'Tis the season to start shopping until your brains melt (or skip it all entirely, depending on your interpretation of the term holiday). In that spirit, for the next few days we'll be rounding up a dozen daily deals courtesy our friends at DealNews.com. Each afternoon tune in to TUAW for this handy summary. Keep in mind that while our posts will live on, the deals won't. Each is lovingly generated by the deal-bot every day, so get 'em while they're hot. Enjoy!

• iTunes Music Store: [iPhone / iPod Apps] App Store Freebies: World Surfer, HandWriting Mail, Sign Here, Writie Talkie, more
• Home Depot: [Black Friday] Home Depot Black Friday Preview Savings Sale now live + extra 10% off
• iTunes Music Store: [iPhone / iPod Apps] 1Password Pro for iPhone downloads for free
• MacUpdate Promo: [Office Software Suites] Pages Templates 5 for Mac downloads for $20
• iTunes Music Store: [iPhone / iPod Apps] Electronic Arts iPhone / iPod touch Apps: Tetris, SimCity for $3, Madden 10 for $5, more
• [MP3 Downloads] The 99 Most Essential Tchaikovsky Masterpieces MP3 Album download for $5 ... or $2
• InvisibleShield: [Notebook Accessories] 50% off ZAGGskins Protectors at ZAGG.com
• Sony Style: [46" - 47" LCD TVs] Free PS3 or Blu-ray Player w/ Sony HDTVs: 46" 120Hz 1080p for $1,000 + free shipping, more
• Staples: [Media Receivers] Seagate FreeAgent Theater HD 500GB Media Player for $100 + free shipping
• Western Digital Store: [Media Receivers] Refurbished Western Digital WD TV HD Media Player for $70 + free shipping
• Meritline: [iPod Accessories] USB Data Cable for iPhone / iPod touch for $2 + free shipping
• Seehere: [Photo Services] FujiFilm SeeHere: 50 free holiday cards + $3 s&h

If there's one thing I like better than pie, it's cake. And if there's a best kind of cake, it's definitely one that's shaped in the form of something geeky. Which means the video above, which shows what seems to be a tasty confection in the form of Apple's Finder icon, hits the spot perfectly. David B.'s wife made it for him for his birthday earlier this week, he says over on his Twitter account. He doesn't say what kind of cake it is, but given that it's Finder, I'm going to guess chocolate. An iTunes icon cake would give off a more "vanilla" vibe to me.

We've also, you'll remember, seen this Finder icon parading around on pillows as well. Which isn't too surprising -- who could pass up a face like that? Not only is he a handsome dude with a mischievous smile, but he's got access to all your files and passwords. That's the kind of guy you'd better get along with.

Thanks to Chris Pirillo for the tip!

Sonos, best known for wireless music systems that link to your iTunes library and internet services like Pandora, Rhapsody and Napster, is offering a one piece, 5 speaker system that can be placed in any room. It's called the Zone Player S5 and it's US $399 direct from Sonos or dealers around the country.

Sonos shipped me a review system to try for 30 days, and I thought the sound was great. I already had a mutli-room Sonos system so adding the new portable player was just a matter of plugging it into AC power and pressing two buttons on the S5.

If you don't already have a Sonos system, you have to plug your unit into a router to connect to your music library and the internet. If that doesn't work in your home layout, you can buy what Sonos calls a Zone Bridge (US $99) that plugs into your router and lets the S5 make a wireless connection. Once that basic pairing is made, you can add as many other Sonos music systems as you like, all connecting over a wireless mesh network.

The system sounds quite good, given the limits of the small desktop-friendly size (8.5 x 14.4 x 4.8 inches). There are 5 speakers, two tweeters, two 3" mid-range drivers, and one 3.5" woofer all driven by individual amplifiers. The woofer is a ducted port design and the rear port serves double duty as a carrying handle.

This is the kind of thing that probably should have been done a long time ago, but Macworld is reporting that Apple has launched iTunes Preview, a page that appears when you click an iTunes link (like this one) and your browser sends you over to iTunes. Previously, you just got that placeholder page that said "One Moment Please" and asked if you wanted to open the link in an external application, but with iTunes Preview, you get a nicely laid out page with information and reviews (and your browser still opens up the iTunes store).

