With the 79th Annual Academy Awards right around the corner (whoops, it's this weekend actually), everyone in star-filled Hollywood is prepping up for the biggest show this Sunday eve. And guess who's also gearing up for a little publicity stunt? Yep, that's right: Apple.

According to the Mac gurus at MacWorld, Apple will be inserting an iPhone-themed teaser ad, specifically fashioned to match the grandeur and star-studded Oscars awards night, Sunday, 8 p.m. Eastern on ABC.

Although there have been no other details regarding the ad, given the advertising brainstormers they have at Apple, we're sure its going to be a blast. What else could you expect from Apple, after Jobs surprised the world with the announcement of the iPhone?

You'll remember Apple for its constant advertising war (featuring Justin Long and John Hodgman) against Microsoft and their recently released Windows Vista flagship operating system. But perhaps you'd also like to know that Apple created the "1984" advertisement in the 1984 Super Bowl that was considered the best-rated advertisements in history.

But wait, isn't Hollywood kind of freaked out by Apple?

As if iTunes U wasn't favorable enough, colleges are looking to the Apple's flagship computer brand as a viable alternative to the popular PC. Wilkes University in Pennsylvania, for one, is willing to get rid of their PC-compatibles to make room for new Macs.

The trend isn't only spotted over the education industry, but also the research industry as well. The huge stunt Virginia Tech pulled off for the Mac may have also attracted the attention of other educational and scientific organizations. Wilkes University claimed they chose the Mac because it's less susceptible to viruses.

It's doubtful that's the only reason, of course, as with Microsoft's new operating system Windows Vista costing an arm and a leg, institutions will be hard-pressed to shell out big bucks just to adopt new systems. And that's not including the heavy requirements of the new OS that could lead to unavoidable hardware upgrade costs.

The project that will switch a mixed assortment of PC and Macs numbering 1,700 to pure Mac is expected to cost US$ 1.4 million. The institute will be implementing a policy for students who wish to use their own computers within the compound.

Steve Jobs' anti-DRM statements have apparently scared movie and recording studios. DRM, or Digital Rights Management refers to control of access of copyright owners  to associated  digital works and devices; something that Apple and even Microsoft could eliminate in putting up an online music store within reach for anyone.

Recently, an elite group comprising of the world's largest recording and movie studios, Coral Consortium, has released an open letter to Steve Jobs saying "We have been wrestling with the issues around interoperability for some years and have concluded that it is not so much a technology problem as a business problem."

DRM has been an issue of technology, it would seem, until some up-and-coming bands and artists who weren't able to earn themselves a recording deal from any of the major recording companies were finally able to sell their songs through iTunes. Recording companies insist that DRM-protected downloads are still better than those that are not, that if your music or movies for sale are readily available on the internet, they're not very valuable, consumer-wise.

Recording and movie companies are surely facing tough competition. For sure, downloading DRM-free MP3s now is a business issue rather than one of technology; and the business issue is appearing to be bested by the techie companies already.

Because the XBox runs on Microsoft, it's hard to find ways to get your Mac to play well with Microsoft products. Under normal circumstances, you'd even be hard pressed to get your Mac to check your XBox Live status since it doesn't have Windows Live Messenger. Enter MacLive, a project of James Howard and Andrew Murray.

MacLive runs on Cocoa and acts as a front-end for Xbox.com, allowing you to sign into your Windows Live ID and check on your Xbox Live account. What that means is that you can actually see which of your friends is online, as well as check on what they're playing, just like the real deal.

Of course, it's still a work in progress. You still won't be able to view achievements, send messages, or manage your friends list (the add friends function is currently broken, it seems) but you can get alerts through Growl. In any case, Mac users will probably enjoy trying this out and using it in conjunction with other apps they might have found.

Download: [MacLive]

We all know of Apple's sneaky bashing of the Microsoft's new flagship OS, Windows Vista. The most vocal of them were reflected on Apple's assortment of advertisements, which are pretty witty if you catch our drift.

This time around, however, Apple is taking the war to a whole new level, although this time it gets a bit louder. Yes, because of Vista's launch, Apple has taken upon itself to promote a better option for a PC upgrade: skip Vista and go right over to a Mac.

Think Secret got word that a six-page document had been handed out to Apple's chain of 170 retail stores to encourage sales representatives to point out the advantages that a Mac has over the PC:

• Vista's pocket-burning price tag compared to Mac OS X and iLife;
• Mac's ability to run Windows, including Vista;
• Windows means upgrade hassles, including conforming with high system requirements and the unnecessary need to select a flavor of the OS;
• Similarities in functionality and appearance between Vista and Mac OS X, like the Aero GUI and the Aqua GUI.

If that's not enough, Apple is also drawing up a battle plan to present Vista-themed advertisements in retail stores and distribute similarly-themed T-shirts for Apple employees to wear.

Following up on a complaint that was posted at the Apple forums, a disgruntled and slightly confused Xbox 360 owner found that, among other things, his console isn't compatible with Apple's 802.11n Airport Extreme Base Station. And no, this isn't another Apple vs. Microsoft issue.

