wi-Fi, TV show rentals, Game Center - Showing off HDR photo quality. Both regular and HDR photos saved on device...choose which you prefer. Showing examples of how HDR can pull out details that are typically washed out. - Game Center: Standalone app, as well as APIs for developers. For multi-player games, allows you to challenge friends. Showing off screenshots. - Mike Capps of Epic Games on stage to show off Game Center on new iOS RPG game codenamed "Project Sword". Showing off 3D virtual world in high detail. Showing Game Center-mediated multi-player action. - iOS 4.1 due next week for iPhone and iPod touch - Sneak peek at iOS 4.2 - "all about iPad". Brings everything to iPad....multitasking, folders, Game Center, HDR photos, wireless printing, AirPlay - Showing off wireless printing in Pages. "Print Center" app now shows up in multi-tasking tray to manage jobs. - AirPlay: Formerly known as AirTunes, now allows streaming of audio, video, and photos. - Demoing iOS 4.2 on iPad with multitasking, folders - iOS 4.2 set for November release. Free for iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch. - iPods: "Our entree" for the day. We've sold 275 million iPods. All-new designs for every model of iPod this year. Biggest change ever. - iPod shuffle: Highlighting history of the device. New model now has buttons, VoiceOver, and playlists, rear clip. 15 hours of music, five different colors, $49 for 2 GB.
- iOS-like interface with four icons on home screen, multiple home screens with ability to reorganize icons. Album art, photos, etc. Rotatable home screen using pinch gesture. - Same colors as shuffle, plus graphite and Product RED. $149 for 8 GB, $179 for 16 GB. - iPod touch: In the last year, has become most popular iPod. "iPhone without the phone, and the contract". #1 portable game player...outsells Nintendo and Sony combined. - New iPod touch is even thinner, Retina display, A4 chip, gyroscope, iOS 4.1, front-facing camera with FaceTime, rear-facing camera with HD video recording. - Can run iMovie on iPod touch, can FaceTime between iPod touches and iPhone 4s. - Three models: 8 GB $229, 32 GB $299, 64 GB $399
- All iPod models (shuffle, nano, touch) available for pre-order today, shipping next week. - Now showing new iPod nano and iPod touch ads - iTunes: 11.7 billion songs downloaded, 450 million TV episodes, 100 million movies, 35 million books, 160 million accounts with credit cards. #1 online media store in the world. - iTunes 10. With iTunes set to surpass physical CD sales next year, so new icon with no CD.
- New "hybrid" view. With albums of at least five songs, now shows album art right in list view. - Social features: New feature called Ping. Facebook and Twitter meet iTunes...social network for music. Follow favorite artists and friends, find out what they're listening to and talking about. Customized top-ten songs and albums lists based on the people you follow. Showing off artist page for Lady Gaga with posts, favorite songs, concerts, etc. - Discussing how to be followed: can allow anyone to follow, can have approved followers, create "circle of friends"...as private or public as you want. - Demo of Ping
- Ping available in iTunes and on iPhone, iPod touch...new button in iTunes Store app. - iTunes 10 available today...free download at apple.com - One more thing...no, one more hobby. - Apple TV: Never been a huge hit, but no one has made a hit in this sector. Users love the Apple TV though, so what have we learned? - Users want Hollywood movies and TV shows whenever they want them, everything in HD, lower prices, no computer on the TV. Don't want to manage storage or deal with syncing. Want hardware to be silent, cool, and small. - New Apple TV...one-fourth the size of the previous model. Back has power cord, one HDMI connector, optical audio out, and Ethernet. Wi-Fi 802.11n built-in.
- Movies, TV show, and music, all HD when available. All rentals, no purchases, so no storage management. Can stream from computers, no syncing required. Photo slideshows. - Can rent first-run HD movies for $4.99. Prices drop over time. HD TV show rentals at $0.99...commercial-free. Big step for the studios, so ABC and Fox at first. Rest of them will see the light and follow along. - Netflix streaming included for subscribers. YouTube integration, including HD content, photos from Flickr, video and photos from MobileMe, stream from Mac or PC. - Apple TV interface similar to existing, but simplified somewhat.
- Demoing browsing and rental process...showing off "Iron Man 2". - TV shows: Can list favorite shows, with icons showing how many unwatched episodes from the current season there are. Showing off "Glee". - Netflix: Showing Instant Queue..."by far the best implementation of Netflix". - Demoing streaming photos from a networked Mac. - AirPlay coming to iOS 4.2 in November. Can stream content from an iOS device to an Apple TV. Demoing streaming Pixar's "Up" from iPad to Apple TV...audio is quickly and easily pushed to the Apple TV. - New Apple TV priced at $99. Available in 4 weeks, pre-order today. - Recapping today's topics: iPod shuffle, iPod nano, iPod touch, iTunes 10 with Ping, iOS 4.2, Apple TV - Talking about philosophy of music focus. A lot of people at Apple love music, and we like to remind ourselves of why we do this. Special guest: Chris Martin of Coldplay. 50 million albums sold, 7 Grammy Awards. On stage to play a song. "We'll keep goin' until you feel like lunch." - End of event.
iLounge offers a number of details regarding the fourth-generation iPod touch rumored for introduction today that it believes to be correct. While much of the information regarding the physical features of the device is essentially the same as that detailed in an earlier report and supported by leaked case designs, one new detail is a claim that the device is actually even thinner than the current iPod touch models.
