As we await the annual September speech from the man who was the answer to 48 Down in this past Saturday's New York Times crossword ("Jobs in technology?"), I find myself pondering the big questions...

1.Will K.T. Tunstall perform at this year's announcement? (Unlikely.)

2.Will another performer whom I'll initially mistake for Cat Power perform? (Again, unlikely--I'm looking for a male performer or group this year. Vampire Weekend? Dear Lord, I hope not.)

3.OK, I'll now ask the real questions: Assuming the leaked photo of a new iPod nano--which looks like an older nano with a bigger screen--is for real, how is Apple gonna spin this? After all, it seems like a complete acknowledgment that the last nano was a dud. (For the record, the last nano was, I thought, quite excellent, but like so many of us, to me it looked a bit bigger in pictures than in real life.)

4.Last year, you may recall, the "new" nano likeness was leaked pre-announcement as well. Are these low-fi leaks that nerds slobber over all part of Apple's Plan? (You bet.)

5.Is this the final year of "iPod classics"? (I think so. Let's assume Jobs announces a 64GB iPod touch today; that would mean this time next year, we could assume the next touch would be 128GB. Hard drive-based PMPs: The end is nigh.)

6. Will the new iTunes fix the issue of broken videos? (I doubt it, but seriously, SJ: I have downloaded three videos in the last few months--Pirates of the Caribbean, an episode of The Wire, and an episode from Shark Week 2007; I know, I am a dork--and none of them work. But you better believe I paid for them, and there is no way to get a refund or re-download a non-corrupt file!)

7.Will Jobs announce that iTunes now has the entire Beatles catalog available for download? (Maybe! Does this matter?) [Ed. note: Damn straight it does!!]

8.What will Jobs' "...and one more thing" be this year? (My guess: See number 7.)

Ok, so, price slashes, capacity increases, the Beatles, a new nano design (which we've already seen--maybe)--what else? It'll all be clear soon, my friends.

12:50: I am crammed into the only section in which you can live-blog without being thrown into the Apple Jail. In a change of heart, this year they have allowed us to blog, provided we say nice things.

The stage has a huge screen with that familiar Apple logo as the backdrop. Listening to some CCR right now. The older folks here are really digging it.

On the left side of the stage is a small desk area with what looks to be 2 iMacs.

But mainly the stage is bare, with plenty of stomping room for Steve Jobs to get all Tom Cruise-in-"Magnolia" with his hands-free mic.

What do you think SJ will be wearing? I will take bets... if it's not a black turtleneck (mock turtlenecks count) and light-colored jeans, then I owe you a margarita, reader.

12:51: We are roughly nine minutes away from action, supposedly.

Even though i am surrounded by reporters, I expect lots of whooping and cheering whenever there is a big announcement.

"Please turn off all cell phones, pagers, and PDAs" Pagers? Really?

12:55: Most of the seats are full and Apple helpers, outfitted in neon green shirts that say "Keynote" on back, all around looking stressed or confused.

Jimi Hendrix now playing. This is strictly an old-school rock affair.

Everyone appears to be seated. I think we've probably got one more song to get through...aaaand it's the Doors.

"Cmon cmon cmon now touch me baby!" It would be so awesome if SJ came out to this music!

Any moment now...

1:00: Lights dimming...Heeeeeeeeeeere's Stevie! I win!

Turtleneck and jeans! You owe ME a margarita! Here we go.

SJ: Thanks for coming. The reports of my deat are greatly exaggerated. Let's talk about music today--we have new offerings.

[iTunes is the first topic.]

SJ: It now offers over 8.5 million songs, 125,000 podcasts, 30, 000 TV shows, 2600 Hollywood movies, 3000 apps for iPhones/touch. 65 million accounts on iTunes now. [Wowzas!]

We are now the 1 music distributor in any format in the US. We are adding new content to iTunes today: HD TV shows--they will cost $2.99 and you can watch them on Apple TV OR yr computer.

[Yay! they are bringing NBC back to iTunes--thank God--I hate watching the Office and 30 Rock on regular TV!]

They will all be offered in standard and in hi-def.

Biggest thing today with iTunes? Introducing iTunes 8, which alomg with HDTV will have new browsing, and "Genius"

Here's how new browsing will work:

You can now just browse by album covr or by a bar at the top of window with albums, artists, genres. [Not quite mindblowing, but looks useful.]

