It’s a little late for the silly season, and the unannounced vapor product of the year, the iPhone, is still missing in action. But that hasn’t stopped some people from suggesting that there is more than meets the eye to some of Apple’s potential plans in the foreseeable future.

Now you just know that the iPod will get better, that there will be faster and faster Intel-based Macs over time. Apple’s latest and greatest solution to stretch its reach to your living room, the iTV (or whatever it’ll be called) has already been demonstrated, although there could be features that you and I won’t know about until it is really released in 2007.

But there is more, and I will provide a few links for you to consider, and then a few comments about whether the stories have any traction. But, no, the Night Owl isn’t going to go out on the limb with any more one dollar bets one way or the other. I don’t want to get a reputation about such things, even if the risk to my modest bank account is minimal.

Take the Apple flat-panel TV. The what? Well, according to one published report, Apple can really gain traction in your living room if it could build your next, or your first, high definition television. Now I want to remind these people that the consumer electronics stores are just brimming with such devices, from lots of manufacturers that are both large and small. This isn’t an emerging market in the sense that the music player market was when the iPod debuted.

Yes, choosing LCD or plasma might be a tad confusing, although the latter tends to have a larger screen, and the quality differences are becoming less apparent. Yes, making sense of the various complicated specs, the HDMI ports and all the rest, might seem daunting, but they are fundamentally commodity products. The “glass” is all sourced from the same handful of Asian manufacturers, and the core designs are more similar than different.

Maybe Apple could make a difference in design and usability, but this is hardly entering a market at the ground floor.

In recent weeks, I’ve suggested that Apple will use the next generation, or 802.11n, technology to stream high definition video through the iTV. Now there are stories that the AirPort chipset used in the newest iMac is already “n” ready. The report has it that if you install a prerelease build of Windows Vista under Boot Camp, the iMac’s wireless components are identified as a “Broadcom 802.11n Network Adapter.”

If this is true, it would seem that all Apple has to do is update its AirPort drivers and firmware and your Wi-Fi speeds will soar; that is, if you are connected to a computer or base station that supports the same draft standard.

Understand that the technology is very much a moving target. Apple might indeed have a jump in this new arena, but they may simply be benefiting from the same parts used in other recent Intel-based products. However, it’s premature to assume anything, and the most important factor is whether this alleged new wireless chip can actually be upgraded to the final standard.

Finally, less than a year since the first release of a MacIntel, there’s a new furor that Mac users may actually find an AMD inside in the near future. The reports are based on the recent optimistic statements from AMD CEO Hector Ruiz that Apple will use its parts “at some point in the future.”

Of course, with AMD’s acquisition of ATI, that may already be true in one sense.

In any case, this is one story that might have a chance of coming true someday. Right now, the consensus is that Intel has a leg up over AMD with its newest chip designs. That could, of course, change over time, and so it would seem sensible that Apple would pick and choose among x86-compatible processors depending on their needs at the moment.

In addition, I’ve no doubt that AMD was also actively courting Apple during the mad dash to ditch Freescale and IBM. If, and I say if, Intel has problems meeting its roadmap at any time in the future, Apple will have an alternative. Anything beyond that is pure speculation.

And since Apple won’t comment on future products unless there is an important strategic reason to do so, all we’re left with is gossip, at least for now.

Related Articles:

• Newsletter #470 Preview: Not Everything From Apple Just Works!
• No, I Don’t Need a Netbook
• About Apple’s Price Matching Policy
• Newsletter #469 Preview: Announcing the Night Owl’s Microsoft Death Watch
• Apple Always Finds a Way to Annoy Customers

You can definitely say that the spring and summer seasons weren’t particularly pleasant for Apple’s technical support people. With persistent reports of ongoing defects with the MacBook and MacBook Pro, and a huge battery recall to contend with, you might wonder why some bother working such a pressure-laden and thankless job.