Currently it only seems to work with music -- movies and television only get a small thumbnail, and applications get the same old gray page. But that'll probably change before long -- it's much smoother to see what you're clicking through to, and of course there's the added bonus for people who don't actually have iTunes installed. As MacWorld points out, there are actually no "preview" buttons on the page -- you can't listen to music there, only click through to the iTunes store. But like I said, it's better than a blank window and a browser popup asking for your permission. I wouldn't be surprised at all to see this grow a lot more in the future.

If you are a sometime PC user you probably know about Orb, a multimedia sharing tool that allows you to access your media from anywhere you have an internet connection and a browser. Now, Orb has come to the Mac and it's got great possibilities -- but it's a mixed bag in terms of reliability.

You can download Orb for free, and set up a no-cost account. The software will index your iPhoto libraries, as well as your iTunes library, both audio and video.

You can then log into your Orb account on any other computer, fire up a browser, and play your media files. Orb has also had an iPhone app that logs you in and gets your media as well. It's been available for a long time, but only would work with a PC-based host. Now your Mac is accessible too.

Orb still lacks a few features you can get on the PC version. One big one is it won't talk to a TV tuner, so you can't look at live video from home on another computer. I expect this will be coming in short order. You can share media with others from the Orb website. They will need a free account, but they can watch a movie or listen to music or view photos just as you do.

A few of us here at TUAW received an email from Apple this morning stating that Apple TV-compatible versions of previous iTunes LP purchases are available for download. You'll remember that LP purchases made before the Apple TV 3.0 release would need a second download to work with the Apple TV. Apple is now offering those downloads.

The email from Apple is very straight-forward:

"With the latest versions of iTunes (9.0.2) and Apple TV software (3.0), you can now use iTunes LP on your Apple TV. We have updated the iTunes LP that was included with [your previous purchase here] so that it can now be viewed on Apple TV in addition to your Mac or PC...."

From there, the message provides a download link. Grab it, sync your Apple TV and you're off. My own is syncing as I type this, so we'll let you know how it looks and behaves later today. In the meantime, enjoy iTunes LP on your Apple TV!

In an attempt to increase movie sales, Apple is pushing out more alternative content on the iTunes Store. Today, they've spruced up their "Music Movies" library and added a landing page to promote upcoming releases. Music Movies are music-themed movies, concerts and documentaries that generally feature exclusive content and behind-the-scenes footage.

While the selection is currently limited, Apple does offer a few movies that are not available anywhere else, such as an exclusive Kings of Leon concert DVD among other selections such as U2's "Rattle and Hum" and "John Lennon Imagine". In addition to the added content, a prominent landing page has been created that is dedicated to this genre of film.

Apple also plans to negotiate early access to music-themed movies and is trying to make the content available for download long before it is available in stores.

Welcome back to Ask TUAW, our weekly troubleshooting Q&A column. This week we have questions about arranging icons on the iPhone, installing Windows via Boot Camp, AirPort networks, iMac rotation support, replacing the video card in an iMac, and more.

As always, your suggestions and questions are welcome. Leave your questions for next week in the comments section at the end of this post. When asking a question, please include which machine you're using and what version of Mac OS X is installed on it (we'll assume you're running Snow Leopard on an Intel Mac if you don't specify). And now, on to the questions.

Leah asks:

Is there a better way to arrange icons on my iPhone than by trying to drag them around on the phone itself. I can't seem to get it to work very well and usually mess it up.

Apple provided a better way of organizing iPhone icons in iTunes 9. In the past, I always tried to arrange my icons on the iPhone the same way you do, by dragging them around on the device itself. This isn't as easy as it sounds, especially if you have larger hands.

Now, with iTunes 9 or higher installed and your iPhone connected to your Mac or PC, launch iTunes, click on the Applications tab, and you will not only see the apps you have installed on your iPhone, but the iPhone screens and the placement of the icons as well.

Simply drag the icons around in iTunes and put them in the desired order. The next time you sync, the icons are arranged identically on your iPhone as well. It's so much easier.

Our friends over at OS X Daily passed along their story noting that Apple's site for iTunes Affiliates was vulnerable to a cross-site URL trick, letting you substitute your own images for the ones normally displayed on the page. Since the site is intended to let websites display a custom top banner, this was 'as designed' -- at least until jokesters began taking advantage.

