Will digital downloads via Xbox Live, PSN, and iTunes soon take over the business of delivering consumers TV shows and hit movies? Not if you ask top Hollywood execs. In a recent gathering of the industry's movers and shakers, the general notion was that physical media would remain on top in the few years ahead. Read the details in the full article up next.

While being a long-time member of the Blu-ray Disc Association, Steve Jobs-led Apple Inc. still has yet to reveal its true leaning at the on-gong format war between Blu-ray and HD DVD.

Analysts, however, have a good reason to believe that everything will become known come Macworld Expo 2008.

More details after the jump!

According to the Financial Times, Apple and 20th Century Fox have inked a deal for a new online video-on-demand service that would let consumers rent Fox releases as soon as they come out on DVD. More info about the deal is available in the full article.

In what seems to be an amusing parody to the proverbial Apple god, this image was posted by user donatreides over at Flickr depicting the grave of Steve Jobs in the form of an iPod.

The picture evoked a stream of humorous comments when it was first posted and still continues to illicit much amusement. Though he has been reported with notable health problems over the past few years, this puts into perspective a lighter side of what eventually lies in store for everyone someday.

Even Steve Jobs had a thing or two to say about his life and eventual death someday in his commencement address last June:

Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.

What more can we say but, "Very well said Steve, now where's that new iPod scheduled for the holiday season?"

More studios have lined up behind Disney, Lionsgate, and Paramount Pictures to support the continuously growing library of downloadable content on the iTunes Store. If you go online now and check what's new, you'll find a list of movies from both MGM Studios and United Artists.

It turns out that both studios have now also signed a deal with Apple, and while United Artist only has one movie available for now ("Ronin"), MGM has quite a bulky selection:

• Mad Max
• Rocky
• Dances with Wolves
• Robocop
• The Thomas Crown Affair
• Bulletproof Monk
• Pieces of April

Isn't it strange that these movies seem to be remnants of an era long gone some 20 years now? Well, maybe this is the trend that some movie studios would take, especially since establishments like Wal-mart seem to feel threatened by the downloadable movie market. So, instead of releasing new movies that retailers sell regularly, MGM's got their list of movies that don't quite sell as hot anymore but are still deemed as classics.

Kids whose parents are certified Mac-aholics would be pleased with this bit of info. Disney Online finally made the kid-friendly PC-based MMO Disney's Toontown Online available to Macintosh computers. Disney must have realized that everyone should get in on the fun and welcome Mac players into the wacky world of Toontown.

Mac users will now join the 15 million Toon characters created in the game. What's more, Disney is adding new "gags to keep players on their toon-toes". It's a little something for Mac players who got left behind for a good three years.

The gag bag includes the Wedding Cake throw gag, an Ocean liner drop gag, an Opera Voice sound gag, and more gags waiting to be unlocked once you reach the highest level on each of their gag tracks. These gags are fun to use especially when you go battling the Cogs. If you're not up to some Cog-nuking, you can always plant these gags using the recently added Estate Gardening feature.

Toontown Online for Mac and PC is available via digital download for US$ 9.95 per month. Extended membership packages are also available at special rates, so the the whole family can create their own characters.

Disney-Pixar games are a dime a dozen. From Cars to The Incredibles, to a whole host of other games, lots of young gamers (aged 1 to 52) are enjoying the chance to get into their favorite movies and play as its different characters. For next year's summer game, you can expect a massive invasion of culinary rats across all major platforms to date.

We're talking massive here. THQ is going to publish the game on the Wii, NDS, GBA, GameCube, PS2, PSP, PS3, Xbox 360, plus a Mac and PC version.

Ratatouille will have you playing as Remy (not to be confused with fellow QJ blogger Remi) as he goes through key scenes from the movie. You'd have to guide him across a wide array of mini-games, cooking challenges, and head-to-head multiplayer. Players would be allowed to create their own culinary masterpieces, all while trying to evade the perils and threats lurking about the kitchens of Paris.

Are you the next greatest rat-chef in all of history? The game is coming out next year, so you better start preparing those dishes (and evasive skills)!

