It’s February, and you know what that means, right? No, Groundhog Day is over. No, not Flag Day in Canada (but thanks for remembering!). No, there's no leap day this year, sorry (you're not very good at this, are you?). It's that Hallmarkiest of Hallmark holidays, Valentine's Day. And yes, it’s time to start planning a gift for that special person in your life. Apple has created a special Valentine's Day page on the iTunes Store to help you out.

The page is full of Valentine's Day promotions. From Frank Sinatra love songs to the movie Moulin Rouge, there is a little something for everyone.

If Sinatra isn’t your cup of tea, then maybe a collection called Today’s Love Songs—24 songs from John Legend, Usher, and Kelly Clarkson, among others (all but two tracks are in DRM-free iTunes Plus format).

Apple even has some Chet Baker, one of my personal favorites, as well as romantic-themed audiobooks, podcasts, and TV show episodes.

You'll also find iPhone apps such as Candy Hearts, iFlirt, iDesire, Love Quotes and iPropose. iPropose lets you send your marraige proposal over the iPhone with a “Yes or No” option—I'm lucky that app didn't exist when I met my wife, or I might still be single.

Apple’s Nvidia Graphics Update 2009 has been pulled offline, and there’s no sign of a replacement.

The software was released in late January, and was intended to help resolve various issues on Macs equipped with Nvidia graphics hardware. According to the release notes, the software improved cursor movement when using Apple’s Mini DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI Adapter on the latest MacBook Air, MacBook and MacBook Pro models; it also improved playback of HD video running on systems equipped with Nvidia GeForce 7300 GT or GeForce 9600M GT graphics systems.

The software update was available both through the Software Update system preference and through a download link on Apple’s Support Web site. That link now returns a 404 error.

Apple didn’t respond to queries before we posted this story. MacUser will update this article when they do.

Even in this slowed-down economy, it looks like Apple is doing some things right. According to new figures from the analysis firm Net Applications, Apple's market share is now just under the 10 percent mark. Of course, this study isn't totally scientific, as they use a certain set of websites to monitor OS and browser usage.

Apple has been above eight percent for three months in a row now—November 2008's 8.9 percent was a record high. Now that the January numbers are in, Apple has hit the 9.9 percentage mark. At this pace, OS X is on course to break through the 10 percent mark by the end of this month. Windows, meanwhile, dropped to 88.26 percent. Safari usage also saw a little bump as well, going from 7.93 to 8.23 percent.

Recall also that Gartner predicted that Apple would double its market share by 2011. Slow and steady wins the race?

Looking for a good way of having your files accessible on multiple computers? MobileMe’s an option, but if you’re not looking for all the other bells and whistles (web pages, email accounts, etc.), there’s now another player in the mix: Syncplicity.

Like competitor Dropbox, Syncplicity offers a free 2GB of storage space to sync between more than one of your computers. It’s been in private beta for Mac users until recently, but it’s now accepting sign ups for both Windows and Mac users.

Once you’ve signed up for an account, you can download Syncplicity’s Mac client and use it to choose which folders you want to synchronize. The files in there will be uploaded to the cloud, where you’ll be able to view them in your computer’s web browser or even via the iPhone (though the icons they use are kind of suspiciously Windows-looking).

Syncplicity’s Mac client is Intel-only, and it requires that you be running 10.5. If you decide that 2GB of storage isn’t enough to handle your needs, you can updgrade to 50GB for $10/month or $100 for the year; $20/month and $200 for the year will get you 100GB of space.

Apple's relationship with the major music labels has always been a bit rough around the edges. There's a history of head-butting between Jobs and the recording industry over issues like DRM and variable pricing, but the beef seemed at long last to be put to rest after the Macworld Expo keynote announcement that the record labels would finally give up DRM, while Apple would allow them the flexible pricing they so greatly desired.

But according to a music industry executive who spoke to The New York Times, the situation is still as tense as ever, with Apple's dominating presence in the music market giving it a disproportionate amount of leverage over the labels—and the company isn't afraid to use it, either.

A number of high-level music execs, speaking anonymously, have claimed that they've operated in fear of Apple's removing a label's songs from the iTunes store over a disagreement—even though it's never happened. There are even stories of a heated Christmas Eve exchange between Jobs and Sony Music chairman, Rolf Schmidt-Holtz, in regards to the amount of time before the variably priced iTunes songs would go into effect. I can only imagine how the phone call went, but the outcome was clear: Sony acquiesced to Jobs's position, and nobody got coal in their stocking.

The major labels are right to fear Apple, as an Apple boycott could spell disaster for an industry that's already struggling to stay afloat. Steve's absence doesn't seem to quell any fears, either, as it's said that the Apple staff—including Eddie Cue, the VP in charge of iTunes—do their best to emulate Mr. Jobs's negotiating style (we hear it's quiet but determined, with a dash of your dad's "I'm not angry...just disappointed").

Of course, all this leads to the labels seeking alternative online music outlets, but for the foreseeable future, they're going to have to deal with Apple being the undisputed leader in music sales. So far, the results have been favorable toward the consumer. Hopefully the trend will continue into the realm of additional benefits: lossless audio, anyone?

