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Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- CNET iPhone 5 Editors' take

- Apple unveils new iPod Touch with 4-inch screen

- New iPod Nano: Remembering the iPod Mini

- Apple's new EarPods were three 3 years in the making???

- Lightning Cable connects old accessories to Apple's newest port

- Apple reworks, simplifies iTunes… Read more

In the wake of today's iPhone 5 and iPod announcements, Apple has issued updates for iTunes and its iMovie home video-editing software. The updates should be available through Software Update for those who have these programs installed on their systems, but they can also be downloaded as standalone installers from Apple's Web site.

The iTunes update adds support for iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch devices running iOS 6, and also adds support for Apple's latest iPod Nano and Shuffle devices. In addition, the update addresses a memory corruption security bug in WebKit for Windows that could allow … Read more

Apple has reworked iTunes to feature a simplified user interface, iCloud integration, and a new mini player.

Company executives said the design overhaul would make iTunes easier to navigate, and improve performance.

"Music is deeply embedded into our DNA," Apple CEO Tim Cook said as Apple made the announcement in conjunction with the debut of the iPhone 5 today. "This is the reason we created iPod and iTunes, and these products have gone on to revolutionize the music industry."

The new iTunes store design on the iPad emphasizes big icons and album/poster art -- almost … Read more

As it builds out the entertainment offering for the Android operating system, Google is getting closer to obtaining the rights to offer a scan-and-match feature similar to those offered by Apple and Amazon, sources tell CNET.

Google already offers a cloud music service, but it's unlicensed by the major music-recording companies, and thus legally prevented from offering all the functionality now offered by iTunes and Amazon Cloud Player.

But that could change soon. Multiple music industry sources say that Google has signed licensing deals for its cloud music service with Universal Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment. EMI Music … Read more

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- McDonalds to open first vegetarian restaurant.

- Hoax alert: Bruce Willis fights for the right to bequeath his iTunes library.

- How classic games got their names (hat tip to Corey).

- Is this new Prince Harry game using Jeff's likeness?

A previous post, Six tips for managing your iTunes library, described how to use iTunes' "Part of a gapless album" option to ensure related tracks that iTunes treats as separate files always play in their intended sequence.

As several commenters pointed out, the tip doesn't work as I described. The gapless option functions only when the two sequential album tracks are played in the order they were imported to iTunes.

The fact is, once album tracks are added to your iTunes library as separate files, it's easy for them to lose their association as contiguous album … Read more

Music-streaming services are big business for labels and even the companies that offer them. But for artists, they're not so great.

Josh Davison, a member of the band Parks and Gardens, yesterday took to Twitter to divulge the exceedingly small amount he and his fellow musicians make from streaming on iTunes Match and Spotify. According to Davison, each time one of his songs streams on iTunes Match, the band makes $0.00330526797710. When that same song plays on Spotify, the band makes $0.00966947678815. In other words, if Davison wants to make just one cent off a song play, … Read more

An update to the BBC's iPlayer app will allow paying subscribers to download programs for viewing offline at no additional cost.

The update is due to be released tomorrow for iPhone and iPad, is expected to available on Android devices "in the near future," according to a report in The Guardian.

The update represents a significant shift for the app, which had previously allowed only streaming to mobile devices and downloading onto desktop computers.

The British network touted the upgrade's ability to let users watch programs while on the go, liberated from the constraints and costs … Read more

Earlier today, a story emerged from the British tabloids that Bruce Willis was considering suing Apple in a bid to determine who gets his iTunes music collection after his death. Perhaps something more suited for April Fool's Day? We reported it (and fell for it) and we've updated the piece to reflect that the original source was a work of fiction. (Willis' wife tweeted this morning that the story was not true.)

But the one thing still not settled or answered from today's misreporting: what happens to downloaded content when the buyer passes away? (Spoiler alert: just … Read more