Filed under: Video

There's been many rumors pointing to the possible inclusion of video conferencing in the next-gen iPhone -- everything from faceplate photos to code embedded in the iPhone SDK itself has set off our rumor radar. This latest rumor from site Redmond Pie tends toward the weaker end of the spectrum as far as evidence goes: UK mobile provider O2 has listed "Video Calls" as a "Key Feature" of the forthcoming iPhone, with pricing for video calling listed as identical to standard phone calls.

Note that third-party sellers regularly advertise features for Apple's products well in advance of their actual release based on a "best guess" approach without any verifiable foreknowledge of the devices -- Best Buy's recent page update listing i7 processors for the upcoming MacBook Pro update is a perfect example -- so this latest update from O2 by no means confirms the presence of video conferencing capabilities in the next iteration of the iPhone. It's merely one more rumor to add to the stack we've built up so far. One thing is certain: given all the rumors that have been swirling around already, which will surely accelerate over the next few months, if the next iPhone doesn't have video conferencing capabilities in it, the internet rage is going to be pretty profound.

TUAWloha, everyone.

It's time for another chapter in the ongoing technical soap opera known as TUAW TV Live. This afternoon's show, beginning at 5 PM, has content to dazzle and amaze you. To avoid any broadcast nightmares this week, Steve will be doing the show solo in order to keep things simple.

As noted in an earlier post, today's topics include, but are not limited to:

• iPad availability (when and how many)
• A couple of Mac application demos
• Some fun videos
• A hands-on look at the LaCie Network Space 2 NAS
• Discussion of the topics you want to talk about in the chat tool

We now return you to our previously scheduled show, already in progress. Click the Read More link to view the show and interact with the chat tool.

Be sure to catch the latest episode of TUAW TV Live with your host Steve Sande, starting later today at 5 PM ET (2 PM PT) here at TUAW.com.

Barring any unforeseen catastrophes (Steve is wrestling with a server problem at this point), the show will last about an hour and will cover a variety of topics:

• iPad availability (when and how many)
• A couple of Mac application demos
• Some fun videos
• A hands-on look at the LaCie Network Space 2 NAS
• Discussion of the topics you want to talk about in the chat tool

Come back to TUAW later today and we'll start up the livestream and chat about ten minutes before the start of the show.

Today's movies-in-motion tidbit comes courtesy of Mike over at the Hacking Netflix blog, who let us know that some of his readers are receiving the popup survey above. It inquires as to the reader's interest in a form of Netflix streaming (Wi-Fi only, unsuprisingly) for the iPhone. That's the same streaming for iPhone/iPad that Netflix CEO Reed Hastings called "not a priority" and "not near-term" as recently as last month.

While it's tempting to see this survey as a sign of an imminent iPhone or iPad app full of streaming movie delights -- assuming such an app would make it into the App Store through Apple's "user confusion" gauntlet, which is by no means a sure bet -- don't throw away your iTunes gift cards just yet. The first hints of Netflix's upcoming Wii streaming capability, which is due to launch sometime this spring, also appeared in a survey on the company's site... back in March of 2009, almost 10 months before the announcement of the Wii feature. While such a feature would be quite popular (all of the game consoles have some streaming functionality already, and two-thirds of subscribers have used the service), it seems like we may have a while to wait.

Read on to see the full survey text.

[H/T 9to5Mac]

Before the original iPhone and iPad appeared, TUAW and other blogs were inundated with mockups of what the devices could look like. Some of them were hastily thrown-together Photoshop mashups, while others were beautifully-rendered depictions.

Antonio De Rosa of ADR Studio has created his own vision of what the next-generation iPhone could look like. In both the short video seen above and the individual renderings displayed on the ADR Studio website, De Rosa shows a thinner device with an aluminum shell and stand, AMOLED screen, and a "frontal camera."

Of course, this design could be as far off as some of the impressive mockups that were developed for the iPad, but we appreciate De Rosa's detailed work and beautiful design sense.

Join the festive, party-like atmosphere that is TUAW TV Live. Take your favorite beverage, a bowl of freshly popped popcorn, and your MacBook to the couch, and then join in on the fun as your host Steve Sande and a possible co-host bring merriment and mirth to your day.

We have lots to talk about, as usual, and it's easy for you to provide your input. If you're not familiar with our format, just click the "Read More" link below to bring up the video feed (it will show older episodes until we go live) and the chat screen. You can watch the amazingly life-like video, listen in on the audio, and then post questions or comments to the talking head(s) that you see on screen. Sometimes we even respond!

The fun starts at approximately 5 PM ET and lasts for about one hour.

Our regular Wednesday episode of TUAW TV Live happens at 5 PM ET (2 PM PT) today. Join TUAW blogger Steve Sande as we have an hour-long discussion of this week's Apple news.