The trick works (or at least, it did) by taking the default URL from the web browser and replacing a few things like the artist name, album name, album thumbnail source and the image link.

The Internet moves pretty fast, though. As I was typing this, Apple removed the top banner altogether, preventing the customized image display. No more pranks for us.

In any case, OS X Daily pointed out that the image issue could allow malicious folks to redirect would-be Apple visitors to malware sites or other bad destinations. Even an innocent image viewer that appears within an iframe on a branded page can cause problems; that's what the folks at Wired found out last January, when someone took advantage of their image tool to post a hoax "Steve Jobs had a heart attack" news story.

Props to Apple's web development team, though, for taking this down within the ten minutes it took me to finish the post.

Apple is already the huge name in the music business with the iTunes Store, and they've made continual inroads into the application, video, and movie markets as well. But what if Apple also became the content provider of choice for TV?

That idea isn't that far-fetched, according to a blog post by Peter Kafka at the Wall Street Journal's All Things Digital. Kafka reports that Apple has been pitching the concept of $30 monthly TV subscriptions through iTunes to TV networks.

You'll note that I said iTunes. That's the interesting point here -- Apple isn't pushing sending content to a particular device, like the Apple TV that Kafka refers to as "underwhelming" (sounds familiar, doesn't it?) or the fabled Apple tablet / slate / whatever. Instead, the service would be available immediately to the more 100 million iTunes account holders that Apple had as of a year ago. Have a Mac? You're a potential customer. Have a PC? Ditto.

There's only one fly in the ointment -- will broadcast and cable programmers buy into this? Kafka thinks the first content provider to jump would be Disney, which of course counts Steve Jobs as its largest shareholder. Cable companies might not like the loss of their usually overpriced monthly packages to an upstart, or having their bandwidth chewed up by hordes of people streaming HD video. And there's always the question of whether current cable TV subscribers would make the jump to streaming content.

Kafka ends his post with a quote from an unnamed TV executive, who says of Apple's subscription plan "I think they might get it right this time." What's your take, TUAW readers? Do you think the world is ready to purchase all of its video content from Apple? Leave your comments below.

As we learned yesterday, not everyone loves the update to Apple TV.

For me, however, the upgrade was an improvement to an adequate piece of hardware -- when it chose to work. By mid-afternoon, I was listening to classical music being streamed over Internet radio, and I was very happy with the Apple TV for the most part. The flagship new features -- iTunes Extras and iTunes LPs -- were finicky and hard to work. Trying to navigate through iTunes Extras was akin to herding cats. When it works, it's fantastic. When it doesn't, you want to hurl something at the wall.

I'm quite the opposite of fellow blogger Steve Sande when it comes to the Apple TV. I chose the device over getting cable back in February. I promptly did the hacks to open up the USB port and utilize Boxee (with Hulu) and XBMC. Please note that these hacks will be wiped when you upgrade to 3.0.

I frequently use it because it became the perfect home for streaming content from first an external hard drive, then my new iMac. I'm an anime fan, and used the chance to rip my DVDs to my hard drive and have all the episodes in one place. It's very nice not to have to get up and change DVDs after every 3-4 episodes. I also stream YouTube content and play music over it.

Here's a look at some of the new features:

'Tis the season to be buying. But what do you get for that special geek in your life?

I can't speak for your geek, but I know what I'm asking Santa for this year – I just hope he's a TUAW reader. Whether he is or not, maybe going through my list will give you an idea on how to max out your credit card spread some holiday cheer this year.


Dear Santa,

I've been a good boy this year. I've cut back on the booze, and they don't greet me by name at the strip club anymore. So instead of a stocking full of coal, could you find it in your heart to bring me one or more of the following items on the night before Christmas? I know it's a long flight to New Zealand from the North Pole, but you've got to admit, at least the weather down here is waaaay better than in Cleveland this time of year.

First of all, I'd like a shiny new 802.11n Airport Express. I like my Time Capsule (when it's not being a recalcitrant piece of junk), but the 5GHz wireless signal doesn't reach from my living room all the way back to my office. With an Airport Express, I'd be able to extend the wireless signal from my Time Capsule to the other side of the house and geek away in privacy. That way my wife won't have to grit her teeth every five minutes when the theme from Metroid goes off at 80 decibels and tells me I got a new e-mail. And since the Airport Express is 802.11n-enabled, I'd still be able to back up my data to the Time Capsule at a brisk pace.