What's Genius? It allows you to automatically make playlists from songs that "go great together" with just one click.

[Let's say you are listening to Bob Dylan--push the Genius button in the corner and just liek that, it is on the Genius playlist. Click on Genius sidebar, and Apple graciously offers you the chance to buy music from the they think matches the songs on your playlist. How thoughtful!]

[Genius keeps track of your song ratings and track play counts in order to make optimal suggestions---don't worry, all anonymously, SJ says--and it meshes with other people's info as well. So, whatever other Pavement fans like will get suggest to you, basically. I think Pandora and Slacker had this idea a while back, but its cool nonetheless.]

[Demo time!]

[Steve clicks on an Aretha Franklin record--plays Respect. OK, browser looks cool now--if you browse by genre, dragging a mouse over that "genre section" scrolls rapidly through all the covers in that section.]

SJ: Now we are playing John Mayer. We press the Genius button... and we are suddenly on a playlist full of Mayer-esque tunes...same thing with Elvis. It basically finds other similar-genre tunes in your library and groups them all together.

The Genius sidebar will pull up potential purchases you may want, and you can audition them. It's available today--go to Apple .com...on to iPods.

SJ: iPods have a 73.4 percent market share in US. 15.4 % is "other." 8.6 % is Sandisk, Microsoft even less...over 5,000 iPod accessories. They announce products even before we want them to! [laughter] Over 160 million iPods sales since intro of the first player.

iPod classic: We'll discontinue the thick one, focus on the thin one. 120 GB for $249. {So, thin gets the same capacity as thick, and lower price.]

iPod nano: new form factor. [4th gen ipod nano looks like the leaked pictures. Larger screen--thinnest iPod ever. It has an oval shape, same height as older nanos, same size screen as new ones. SJ is holding one--black scroll wheel on a silver body...very sexy.]

SJ: nano's new features: curved glass over display, thinnest iPod ever, enhanced user interface with the accelerometer from iPhone.

[So, looks like you can turn it sideways to watch video. Nice. Turn it sideways and you're in Coverflow. User interface looks much more like iPhone's.]

[Push and hold down center button, you get a pop-up menu with the Genius feature so you can make playlists on the go. Now has a voice recorder--that's new!]

Demo time.

[Picking an artist to play--SJ picks Beck, plays "Guess I'm Doing Fine." Why so sad, Steve?]

[While playing, SJ turns player sideways and immediately art switches to cover view, just like on iPhone--very nice.]

[He presses the center button, and he has started a Genius playlist from the songs on his iPod, without being connected to iTunes. Nice feature.]

[A new feature: Shake to Shuffle. Ha! Literally, you shake the nano and it immediately starts shuffling--SJ's iPod goes straight to Dean Martin!]

[Photo menu works like iPhone's now--switch to Landscape just by turning the nano sideways.
There's applause as SJ wraps up the nano demo.]

[24 hours of music and 4 hours video battery life for nano.]

SJ: We want to be environmentally friendly with these products--biggest thing we worry about are the toxics. These are arsenic free glass, mercury free, PVC-free, and highly recyclable...we think they are cleanest, toxic-free iPods we've ever built.

[Uh oh--new colors...the rainbow rumors are true.]

[New models are offered in everything from purple to yellow to orange. Taste the rainbow, folks!
8GB will be $149, and 16 GB at $199. Shipping today. 16 GB early next week, latest.]

[New accessories: armbands for nano, and a new pair of earphones with an inline pause/play clicker on cable, as well as volume controls. Interesting, but I bet they still sound awful! Earphones also include a mic for the voice recorder. $29 next month--so, not included.

[New in-ear headphones, each has a woofer and a tweeter--these will be $79. Also not included. The new nano will probably ship with the standard crappy earbuds.]

[Now we're watching a new ad with some peppy music and a paint splatter at the end with rainbow colors over the Apple logo.]

Moving on to iPod touch.

SJ: This holiday season: new iPod touch, same 3.5 inch display but even thinner. Contoured stainless steel design. Here's what's different: integrated volume controls on the side, built-in speaker, Genius playlist creation, and the apps are built-in.

[User interface looks more or less the same, only minor enhancements.]

SJ: Built-in Nike plus iPod software, so now you can build a workout around your music. [Weird, but not a bad add-in...can't wait to test it.]

SJ: The Genius symbol appears onscreen when music is playing--just tap it and you have a new Genius playlist. Over 100 million apps have been downloaded so far, in 60 days of business.