Due to the issues we had last week, we'll be back to good ol' Ustream this time. Some of the potential topics of interest this week include:

• Steve Jobs turns 55!
• Steve's surprise for viewers
• Notational Velocity + SimpleNote = Love
• Having the last word on the future of Macworld Expo
• Cleaning up the dirty App Store
• Geek lunch

Of course, it wouldn't be TUAW TV Live if you weren't there providing input, so we'll have the chat open for your typing pleasure.

See you at 5 PM ET!

The FBI and lots of parents want to know if school-issued MacBooks were used to spy on students at a suburban Philadelphia school.

Earlier today, a federal judge was asked to stop the school from destroying any records or logs from the 2,300 laptops that were used by high school students that attended Harriton High School in the Lower Merion School District.

The district admitted that it activated the iSight cameras to find more than 40 missing student computers. Officials claim that the district is no longer turning the cameras on remotely.

Meanwhile, other lawyers are pursuing a potential class-action lawsuit against the district. The FBI is investigating if the school district broke any federal wiretapping or computer intrusion laws.

The district noted that students must sign a release when they get the laptops, but the release does not state that the iSight cameras might be activated without the permission or knowledge of the students or their families.

The parties met in court today as a judge ruled on the preserving of evidence. Some students say they are now putting tape over the camera and microphone on the laptops to keep school employees from seeing or hearing anything.

According to one student involved in the legal action, the controversy began when an Assistant Principal at the school said the student was acting inappropriately at home. The student wondered how the Assistant Principal would know, and that started the investigation.

The school district has said that it has not spied on students, but activated the cameras on computers it said were lost or stolen.

Creepy.

Apple has been courting US TV networks recently in a bid to get them to drop episode pricing from its current level of $1.99 down to $0.99. The New York Times reports that, predictably, many TV networks are resisting Apple's push for lower episode prices, even though iTunes's initial $0.99 per song price point is arguably what made purchasing digital music palatable to consumers.

Music sales through the iTunes store have fallen off recently, at least partially because of record labels' demands for a price hike to $1.29 per song for popular tracks. Meanwhile, though TV shows have been available for download in the iTunes Store since 2005, only 375 million shows have been downloaded in that time -- compared to nearly 9.5 billion songs downloaded over the same period. With a reported 125 million iTunes Store accounts, that equates to an average of 76 song downloads per customer compared to a paltry 3 TV episodes downloaded.

Click the "Read More" link to find out more about the current state of TV on iTunes.

It's hard to believe that it's been a week since I left Macworld Expo 2010 to head home. Last night, I finally went through the last snippets of video from the Expo and put together this short compendium of three interviews.

The first company I talked to was Telnic.org, a group which champions the use of the .tel top level domain as a type of global address book. There's a free iPhone app available for updating your .tel domain information from anywhere.

Next, I visited shortly with John from Agile Partners, the developers behind GuitarToolkit. TUAW's resident musician, Mat Tinsley, reported on this app last September and it's quite impressive.

Finally, I talked with the folks from myRete, who have created an interesting social networking app called WhosHere. There are over one million users of WhosHere, and with the free texting and VoIP capabilities of the app you can ask the locals in cities around the world for travel tips or a date. Want to perfect your language skills with a native speaker? WhosHere is an easy way to find someone to chat with.

As with several earlier videos, this suffers from a bit of mic noise. Our apologies!

Last year we reviewed Storyist, the software for writers. It's a great app that lets you manage all aspects of a writing project, like plot points, research, characters and more. Once you're done writing, you can export to many popular file formats, as well as prepare your document for an editor, for use as a screenplay or even digital distribution.

I sat down with Steve Shepard at our Macworld booth to discuss the app, how to get the most out of it, his experiences at the show and finally whether or not he's got any plans for the iPad. Check out the video above to see our conversation.

Welcome back, my friends, to the show that never ends!

Today on TUAW TV Live we'll be talking about Macworld Expo 2010, the OWLE bubo, camera apps for the iPhone, and any other topics that happen to hit host Steve Sande's fancy.

Some of the camera apps that we'll be discussing include Lo-Mob, ColorSplash, CinemaFX, FocalLab, and Project365. All of these apps are in your friendly neighborhood App Store and should only make a slight dent in your wallet.

The video and chat tools are on the next page -- just click the Read More link below to get in on the fun.

It's Wednesday, which means that we'll have an episode of TUAW TV Live streaming your way later today. This is our first live video since Macworld Expo, where TUAW bloggers of all shapes, sizes, and abilities took to the airwaves to give you the scoop on every topic imaginable.

We'll be back at 5 PM ET (2 PM PT) with an hour full of fun discussion. We'll have a demo of the OWLE Bubo that was mocked by TUAW commenters, yet praised and photographed repeatedly by showgoers at Macworld Expo. I'll also demonstrate and discuss a growing toolbox of iPhone photography apps that I've been using over the last few months for my 2010 Project 365. There's always time for questions and discussion in the chat room, and we look forward to hearing what you have to say about this year's Macworld event.

See you at 5 PM ET, here at TUAW.com!