I'd also like these Shure SE115m+ earphones. I've been using a set of Shure E2cs for about three years now, and I love them, but the one big advantage the SE115m+ has is the controls built into the cord that would allow me to pause, play, and skip through tracks on my iPhone. I'd also be able to take calls, and it even has a built-in microphone. Santa, if I had these earphones I'd be able to put those white earbuds that came with my iPhone into a drawer and never look at them again, and that would make me a very happy boy indeed.

You know how I like to shoot HD video, right Santa? But not those kinds of videos, because that would get me on the naughty list. My MacBook Pro does a good job of encoding video – it works pretty close to real-time – but if I had an Elgato Turbo.264 HD Video Encoder, it would go so much faster. Like 3-4 times faster. That way I could spend less time waiting for videos to encode and more time drinking helping old ladies across the street.

If I'd been a really good boy this year, like if I'd won the Nobel Peace Prize or employee of the month at TUAW, I'd ask for a bona fide guitar amplifier. But since I haven't been that good, I'd settle for a Zoom G2.1U Guitar Effects Pedal with USB interface. This thing will simulate all kinds of guitar effects for me, and it'll plug right into my MacBook Pro. So far playing my guitar through Garageband has been an acceptable substitute for a real, live amplifier, but the one thing I definitely miss is all my effects pedals. Garageband includes lots of neat software effects that simulate pedals, but you can't stomp on them to switch them on and off. I know – I've tried.

Last thing, Santa: if none of those other things will fit in your bag, could you just get me a big, fat iTunes gift card? I've got nearly US$120 worth of songs I want to upgrade to iTunes Plus so I can stop worrying about DRM nonsense on my previous purchases and get higher-quality music in the process.

Thanks Santa. Next year I promise to be more helpful and honest and say fewer naughty words about New Zealand's telecommunications companies.

Just last week, Verizon released Media Manager for the Mac. While many customers are saying it's less powerful than its Windows-based counterpart, it received significant changes this week. Namely, users can now stream content from their iPhoto and iTunes libraries to a FiOS DVR (something TiVo did three years ago, but let's not nit-pick).

With the desktop app running (configured as a simple preference), you can browse iTunes playlists as well as your entire library. From iPhoto, browse your library, events and slideshows. Keeping events intact is nice for when you want to show Aunt Shirley pictures from your trip to Scranton.

Note that this requires a FiOS TV DVR Set-Top Box, Mac OS X 10.4 or greater, iTunes 7 or greater, iPhoto 6 or greater and QuickTime version 7 or greater. For an unnecessarily enthusiastic demonstration of the software, check out the video after the break.

(Screenshot courtesy of Dave Zatz / Zatz Not Funny)

[Via Engadget]

Smart playlists have been a feature of iTunes since version 3.0 (circa 2002), and they provide a means for you to create automatically-updated playlists that fit a certain criteria. For me, they serve as a hands-off way to stay up-to-date on my latest music and Podcasts, as well as a repository for a certain genre of music. To create a smart playlist, click on "File" and select "New Smart Playlist" (or you can use the command-option-n keyboard shortcut).

If you want a playlist that contains only holiday music, you could specify that the playlist include all songs with either the "Christmas" or "Chanukah" genre tag on it. Because smart playlists auto-update, you needn't worry about adding songs to it: as long as the track's tags meet the criteria, it is automatically included in the playlist -- unless, of course, you choose the "limit to" option, which limits the the tracks in the playlist based on your choosing.

Read more for five of my favorite smart playlists, as well as criteria for how to create them.

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Engadget is reporting what everyone who has a twitchy refresh button already knows: iTunes 9.0.2 is out, bringing support to Apple TV 3.0. The iTunes update is available through Software Update, and the Apple TV update is right there in the box that says "Apple TV" on it.

The Apple TV update refreshes the look of the main menu, Genius Mixes and internet radio. It also adds iTunes Extras and LP support. Here's the official press release.

Notice any other new stuff? Tell us in the comments.