We know Apple and its products are on the tips of many people’s tongues these days, but just how much so? A company named Vitrue has set out to gauge the impact of certain brands in the realm of social networking: i.e., how much they’ve permeated social media like Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, etc. Vitrue’s now released its list of the top 100 most talked-about brands in the social arena.

For anybody who’s spent time on any of the Internets, the results won’t exactly bowl you over. Apple and its products secured several prominent spots on the list, with the iPhone topping the whole list. Apple itself followed closely behind in the “3” spot, neatly sandwiching CNN. The iPod is down in seventh place, after Disney, the Xbox, and Starbucks, and the Mac comes in a respectable 16th, even though it apparently lagged behind Dell and Microsoft.

Of course, it’s really just a vicious cycle when you think about it: now people will just be talking about those brands even more, keeping them up there. Yep, the rich just keeping richer.

Here at MacUser, we know who our target demographic is and we know what they want. And we think it can best be summed up in seven words: Swarovski-encrusted Elton John-signed iPod nanos.

Nailed it.

Look, you’re a discerning shopper, and as much as you like that iPod nano you got for Christmas, you’re a little worried that it’s falling short in the bling department. Maybe you should consider a trade-up that not only helps you, but helps others as well.

See, if you buy one of these Swarovski-encrusted Elton John-signed iPod nanos (I know, I know—still your beating heart), at least 12.5% of the price goes to the Elton John AIDS Foundation, which helps people around the world who are dealing with AIDS. As you might expect, they’re a little pricier than your usual iPod nano: the 8GB goes for £400 (about $565) and the 16GB model runs £450 (~$636).

But hey, hey: crystals. And a laser-engraved Elton John signature. It pays for itself, friends. Oh, and did we mention that they’re throwing in a copy of Elton’s Rocket Man: The Definitive Hit CD with each and every unit sold? Because there’s nothing like listening to “I Guess That’s Why They Call it the Blues” on your crystal-garnished baby blue iPod nano.

The iPods start shipping out on February 9th, but you can pre-order now. As with normal iPods, they come with a one-year guarantee. Come on now—you don’t want to be the only one on your block without one, right?

[via Gizmodo]

Everyone knows that the American (and more largely, the global) economy is in serious dire straits. But you wouldn't necessarily know it by walking into any of Apple's 250-odd retail stores. New data from Needham hardware analyst Charlie Wolf says that there was only 1.8 percent less foot traffic in the December quarter 2008 versus the end of year 2007.

But here's the rub: most of those shoppers are walking out empty-handed. Wolf notes that same-store revenue dropped 17.4 percent during the period, year-over-year. "Shoppers were not in a spending mood," Wolf told the financial magazine Barron's .

But the worst part is, wrote reporter Mark Veverka, that this malaise in Apple Stores "[is] a harbinger of depressing news for the entire electronics food chain."

Wolf told the magazine that he estimates Apple Stores averaged sales of about $4,700 per square foot in 2008 (the typical store is about 6,000 square feet), which he said is "undoubtedly the highest among retail chains in the country." Other old reliable mall stalwarts like Cheesecake Factory pale in comparison, coming in at around $920 per square foot. 

Perhaps Apple will have better luck at one of its newer overseas locations, like Paris?

[via Alley Insider and Blogging Stocks]

Apple’s been running the Insomnia Film Festival competition for the last few years, encouraging students to create 3-minute films in just 24 hours for a chance to win fabulous prizes. Unfortunately, it appears that the most recent event won’t be happening.

Don’t expect to find news about it on the web, though—as Infinite Loop reports, Apple’s simply disappeared the page, lock, stock, and barrel. TUAW reported back in November that the competition had been postponed due to issues with servers, and apparently they weren’t able to reschedule. The company reportedly sent an email to those who had already registered with a message to that very effect, with the added assurance that there would be other opportunities to demonstrate their creative efforts.

Oh well, sad as it is that students won’t have a chance to walk away with Apple hardware or software, look at the brightside: nobody really wants insomnia, right?

The Macalope’s wondering if there isn’t something weird about Apple faring so well while others are doing so poorly. But, whatever the reason, let’s get our kicks in while we can—it's not like they're undeserved. And who loves unfounded rumors? Well, we all do, of course!

Sliders

Crazy times, huh? Layoffs from Microsoft, Starbucks, AOL, Yahoo—it’s like a parade of the darlings of the 1990s. Well, more like a walk of shame than a parade, really.

Ten years ago, who would have thought that Apple would be propping up AT&T’s numbers during a huge economic downturn? Apple, after managing to simply survive the economic boom of the 1990s, has flourished ever since, while much of the rest of the industry has struggled.

The Macalope doesn’t have a point here, but to those who were Mac users during the 1990s, isn’t this weird?

You know, it’s quite possible that sometime during the Amelio years we slipped into an alternate timeline. Has anyone looked into that? Are there any physicists in the audience?

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