So, after my heart palpitations subsided and my vision cleared, I finished reading the mostly detail-less articles and couldn’t help but question the claims. After all, this is the Worldwide Developers Conference which, while certainly meaningful to Mac users, is geared toward those create for Macs, not just with them.

Have Think Secret’s sources reverted to trickery, or has Steve Jobs begun leaking fake rumors as payback for losing the battle against the bloggers? Nah, but it does take a little outside-the-box thinking for these rumors to make sense.

First, let’s backtrack a bit. In 2003, Steve Jobs used the WWDC to stage to unveil, among other things, the iSight digital video camera. At first glance, it seemed to be a decidedly consumer-focused device, geared toward teenagers, college students and hooked-up tweens.

But Steve saw things differently, and when he demoed the device alongside iChat AV, it was for business, not pleasure: “iChat AV is a major breakthrough in communications — users can now video conference with their business associates, colleagues in education … iChat AV and iSight truly offer video conferencing for the rest of us.”

So, while most of the iSights in circulation are used for fun, that’s not necessarily how they were planned — iSights were created for developers to share ideas with the hopes of sparking a few new ones.

But what about movie downloads? Surely, there’s no business application there?

The most interesting part of Think Secret’s report was that it didn’t mention a device would be unveiled on which to play these feature-length movies, a strange move if Apple hopes to actually rent any of these movies. As it stands, the iPod’s screen is a little too small for a widescreen presentation, so I have to assume that movies will initially be formatted to fit the iPod’s current screen, assuming there’s no new player announced.

Sometime in the fall, the real movie player with an elongated touch screen will hit shelves, and Apple Stores will be packed with iPod lovers looking to upgrade.

But since the iPod represents nearly half of Apple’s revenue and the upcoming release is anything but a secret, what if developers received an advance spec sheet — location of ports, physical dimensions, screen size, etc. — for all those accessories that will need to be created?

Or, what if Apple finally offered an iPod developer kit for games and applications? With a four-inch touch screen, iPod users will be able to do much more than play Brick and Solitaire, and maybe Apple is finally turning to developers for help with maintaining its dominance.

The new iPod might be so radically different that developers will need a few months to imagine a new crop of accessories.

Otherwise, I’m not sure. Unless Steve plans on shifting the intended focus of WWDC, which doesn’t seem likely, I can’t think of a reason for the announcement of an iTunes Music Store.

And admittedly, even my own guesses seem a little farfetched.

And what of the nano? Will there be cards under the seats (like the Apple Pro Mouse at Macworld New York in 1999), so everyone in attendance walks away with a shiny new iPod?

I suppose so. After all, with all that developing, some tunes will certainly be in order.

http://www.spymac.com/news/article.php?contentid=4940