True, the arrival of the Intel-based iMac seemed to go off without many troubles of note. The basic form factor and internal layout had already been perfected with PowerPC versions, so the transition was an afterthought. The same might be said for the Mac mini, which also seemed relatively trouble-free in the scheme of things.

Although Apple’s notebooks look similar to previous models, the internal components were quite different, and things didn’t go as smoothly. At first, the MacBook Pro got a bad rap for running hot, although it did seem to me that PowerBooks weren’t so cool either. To make matters worse, some reported a sort of “mooing” or whining noise whenever the external temperature seemed to max out.

Understandably, some Mac users downloaded Dashboard widgets and other software to monitor the internal temperature of the CPU and other components, just to be sure they weren’t overheating.

Story continued in this week’s Tech Night Owl Newsletter.

Related Articles:

• Newsletter #470 Preview: Not Everything From Apple Just Works!
• So Where’s the Windows Only Label?
• Newsletter #469 Preview: Announcing the Night Owl’s Microsoft Death Watch
• Apple Always Finds a Way to Annoy Customers
• Can Apple Succeed in the Enterprise Without Compromise?

I’m not a betting man. When I visit Las Vegas, the family budget at the slot machines is never more than $20, and usually we confine our visit to the restaurants and entertainment spots anyway. I don’t do much in the way of friendly bets either, but I got tempted during last week’s episode of The Tech Night Owl LIVE, and I did it again this week, and I hope this doesn’t signal a trend.

It all started when I was interviewing noted author and Macworld contributing writer Kirk McElhearn and we talked about the wireless system Apple is likely to use on its iTV. It’s important to realize that Steve Jobs never specified the exact standard, and there has been lots of speculation on the subject.

Since the iTV comes equipped with the HDMI industry-standard high definition video connector, you expect that this new media center device will support HD television. It would make sense, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Apple intends to make HD content available for download, although you won’t get it in a half hour. Figure two or three hours or so, and then only if you have a high-tier broadband hookup.

Regardless, you’ll want to be able to stream those TV shows and movies to your flat-panel TV with the iTV, or whatever it’ll be called when it appears next year. However, the existing wireless standard used in AirPort Extreme, 802.11g, would choke on the bandwidth required to stream high definition content. Even DVD-quality can stretch the boundaries.

So it would seem natural that Apple would consider using the forthcoming 802.11n standard, which will only be available in preliminary form next year. It promises up to four times the speed of “g,” but existing products using an early draft standard apparently don’t talk to each other, which would explain why Apple would wait until something more reliable was available. Certainly, they’d want the product to be easily upgradeable to the final standard via a firmware patch.

Kirk says Apple plans on sticking with “g,” partly because existing hardware supports that standard. This, however, doesn’t preclude that iTV coming with a wireless transmission device that hooks up to your Mac’s Ethernet port, perhaps.

In any case, I made the bet with Kirk. He has some good points to his argument and I think I do as well. Only Steve Jobs and his crew at Apple know the truth, but we’ll probably all know during the keynote at Macworld San Francisco next January.

As to my second bet: I’ve already suggested that Leopard will include all of the iLife applications. Since I’ve expressed this point already in a previous commentary, let me just say that I was talking with Macworld’s Jim Dalrymple on this week’s episode, and spelled out the logic behind my contention. Again, the famous gentleman’s bet of one dollar was offered, although in this case I suggested dinner as well, and Jim agreed.

Now I suppose you might suggest that, if I feel so confident about my arguments, I should have put more money on the table. Perhaps, but when it comes to Apple, anything is possible. There could be unpredictable alternatives to the various possible scenarios that would make one point of view more valid than the other.

On the other hand, I feel confident that I’m on the right track. However, this is open to discussion. Feel free to chime in, gentle reader. But, please, no more bets.

Related Articles:

• Newsletter #470 Preview: Not Everything From Apple Just Works!
• Apple Always Finds a Way to Annoy Customers
• Will Snow Leopard Arrive with the Snow?
• Can Apple Withstand the Recession?
• Can Apple Succeed in the Enterprise Without Compromise?