Also making the rounds today are reports claiming iPhone 3.0 will support on-board video editing. Seems there are some resources in the latest beta of the OS suggesting that video capture and manipulation will figure large in the next device–things like “UIMovie Scrubber Editing Right,” “UIMovieScrubberMaskLeft” and whatnot. Now, while these resources could be pointing to something else entirely, it seems plausible that they are referencing some sort of video tool (iMovie Mobile? iMovie Light? iMoviePhone?)–particularly when considered with the MobileMe “Publish Video” feature also found concealed in the 3.0 beta. That said, no mention of video editing was made during Apple’s recent iPhone 3.0 event. Perhaps Apple (AAPL) hopes to keep it under wraps until the device’s official debut. Or perhaps there’s nothing to keep under wraps in the first place.

Rumor has it there are big games going on this weekend–at least one of which involves football players. The rest involve the usual players, though they might appear in different positions–and on different teams–from week to week. These games, most likely, will continue through Monday and beyond. Scores will be kept on an ongoing basis.

BoomTown wrote this week about a new game of tag taking Facebook by storm. Whether or not you’ve written a list of “25 Random Things” about yourself, you’ve likely read a few. BoomTown only gave up five, but they’re good ones. On defense, AOL announced it would lay off 10 percent of its workforce due to the overall ad meltdown; CEO Randy Falco’s memo to his troops is here. And whether or not AOL has buyer’s remorse over last year’s $850 million acquisition of Bebo, the company is not considering putting the social network up for sale.
BoomTown followed the tough love approach of Yahoo’s (YHOO) new CEO Carol Bartz, and liveblogged the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call, during which Bartz insisted (without mentioning Microsoft) that she wasn’t brought to Yahoo to sell the company. She also shared some canny-folksy wisdom–in the form of a chicken metaphor–about the value of the company as a whole, but it’s still a little early in the game to call that one. Of course, BoomTown had a few opinions about the unspoken Microsoft (MSFT) scenario.

Over at Digital Daily, there was a lot to be said about smartphones. Apple’s (AAPL) so-called “iPhone patent,” which would cover much of the Palm (PALM) Pre’s multitouch and gesture interface, has the potential to be a huge game changer in that race, if it’s upheld. And as if Palm doesn’t have enough to worry about, Sprint (S)–its exclusive carrier for the Pre–is rumored to be preparing to lay off 14 percent of its workforce in March, when the phone is expected to launch. Elsewhere in that contest, it turns out that Research in Motion’s (RIMM) BlackBerry Storm, which was largely panned by critics, is actually selling at a decent clip–one million so far in the U.S. No iPhone, but still, it could be worse. As Digital Daily noted, Dell (DELL) is said to be readying two phones to enter the market dominated by the iPhone, BlackBerry, and soon the Pre: one an iPhone-like Windows Mobile device, and the other a Pre-like Android device. Both could launch as soon as February, but greatness is not anticipated. Digital Daily also kept the tech job-cut score, which increased 74.2 percent from 2007 to 2008. Here’s a roundup of some of those affected.

MediaMemo had some interesting numbers to share: While Obama’s Inauguration was indeed a big day for Web video, it wasn’t as huge as some estimated. Exact numbers are impossible to measure, of course, but roughly 13 million people watched the ceremony online, while roughly 38 million watched on television. On an ongoing (and presumably growing) basis, though, numbers suggest that almost 20 percent of Netflix’s (NFLX) subscribers are using the company’s streaming service to watch movies online. That should increasingly morph back into the world of television as the company’s technology makes it simpler to stream directly to a set-linked device. In the world of print, things continue to look grim. Time Warner’s (TWX) Time Inc., in a standoff with its distributor, which upped its price by seven cents per magazine–has announced it will take its business elsewhere as of Feb. 1. If this is a game of chicken, it’s anybody’s guess who’ll win. And Time Inc.’s Ann Moore received a lifetime achievement award from the magazine industry’s trade group on Thursday. In her acceptance speech, she expressed her belief in the power of magazines and print advertising and her gratitude in the fact that she’s not in the newspaper business.

In Personal Technology this week, Walt Mossberg reviewed iLife ’09–specifically iPhoto, GarageBand and iMovie, with mixed results. In Mossberg’s Mailbox, it was all about Windows 7: Whether it requires new drivers, how it stacks up to XP, and how upgrades from XP and Vista compare with each another. Katherine Boehret reviewed the BlackBerry Curve 8900 in the Mossberg Solution, and liked it.

More next week.

A new iLife ’09 license from Apple (AAPL) will set you back $79 unless you purchased a new Mac on or after Jan. 6, 2009, in which case it’s just $9.95.

Next up on the Macworld agenda: iMovie. This Apple (AAPL) software has been given not just a refresh, but a full rewrite. We’ve added so much to iMovie this year, says Phil Schiller, that iMovie will be the consumer video editing software to have. And that may turn out to be so. Precision editing, drag and drop. Dynamic themes. Automatic stabilization. Animated travel maps. Randy Ubillos, Apple’s chief architect of video, takes the stage to demo the product.

He quickly demonstrates the optimization of a video clip, adjusting its audio, the angle of the video. It’s a very complex edit and he does it very, very simply. The video stabilization tool is, and I hate to sound like a fanboy here, mind-blowing at first look. It’s accurate and fast, and appears to be professional or near-professional in quality. Furthermore, these enhancements are for the most part being done in real time.

A set of new built-in animations, transitions and themes rounds out the application. All very slick.

But while Apple may have taken the “computer” out of its name, it definitely hasn’t taken the computer out of the company. According to market researcher IDC, sales of Apple machines rose to 1.76 million units during its third quarter of the year, up 33% from the same period a year ago.

And they’re sure to rise in the fourth quarter as well, thanks to a batch of new products the company debuted today. At an event at its corporate headquarters, Apple uncrated a sleek new aluminum-and-glass iMac desktop (with all-new Bluetooth 2.0 keyboard) and a faster Mac mini as well as significant upgrades to its iLife (revamped iMovie) and iWork (new spreadsheet program) software suites and .Mac service (10 GB of storage plus new photo-sharing features).

Interestingly, Apple’s selling its new iMacs at prices lower than those of their predecessors, and while those prices are still higher than those of low-end Windows PCs, the company says they compare favorably to more high-quality PCs. “Our goal is to make the best personal computers in the world and make products we are proud to sell and recommend to our family and friends,” Apple CEO Steve Jobs said at Apple’s event today. “We want to do that at the lowest prices we can. But there’s some stuff in our industry that we wouldn’t be proud to ship. And we just can’t do it. We can’t ship junk. There are thresholds we can’t cross because of who we are. And we think that there’s a very significant slice of the [market] that wants that, too. You’ll find that our products are not premium priced. You price out our competitors’ products, and add features that actually make them useful, and they’re the same or actually more expensive. We don’t offer stripped-down, lousy products.”