It is slightly thinner than the second- and third-generation iPod touch. The rear casing has corner and side radiuses that are, as we previously noted, MacBook Pro lid-like, and the center does not bulge, so it can rest flat on a table like the first-generation iPod touch. What used to be a soft curve of the rear shell that wrapped around to surround the front glass is gone.
The current iPod touch measures in at 0.33 inches deep at its thickest point, while the iPhone 4 is essentially of uniform thickness at 0.37 inches. There have been questions about how Apple might be able to fit a high-quality rear-facing camera into the existing iPod touch form factor given the depth of the camera modules used in devices like the iPhone 3GS and 4. While we still do not know the spec of the next-generation iPod touch's camera, Apple seems to have found away to squeeze a camera in while reducing thickness even further.
Questionable screenshot of purported VoIP application for next-generation iPod touch
iLounge also shares some unconfirmed claims from an "untested" source regarding a possible 3G-enabled version of the iPod touch. Another claim suggests that Apple will deploy a VoIP application to allow for calling on the iPod touch, although the source's screenshots supporting the claim appear to have been Photoshopped. Consequently, these claims should be considered unreliable but obviously of interest.
In an interview on the Fox Business Network earlier this week, Intel CEO Paul Otellini claims that Apple CEO Steve Jobs is "very happy" with Intel's deal to acquire Infineon's wireless chip unit. Infineon has provided components, including baseband controllers for cellular connectivity, for every generation of the iPhone.
Steve was very happy. The industry was abuzz that this unit was on the market and there were a number of competing companies for it. I think they're very happy that Intel won the bid.
When asked whether gaining foothold in the iPhone was a "driving factor" in Intel's pursuit of the Infineon unit, Otellini noted that it wasn't the "overwhelming" factor and instead cited Infineon's strong revenue stream and the potential for bringing 3G, LTE, and GPS technology directly to their chipsets.
Otellini famously appeared on-stage during Jobs' Macworld San Francisco 2006 keynote wearing a "bunny suit" (used by chip manufacturing workers in cleanroom environments) to deliver a silicon wafer to Jobs, signifying Apple's transition to Intel processors for its Macs. Apple has not, however, embraced Intel's solutions for its growing line of iOS devices, although the two companies will now likely work together via Apple's existing relationship with the Infineon wireless chip unit.
According to a pair of tweets from Australian Macworld, a revised Apple TV should be introduced today with its current name rather than being rebranded as "iTV," and none of the products set for introduction today will see immediate availability.
The first tweet offers a model number of MC572LL/A for the U.S. version of the new Apple TV and claims that it will not ship immediately.
Our sources say new Apple TV (not iTV) is coming, but not shipping yet. Product code is Apple TV - USA MC572 LL/A.
The second tweet claims confirmation that a revised iPod touch will debut today but that none of the new products are expected to ship immediately.
The source also said that it doesn't look like anything will be shipping immediately, and 4th gen touches are definitely coming too.
No word on when Apple plans to begin shipping the new products is given, although the company has been known to pre-announce products by anywhere from a few days to several weeks or more.
Australian Macworldcorrectly predicted the date of the most recent MacBook Pro refresh in April. A month later, the site also shared information from the same source offering a model number for an expected MacBook Air refresh, although the site hedged a bit on firm identification of the product associated with the model number by suggesting that it could be an LCD display. While the source's model number information did turn out to be correct, it was in fact a revised MacBook that was released the following week.
It came as a surprise to everyone tonight when Apple announced that they would be live streaming video of their September media event across the web. The news, however, was somewhat dulled by the fact that Apple announced that the stream will only be viewable on an OS X 10.6 Mac or an iOS device (iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad). The reason for the limitation isn't entirely arbitrary, as Apple is using a new streaming technology called HTTP Live Streaming which was introduced alongside Snow Leopard's QuickTime X and iOS 3.0.
While the protocol has been proposed as a standard, so far Apple is one of a few companies who has implemented it. As a result, the video will only be easily viewable on the specified platforms. There seem to be some advantages to the system over existing streaming technologies. Notably, there should be no router/firewall issues as the stream is sent over standard HTTP protocols.
If you're not sure you will be able to view stream, you can try loading this HTTP Live sample stream that Apple has provided.
For non-supported readers who are desperate to watch the stream close to live, it seems likely that you will be able to watch it -- at least in stops and starts. The HTTP Live Stream protocol is based on very standard technologies. The stream is simply provided in an MPEG2 playlist (m3u file) that is added to as the stream continues. These standard playlists will load in VLC for both Mac and Windows. VLC, for example, will play the above sample stream using this url (Note: the url will be different for the actual stream):
VLC will load all parts of the stream into its own playlist. It works fine for this pre-recorded stream as the entire playlist is already constructed. The catch for tomorrow's live transmission is that VLC doesn't know that more will be coming, so it looks like you'll have to repeatedly reload the playlist manually to get the next few segments. It's not an elegant solution, but with some persistence, it seems like it will work.
Of course, if you're not so desperate, you can watch our text coverage here, on Twitter, or wait for the official stream to be posted later in the day.
Update: VLC does not work with the live stream. This UStream account is rebroadcasting the video, however.
