According to the Financial Times, Apple is (still) considering an "all-you-can-eat" subscription model, which is strange, because why would anyone want to eat digital music? They must mean "listen." Yes, as speculated before (in order to figure out what Jobs will be doing in a year, just listen to what he says he won't do now, apparently), Apple might come up with a plan where you would pay either a monthly fee or a lifetime subscription to download music from iTunes presumably straight into your iPod or iPhone.

Supposedly what's holding the deal up isn't the price negotiation between consumers and Apple, it's between Apple and the record companies. Nokia, which is planning a similar deal, is reportedly happy to pay $80 per device to the music companies for the rights, but Apple is only offering $20.

Which makes sense -- Apple is the 800 lb. gorilla in the media device market, and so they have the ability in most cases to pay what they want or not bother. If the two sides do come to a deal, however, even the terms of property are still up in the air. A few ideas being bounced around would let consumers keep a certain number of songs even if they changed devices, while some deals would only allow access while the subscription was active.

What this may mean for us as consumers, at least, would be that Apple is planning to bring the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store to even more devices in the iPod line (or at least expand the capacity of the iPod touch to hold a subscription collection like this). If Apple really is planning to open up their library to a subscription, they should make it as easy as possible to obtain the music on demand.

AppleInsider has uncovered news of an Apple patent application for a software concept called a "podmap," which is more or less what it sounds like -- a series of maps or driving directions accompanied by an audio version of the same, downloadable into a portable media device. The way I understand it, think of it not just as downloadable directions, but also a kind of real-world tour. There is even mention of episodic content delivered via RSS.

Like many Apple patents, there's no indication (or even suggestion) that anything like this would ever see the light of day, but it does tell us that Apple is looking at doing more with marrying their hardware with maps software, just like the great improvements we saw in the iPhone's 1.1.3 update. Hardly a surprise, too, that a company so strongly turning towards portable computing is thinking about the needs of portable users. But a cool idea nevertheless, and it also confirms that Apple sees the iTS's podcast model as a strong and easy way of quickly distributing content of all kinds.

DAZ Productions is the latest software company to have been struck by the 'let's give it away for free!' bug, as they have placed a $0 price tag on Bryce 5 for both Mac and PC - but only until Sept. 6th. For those who are scratching their heads over this 'Bryce' business: it's a 3D design app which specializes in modeling landscapes and animations, and in the grand scheme of 3D apps, it's pretty simple to use. A number of content packages that offer pre-built models of things like scenery and people are available, including a free starter set in tandem with this offer.

Snagging a free copy is fairly simple: head over to DAZ Production's page which offers download links for either the Mac or PC version. Now before you ask: yes, this page states that Bryce 5.0 won't run under Tiger, however: the actual version of the Mac download is 5.0.3. I've tested this out myself already, having gone through the registration process, and it runs just fine. In fact, it's still a PowerPC app, but it zips along on my MacBook Pro (2.0 Ghz, 2GB RAM - YMMV); so much so that I had to use Scott's TUAW Tip to check whether it's Universal to be sure. Anyway, the first time you start Bryce 5 it will prompt you to log in and register (for free) the app at their site. You'll probably have to create a new, free account like I did, but once you're logged in, the registration link Bryce gives you will create your extra-lengthy registration code. After that, you're all set for having a grand ol' time in the world of 3D.

Snagging Bryce 5 is a $70 value, but if you're itching for the latest and greatest, Bryce 5.5 can be had for a mere $20 upgrade. Scroll down on the initial Bryce 5 for Free page, as there are details for signing up with their ArtZone community (which I believe is also free) and scoring the cheap upgrade. There may be a lot of signing up for free accounts and unchecking opt-in newsletter and 'special offer' emails, but these are small prices to pay for a free 3D app. Enjoy.

Of course, with the Universal release of Google Earth, Google has also kicked out a Mac OS X version of their recently-purchased SketchUp, a 3D modeling app for the masses. If you need a quick explanation, here's one as good as any from their site: "Adding a deck? Remodeling your kitchen? From simple to detailed, conceptual to realistic, Google SketchUp (free) lets you populate the world with true 3D objects."

This latest release also now supports textures, so "creating textured models is as easy as taking a photo and applying it to a 3D model". Sounds like a good time. Perhaps even better than SketchUp coming to Mac OS X is the fact that a powerful version is offered for free, while the pro version costs $495.

[thanks to everyone who sent this in]