TDL Live This week: (10/20-10/27)

Get your Tuesday started right with this recap of Apple news and rumors:

While We're Waiting For The Apple Announcements

Looking for something to tide you over until Apple announces the shiny new products of the day? Well, here's your chance to get caught up on all our logical, and illogical (Apple Store within a Store at Walmart) prognostications for today's announcements and beyond:

Just a few hours to go

Apple's latest stop-the-tech-world, we have something to say event kicks off at 1PM ET /10AM PT. We will have live reaction and take your iChats (tdllive) at 2pm ET.

Whatever Happens Tomorrow, the Air's Days Are Numbered

Will the "brick" revolutionize laptop production? Will it dramatically lower prices? Will it simply be an incremental upgrade to existing MacBook line? Whatever we see tomorrow, one thing is increasingly clear: The MacBook Air's days are numbered.

That's not to say there's anything inherently wrong with the Air as we know it today. The fact is though, at some point, (perhaps even this week) the features, weight, and thinness of a full-fledged Apple laptop with DVD drive and full array of ports will rival the portability of the Air.

Apple has previously patented a system of folding ports, which would seem to address the issue of offering more peripheral functionality in a smaller space. And at a time when the 1.8" drive used in the iPod is being produced at up to 250GB, and the cost of solid state drives continues to fall, there's no reason a full-features MacBook can't be thinner than it is today.

The MacBook Air is a transitional product, It is able to fill a gap in the product lineup until technology catches up, and allows for far more computing versatility in a smaller space. It's demise might just be a lot sooner than any of us realize.

Dither Me This: Apple Settles Display Lawsuit

As first reported by Appleinsider.com, Apple has settled a lawsuit brought by two photographers, regarding Apple's claim of millions of colors on the MacBook and MacBook Pros. So how many colors were there? Can't we just count them? Well, yes and no.

Essentially, the suit claims Apple reached the millions of colors through a process called dithering. Essentially, pixels next to each other that were two different colors could be used to give the look of a third, separate color.  No big deal, you say? Well, it can be to a photographer, which is probably why this wasn't thrown out.

Color accuracy at the pixel level is an essential for a professional photographer. Admittedly, I've never looked at a photo, and pointed out a flaw in a single pixel, but I see the point.

What does this mean to you? Well as a class action suit, this case may very well end in some sort reparation to all MacBook and MBP buyers. Don't quit those day jobs just yet. If history is our guide, this will most likely end with a discount on Apple hardware/software. Hmmm... Aperture anyone. Our prediction: a $50 off Aperture coupon. You heard it here first.