["Mindblowing!" he says....Um, dude, people like free stuff; calm down.]

[So, the app store is built-in to the iPod touch, as you would expect.]

Demo time! [ SJ picks "American Idiot" by Green Day. He taps the Genius playlist...he is in LOVE with that Genius feature! I feel like I've already tested it--this is the third time we've seen it!]

[He's showing off video viewing--nothing really new here...still looks great.]

["We've got a treat today," says SJ. He invites Phil Shiller to demo a new game, which i assume will be Spore...we'll see.]

[I'm right! Spore has an iPod touch version. Creature Creator looks pretty cool on the touch. Maybe a little less detailed than the version i saw at SXSW 07.]

[Right now, Phil's creature has three eyes, four horns, one tail, body armor...]

[Very fun--now his creature is going into nature, level 15 (a kelp forest). You move your character by tilting the touch--very nice.]

[Oh, Phil is not faring very well in the harsh realities of the kelp forest.]

[This is more a demo for Spore than iPod touch--but very cool--available tomorrow.]

[Now Phil is demoing Real Soccer 2009, shipping today. He picks a U.S. team versus Italy...um, Phil, we're gonna get pummeled, dude.]

[This one is less impressive and cool than Spore, but the point, as we look at the stadium and players, is clear: SJ wants us to view the touch as a gaming device.]

[This game uses the touch screen in place of controller buttons....Goooooooooooaaaaaaaaaaal! How long do you think he practiced that?]

[New EA game: Need for Speed, Undercover. The goal is to transport a "package" across town in a Porsche, avoiding authorities. You can design your car, and of course, in order to successfully transport package, you must participate in street races. Wipe out!]

[Don't get in a car with this guy! he's much better on the soccer field. OK--demo over.]

SJ: iPod touch works with the new headphones, battery life of 36 hrs for music and 6 hour of video. [Not bad at all!]

[Again, SJ is saying it's more environmentally friendly. Sure--any product built to last less than 3 years is green.]

"The funnest iPod ever"--SJ

[3 models, 8GB $229, 16GB $299, and 32GB $399. No 64GB!....yet.]

[New ad being shown: more music i don;t know, showing it off aa a gaming device primarily.]

[Now he wants to talk about new software for iPod touch.]

SJ: What if you have iPod touch, Gen 1? If you updated to 2.0 already--free update to 2.1. If not, it's $9.99--available today. iPhone 2.1 update available today too.

Fewer dropped calls, better battery life, backing up to iTunes is faster. [We shall see, Sascha--actually, available this Friday.]

[I smell a "one more thing" coming up, as he is summing up the new line...]

[Uh oh. There is a musician being se up. "We love music, so...." A male performer who has sold over 16 million albums, 31 selling male artist in iTunes history....here's Jack Johnson.]

[Jack's strumming gently on his acoustic as Steve is swooning in the wings...the music is so beautiful, everyone is crying and hugging.]

[Stay tuned, because after JJ, I virtually *guarantee* an "one more thing" from SJ. If not, you, reader, no longer owe a margarita--so what have you to lose?]

[BUT: If the announcement is that Apple will now offer the Beatles catalog on iTunes, you will owe me TWO margaritas.]

[JJ is wrapping up to the gentle sound of livebloggers and reporters tapping on their keyboards.]

[JJ's internal thoughts: Is this the low-point of my career? At least they are paying me a bunch of Benjamins to do this...]

[JJ has abandoned the traditional 3-minute pop song format...so this song would be a bargain at itunes prices, as you get more music for the same 99 cent price.]

[Lets take a moment to recap: new iPod nano with built-accelerometer; thinner touch with 2.1 software for both iPhone and touch; new iTunes features... and the song is over!]

JJ: "I'm used to 20-something girls up front at stage, not reporters..." [What am I, chopped liver?!]

[Uh oh--wait me with me, kind reader, through one more JJ ditty...]

[What else did we find out so far? New colors for the nano--very Starburstian. Lower prices and higher capacities, as expected. I for one am shocked--shocked!--that there is no new 64GB iPod touch... That seemed like a gimme.]

[JJ wraps it up...SJ reappears. Standing O!]

[Are you ready to see what he says next?...Well, I was wrong! Nothing!]

[That's all, folks. Tim Gideon is signing off.]

Look for our reviews of the new Apple iPods coming asap at PCMag.com!