Apple's Next Big Thing

Why has the latest version of iTunes shipped with unused icons for competing file formats like WMA? And what's prompting Bill Gates to talk-up the HD Video capabilities of xBox2 suddenly? Is it due to Apple's acquiring 58% of the flash player market, 90% of the hard drive player market, 70% of the online music market (this month's data, by the way)... and they're about to declare victory (open the platform) and push forward into online movie sales? All of this while Microsoft has yet to field significant competition in the music market? I think Cringely's right on this one. ALL of the pieces are in place for Apple. The latest version of QuickTime (the one that shipped with Tiger) is amazingly crisp. There's really no other way to interpet Jobs' statements about this being the Year of HD Video. And Apple's got the street cred' to pull it off. Meanwhile, Microsoft is preoccupied with building bigger and better security patches.... and pitching their latest Longhorn marketechture.