Briefly: iTunes Multi-pass, Forthcoming Intel chips, Origami

A first step to the subscription model for iTunes?

Apple has announced Multi-pass yesterday, it is a monthly subscription to video shows on the iTunes Music Store. Although many competitors proved to be viable with it, Apple has always been against the subscription model for its Music store. However, we can't compare Multi-pass with current subscription offerings like Napster or Rhapsody as the content downloaded is actually owned by the user.

Forthcoming Intel chips:

Intel has given further details on its 2006 processors roadmap during IDF earlier this week. The company is planning to release new processors during the second quarter of this year. Two of them are likely to be used by Apple on Mac Book Pros or PowerMacs, the Merom processors could make into the Mac Book Pro while Conroe processors could replace the PowerPC G5 chip into the next generation PowerMac (or Mac Pro). Anandtech is providing a full coverage of the event.

Microsoft introduces Origami

After some partial revelations made on the Internet since last week, Microsoft has finally officially announced Origami today. Origami is a ultra-portable PC co-developed wiith Samsung. It features a touch screen display, many multimedia capabilities and is priced around $800. The device also targets the enterprise market with its PDA features.