Another day, another iTunes. Today is no different, as the release of iTunes 7.0.2 heralds new features for the entertainment center.

So, what new things does Apple's iTunes hold now? Well, you get your standard set of performance tweaks and bug fixes to make iTunes run more smoothly. You also get the Cover Flow option, allowing you to flip through your music and videos as if they were CDs. How about an iPod Summary to get instant info on your iPod and its contents? Still not enough? Then you'll want to enjoy the download manager feature which lets you prioritize your downloads according to your preferences.

Now if that isn't enough, you can now purchase more stuff! In addition to purchasing iPod games, Disney movies are now up for download as well. Now, we don't want to spoil the fun of finding out which movies Disney is coming out with for 7.0.2, but we can safely say that Chris L. nearly fainted when he saw all the old-school "Snow White" and "Cinderella" movies.

That being said, if you use iTunes, don't forget to download this rather significant upgrade to your media-buying arsenal. Enjoy!

For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. The action in this context would be the launch of the iTunes Movies, while the opposite reaction would be the retail stores' rejection of this concept.

Wal-Mart and Target have been crying foul over movie downloads appearing in the iTunes online store. According to them, this will open a whole new can of worms to the movie industry, especially if other studios join Disney in offering their movie downloads through iTunes.

Michael, over at Apple Gazette, thinks that it's not really the plight of the movie industry these retail stores are worried about, but more of their own. Apparently, they find this downloading technology to be a threat to their business. And why not? The iPod industry most certainly is a force to be reckoned with, given its broad market.

But is the iTunes Movies really a threat on Retail DVDs? Michael weighs the pros and cons.

Comparing the features of iTunes Movie and Retail DVD, it shows that the Retail DVD still has a much bigger edge than the downloadable counterpart. It has a higher video resolution, is compatible with widescreen presentation, and can be played in any DVD player in your home or car or DVD drive. Plus, there are special features included on most titles, while the iTunes Movie doesn't.

Apart from the accessibility of the products, where the iTunes Movie surges ahead since you can download and watch it almost instantly on your gadget without having to drive to the store and purchase, the only other thing that makes the downloadable movies a prettier option is the price. For US$ 12.95 to US$ 14.95, you can already download new releases. For the retail DVD, you'd need almost US$ 20 just so you can enjoy most new releases. But other than that, there certainly are no tell-tale signs as of yet of the retail DVD's apocalypse.

But beyond these considerations, really now, exactly how enjoyable would it be to watch a full-length movie on a 3-inch screen? Not so much, especially when you know you can watch the same thing, with much better quality, on your widescreen. So basically, for now, while the thought of being able to access movies on your iPod gives you that pizazz, it just doesn't seem attractively practical.

So, at the end of the day, should the retail DVD be threatened by iTunes Movies? The concern is understandable, but with all the foregoing analysis, the answer would have to be a no. Unless, of course, you think otherwise.

For a company who is usually stringent, to the point of overbearing, when it comes to keeping up-and-coming projects under wraps until its intended announcement date, Apple's recent previews of their movie offers over at the new iTunes 7.0 has caused some suspicion among analysts. Considering Hollywood's reluctance to get on the iPod bandwagon, could this be Apple's way of letting biggie movie studios see what they could possibly be missing by not submitting to the will of the great white Apple?

As of the moment, episodes of some TV serials have already been made available for download, while Disney and some smaller Hollywood companies have already agreed to sell their movies via the internet.

For many studios such as Universal, Paramount, and Warner Bros., one main issue that seems to be unsettled is the pricing of their movies, as Hollywood execs are insisting that the price of downloading a movie should cost more than buying the physical DVD. Their reason for this is that despite the absence of further production, distribution, or inventory costs, obtaining the movies has become more convenient and should therefore cost consumers more. An episode of faulty logic? Maybe.

One thing remains more certain than other details though, and that's the fact that "iPod" has become a household term, Apple has taken over the industry of downloading music and TV shows, and almost everyone you meet down the street is sporting white earbuds. How long can Hollywood resist the dark side? We'll wait and see.