As time passed, Jamie Green, the complainant, figured out that if he disabled the Wi-Fi security protocols, only then does the Xbox 360 recognize the network. What's notable is that one participant, Warren Hoffman, claims his Wii and the Playstation 3 can recognize the APX secure network.

Microsoft support claims that Apple's routers are not recommended for Xbox Live, although there are also claims of reports that D-Link and Linksys router owners have complained about Xbox 360 issues, too.

Perhaps the old wired solution is a sure-fire way to get connected for those Xbox 360 users. Wired networks have wider bandwidths, anyway. And perhaps Microsoft can resolve this issue like last time.

Gaming on a Mac? Why, yes. According to TransGaming and nVidia, that's exactly what they're planning to do. In a recent press release, TransGaming announced that they will be teaming up with nVidia to bring top-tier video games to the Intel-based Macintosh platform using the former's Cider portability engine in conjunction with the latter's CgFX graphics system.

If you're a gamer who just happens to have a Mac, this is kind of like a match made in heaven. TransGaming's Cider technology effectively eliminates the time and expense of porting Windows games to the Mac. Today's video games deliver immersive graphics and gameplay using high-level shader language (HLSL) technologies pioneered by nVidia.

Through this collaboration, Cider can now run high-level shaders created for Microsoft's Direct3D platform using the nVdia CgFX framework. To accomplish this, both companies have worked together to improve Cg in several areas, ranging from Effect (.fx) file compatibility through to performance, resulting in the ability to release more high-end games on the Mac with Cider.

No word yet on what games could possibly make their way to the Mac, but we're expecting some pretty big names to start joining the bandwagon.

Could Apple be as big as Microsoft five years from now? Well, if 10Layers' analysis is to be believed, then Apple will soon be as big as Microsoft if they consistently churn out hit products. Apple could even surpass the Bill Gates camp (but by 2010 he'll be out of MS), according to the analysis.

So how is this gonna happen? According to the forecast, both companies have been blessed with healthy revenue growth in last five years. The only difference is that Microsoft has grown linearly for this period while Apple is growing at a exponential rate compared to MS' linear path. Confused?

This only means that Apple has been growing much faster than Microsoft, for the past five years. 10Layers explains that "MicrosoftÂ?s revenues have grown approximately 60% from just under $ 30B in 2002 to over $ 44B in 2006. However, while Microsoft has grown linearly for this period, Apple has accelerated with revenues of just under $ 6B in 2002 growing to just under $ 21B in 2006. An impressive 250% revenue growth!"

And since a 250% growth is much bigger than a 60% revenue growth, 10Layers mentioned that if Apple performs this way for the next five years, they would catch MS by 2010 or early 2011. So with that, we could say that there will be a lot financial expectations resting on the sleek shoulders of the iPhone and other future Apple products.

Now we're sure you gadget folks out there have been informed of the "supposed" teaming up of Microsoft with Apple for a pilot player sporting Microsoft's Windows Media software. But since the release of the Zune music player (not without some hiccups as we can recall), some of us had to find out the hard way that it just wasn't meant to be.

The folks from Redmond could have changed history by going down the path less traveled on, because it would have made all the difference - for once. Now that Apple and Microsoft are head-to-head once more, Apple is out for the early win. In fact, 21.1 million iPods (and that's just last quarter's sales) is pretty much a win already when compared to an unimpressive "hundreds of thousands" of Zune players, despite Zune's shove into the iPod market.

E-mail evidences, presented at a private anti-trust class action against Microsoft in Iowa, confirmed the idea of a team-up. According to the e-mails from Windows chief Jim Allchin, there are suggestions that he talk to Apple CEO Steve Jobs to get the iPod to work with Microsoft's media software for fear that the iPod would "drive people away from the Windows Media Player."

Also interesting to note is Jim Allchin's e-mail regarding the statement that he "would buy a Mac" if he "was not working at Microsoft." The funny part is that the e-mail was sent to two people, one being Bill Gates himself (ouch!). We remember another time that Microsoft employees felt kinder to Apple than usual.

But as noted earlier, Microsoft decided to go its own way. You can admire their courage, but up against the iPod? That's just suicide.

So, how are we today? Still clutching your pitchforks, waiting for the next wave of attacks on your living room, eh? The Battle for the Living Room chronicles is still under full swing. Three set top boxes - Sony's PS3, Microsoft's 360, and Apple's Apple TV (iTV) - are vying for that oh-so comfortable spot in your living room. Digital download services have been around for quite some time now, but with these three new factions on the battle field, how can one survive through the media format wars?

Indeed there are a lot of interesting elements, features, and other factors involved when comparing these three set top boxes (again, we are stressing that we are viewing these as set top boxes with the "gaming console" aspect stripped out). Some might even say that, what with all the tech specs thrown into the equation, choosing your Living Room King can be a task left for the gods.

We here at QJ aren't gods (aaaw, sadness) but we can still enlighten you! When you're in a war, you'd definitely want to be on the winning side. And as of now, there isn't any clear-cut winner just yet. We can just assess the tipping scales as the battle changes every so often. Time to rip open the reports in the case file!

Cry: "Havoc!" And let click the "Full Article" link of war!