In a week from now we may potentially see a new line of iPods from Apple.

It has been confirmed that Apple will have a press conference scheduled on the 9th Sept 08 to unveil “unspecified new products”.

The event has been themed “Let’s rock” and some believe that Apple will launch a new generation of iPods and possibly a price cut to be more competitive in today’s market.

Last month, Digg cofounder Kevin Rose predicted that the following could be some of Apple’s announcement:

- Revamp of the entire iPod Line
- Cosmetic changes to Touch but Nano will have a significant change (the above picture is taken from his blog)
- Price drops to separate the iPod from the iPhone
- new iTunes (version 8.0)

What is unclear is whether Apple will release any updates to their MacBook line.

In an anticipated move, Google has finally announced that they will indeed be releasing a web browser of its own. Called Google Chrome, it will be available to download on Tuesday (US time, so we wait a day). The first version will run on Windows only environment, but Google said that they are currently working on Mac and Linux versions.

This news comes a week after Microsoft announced a test version for IE8 (I’m using it now, and its a bit buggy, but works decently).

Google took command with it’s search engine, and slowly got its audience to some of their other products, such as – Google Docs, an online version of the alternative Micrsoft Office. Obviously this seems more appealing with the fact that your documents are online and hence accessible from any computer with an internet connection. However, personally, I don’t really like the interface and prefer Office any day.

But Google hasn’t always been successful in this approach – the Google IM or Google Talk hasn’t come anywhere close to the services of MSN and Yahoo.

On the flip side, Microsoft have had a tough year themselves – the Yahoo buy out fell through and they have invested a good amount of money in various companies, more recently at Ciao. Plus on a non-online topic, they are slashing Xbox 360 prices to be competitive against Nintendo Wii.

Microsoft’s response to Google Chrome was – “The browser landscape is highly competitive, but people will choose Internet Explorer 8 for the way it puts the services they want right at their fingertips … and, more than any other browsing technology, puts them in control of their personal data online,” said Dean Hachamovitch, General Manager of Internet Explorer (what a job title!).

So the question is, where to from now for both companies on the browser competition? While Microsoft has a market share of 75% using IE, where will Google’s Chrome come in?

UPDATE: You can now download Google Chrome from the official website – http://www.google.com/chrome

I came across this article, on The Big Chair, that was written earlier this year – and I laughingly agree with Conrad Walters on this following extract from the article:

10 things that won’t change in 2008

1. Google will still have access to more information about you than your mother has.
2. The DVD drive on your computer will still be ideal for holding your first cup of coffee while Windows Vista loads.
3. Internet filters will still require children to help their parents view the websites they want.
4. Spammers will still exploit the inverse relationship that exists between IQ and greed.
5. Social networking sites will still be the best place for identity thieves to refine their craft.
6. People will still visit Second Life trying to discover if there’s something to do other than to see if there’s something to do.
7. YouTube will still be the definitive source for guidance on how to train cats to flush a toilet.
8. Mobile phones will still come with a choice of 200 ring tones, none of which anyone wants.
9. Broadband in rural Australia will still involve paper cups and string.
10. Video iPod users will still squint into postage-stamp screens and convince themselves they’ve enjoyed watching something.