Music

Must Be Santa, by Bob Dylan (single of the week)

Drivin' Steady, by Bang Data (latin single of the week)

Sun to Me (Faithless Dub), by Faithless

All I Want For Christmas Is You, by The 88 (discovery download)

Video

Heaven Can Wait, by Charlotte Gainsbourg & Beck

Preview, from Men of a Certain Age

Diplomatic Hat, from Outer Space Astronauts

Exclusive Featurette, from Inglorious Basterds

• The App Store has been redesigned to bring its design into sync with the redesign applied to the rest of the iTunes Store with the iTunes 9 update. The changes should make it easier to navigate the content in the store and on specific app pages
• Speaking of iTunes 9, Apple has now acknowledged, and is looking into, problems with syncing in iTunes 9 that cause crashes and the iPod Classic not to be recognized
• iPhone sales in China are picking up, with 100,000 sold since late October

• My Headset Isn't Working. Is My iPhone Headphone Jack Broken?
• iFunia DVD to iPod Converter Review
• How Apple Transformed Music and Our Lives
• How Do I Transfer my iTunes Music to a New Computer

It's widely known that iPhone users, with their unlimited data plans, have been straining the AT&T network for a while.This has led to service problems and PR problems (despite the iPhone being a big hit, AT&T's reputation is low) and now AT&T may be discussing ways to respond.

One idea possibly under discussion: charging users for the data they use. At least that's what the Huffington Post is reporting Ralph de la Vega, AT&T's head of consumer services, discussed this week.

It's hard to see how this a very good idea for iPhone users. It makes a lot of sense for AT&T, of course, and may help shore up its network (if bandwidth hogs are forced to reduce their usage), but this is the opposite direction we should be heading. And it's a direction that could further harm AT&T's chances for holding onto an exclusive iPhone contract or any of the millions of new customers it acquired thanks to the iPhone.

Most other developed countries offer much faster broadband speeds, without limit (or with higher limits), than the U.S. does. I'm not qualified to say why that is, but I'm guessing limiting usage of network connectivity, and charging extra to those who use more, isn't the path to closing that divide.

Also, if AT&T thinks people don't like it now, wait until iPhone bills go from an already expensive $100+/month to even more than that. The move will be especially unpopular if a large number of iPhone users are affected.

No doubt AT&T is in a tough position here, but shifting costs back to its customers - essentially punishing its most enthusiastic users - doesn't seem like a good solution.

Music

Joy to the World, by David Archuleta (single of the week)

It Ain't Christmas, by Joe (discovery download)

Bendicion, by Zeri (latin single of the week)

Video

Slow Poison, by The Bravery

I Really Don't Hate Christmas, from Phineas and Ferb

Get Your Hump on This Christmas, from The Cleveland Show

Men of a Certain Age Preview

What's My Line, from Launch My Line

Danville is Nice, from Phineas and Ferb

Christmas is Starting Now, from Phineas and Ferb

Holiday Theme Song, from Phineas and Ferb

Audiobooks

You Better Not Cry, by Augusten Burroughs (excerpt)

• Apple has removed all apps by developer Molinker from the App Store due to a scam that generated 5-star reviews. Molinker had over 1,000 apps at the Store, which is around 1% of the total of all apps in the store.
• Apple spent US$80 to buy LaLa, the music streaming service whose purchase was noted yesterday. Reportedly, the deal signals that Apple sees a big future in streaming music services.
• Frustrated with AT&T's service and coverage? Help them improve with Mark the Spot a free app that will help AT&T locate service problems

• Apple has bought the streaming music service LaLa, according to AppleInsider. The services allows users to stream music once for free, offers unlimited streams of a song for $0.10 and also sells MP3s. It's not a stretch to envision the LaLa service being rolled into a future version of iTunes.
• Will the Comcast/NBC merger block Apple's rumored US$30/month all-you-can-eat TV subscription? AppleInsider thinks so.
• Uh oh. China's largest e-commerce store has sold just 5 iPhones in two weeks.
• A security researcher has demonstrated security vulnerabilities in non-jailbroken iPhones.

Verizon, with its robust, speedy, widespread (there's a map for that, and whatnot) 3G network has long been the Apple of many iPhone users' eyes. And, it's long been assumed that Apple will let AT&T's exclusive hold on the iPhone expire in mid-2010, leading many to hope for a Verizon/iPhone deal next year. Not so fast, says analyst Shaw Wu.

In a new research note, Wu suggests that T-Mobile or Sprint are more likely matches for the iPhone in 2010. Wu cites business conflicts - Verizon's desire to have an app store that competes with Apple's, price issues - as his reason.

This note comes a day after analyst Doug Reid, of Weisel Partners, said he expects to see an iPhone running on T-Mobile in 2010.

Both reports - which are an interesting shot at the conventional wisdom; T-Mobile's never really entered this conversation before - come as a Consumer Reports survey ranked AT&T last in customer satisfaction. Tough times for Ma Bell.

Music

Candy Cane Christmas, by Darius Rucker (single of the week)

I'll Be Home for Christmas, by Katherine McPhee (discovery download)

El Hueco, by Mojarra Electrica (discovery download)

Amar y Vivir, by Tonino Carotone (latin single of the week)

Video

Right Hand Hi, by Kid Sister

Skyrunners, Part 1

Bruno clips and deleted scenes

It Might Get Loud deleted scenes

Free Ride, from Stan Lee's Timejumper

Robot Chicken Star Wars Episode II extended edition

PM Yoga, Anytime Yoga

• Apple is already testing the next-generation iPhone, according to website traffic logs. No big surprise; expect to see the new phone next year sometime.
• Looking to save some cash on a iPhone 3GS this holiday season? AT&T is selling refurbished models at about a US$50 discount.
• Steve Jobs has personally intervened to get a streaming video app approved. OK, seriously: if this whole system weren't already obviously ridiculously broken, the fact that the CEO of this major company had to step in and handle this indicates that the App Store approval system needs to be completely re-engineered.