So what's in the cards for this "special music event" that Apple's throwing next week? Guesses are running wild, ranging from 60 GB video-enabled iPods to a surprise settlement with the Beatles to Steve Jobs being named the fourth vocalist for the new all-barbershop incarnation of Van Halen. But only two major predictions seem likely enough to attract bets from the smart money: the launch of the pan-European iTunes Music Store (which Apple just last week said was "on track" for a late October debut) and a special edition U2 iPod, probably with an iTMS gift certificate to allow the free download of U2's new album. (In hindsight, the previously-cited Forbes article claiming that the music would be preloaded on the iPod itself was sort of silly; several faithful viewers have pointed out that if the music were preloaded, the average user would never be able to get the U2 music off the iPod and into iTunes. As happy iPodRip users, we'd completely forgotten that, in normal circumstances, the iPod is a one-way device when it comes to music transfer.)

But wait, there's plenty more where that came from! If the Euro iTMS indeed gets intro'd, it may have a bit of company when it hops up on stage next Tuesday; faithful viewer David Triska forwarded us an AppleInsider article about how the Australian Financial Review "confidently claims" that "Apple will launch its long-awaited iTunes Music Store in Australia in the next few weeks." Reportedly licensing negotiations with the Aussie record labels are just about complete, and Apple is considering selling songs for $.99 Australian, which is about 27 percent cheaper than in the U.S. (and, incidentally, roughly 32 percent below Apple's alleged break-even price). So if Apple's so close to getting things off the ground down under, an Aussie iTMS launch next week alongside the expanded European coverage makes perfectly good sense-- especially in light of other companies trying to beat Apple to market in as-yet-unclaimed territories. Those competitors are crafty little scrappers, boy howdy; faithful viewer wolfie notes that Asahi Shimbun is reporting that MSN Music just launched over there in Japan, with a mere 50,000 songs in its catalog, but a solid head start over Apple in the Land of the Rising Sun.

Meanwhile, whispers of imminent iTMS expansionism into far-flung lands aren't the only rumors to be gaining traction as Tuesday draws nearer. Remember that analyst who recently insisted that, because of info from his sources in Asia, he was dead certain that Apple would ship a low-end, driveless iPod in time for the holidays? Well, he's still at it; The Mac Observer reports that Jason Pflaum of Thomas Weisel has once again assured his clients of his "confidence" that Apple has signed up chipmaker SigmaTel to provide a whole mess o' controller chips for Apple's "new flash-based player" that "will come out by the end of the year." And since the end of the year is only ten weeks away, and (according to the decorations at the mall, anyway) we're already firmly ensconced in the holiday shopping season, next week's music event is probably the latest the company could introduce this alleged flash-based 'Pod and still make a decent-sized splash with them before Santa goes back into hibernation for another year. Assuming Apple would ever ship a low-capacity 'Pod in the first place, of course.

So there you have it: two more music-related rumors to consider as Apple's Super U2sday fast approaches. Personally, we're still holding out hope that we'll get to hear some nice a cappella four-part vocal harmonies on "Jump" between Uncle Steve, brothers Eddie and Alex, and that Mike guy with the bass, but if we get an Aussie iTMS launch and a $99 iPod micro instead, we suppose we'll deal with the disappointment somehow.

Calling all freaks! Oh, sorry, that may have been insensitive; the folks looking for the freaks went a slightly more euphemistic route by asking for "unique/interesting people." So if you're unique and/or interesting (or heck, even downright freakish-- we're all family, here), listen up, because this could be your ticket to stardom, and not just as the top-billed sideshow attraction on the local carny circuit. If you're unique and/or interesting in a particularly well-suited fashion, you just might wind up on a nationally-televised TV commercial! Which, okay, sure, is just another freak show, but the exposure is a lot wider and we hear the pay is at least marginally better. Usually.

Here's the what: faithful viewer Frozen Tundra tipped us off to a MacMinute blurb about a casting call that was posted to the L.A. craigslist last week. "Are you addicted to iTunes? Do you take your iPod everywhere?" it asks. If so, and you also happen to be a dancer, performer, or "uniquely talented person," the CinemaFactory thinks you might have what it takes to be featured in "an upcoming non-union commercial shooting in early November in Los Angeles." If you're interested, you have until next Wednesday the 27th to send your résumé and headshot to itunes@cinemafactory.com.

Now, since the posting subject indicates that this is indeed an "iTunes commercial" and not an ad for some third-party adjunct product or something like that, we have a sneaking suspicion that you'll have a better chance of being chosen if your headshot is taken against a solid bright-colored background after spray-painting your entire head jet black. But if you're silhouettically-challenged or are otherwise uncomfortable with submitting a photograph of yourself to a group of people without a stated privacy policy, they say you should "feel free to email a brief written statement describing your iTunes/iPod story." We should note, however, that people caught plagiarizing their pithy iPodal anecdotes from Apple's Switch site will be immediately sold to a roadside tourist trap somewhere in America's Backwaters™. So keep it real. Or if not real, then at least original.

If you're up for the gig, good luck to you-- keep us posted on how it goes. It's sort of a shame that the AtAT compound is all the way over here on the other coast, actually, because we just happen to have a staff member who, at the tender age of two and a half, possesses the unique ability to stand on her head (and only her head) up against a wall while waving both arms slowly up and down and saying "seeeeeaaaaa guuuulllllll!" Granted, it's not actually iPod/iTunes-related, but it's truly a wonder to behold. Ah, well; maybe the next freak talent search will be within a reasonable driving distance. Because, you know, if Apple televises thirty seconds of this and slaps an Apple logo on the screen at the end, we guarantee a doubling of market share within six months. None can resist the siren song of the Mighty Upside-Down Seagull.

Horror of horrors-- slightly off-topic disaster has struck in Supercomputerland! You know how excited we were to report that NEC's hoity-toity Earth Simulator in Japan will finally be put in its place when the next TOP500 rankings are released in a couple of weeks? To refresh your memory, the Earth Simulator has topped the performance list for years, now, and by a ridiculously wide margin; on the current list, the Earth Simulator's 35.86 teraflops positively spanks the second-place finisher, Lawrence Livermore's 19.94 teraflops. But all that's about to change, because IBM's PowerPC-packin' BlueGene/L prototype recently scored 36.01 teraflops, which edges ol' Earthy out of the top spot by the whisker of a smidgen. Hooray for PowerPC and all that, right?

But according to faithful viewer Shawn Kucera, Japan and NEC haven't gone down without a fight; The Register reports that they've "trumped US computer makers once again by announcing a new supercomputer that destroys previous performance marks." How much of a performance difference justifies the use of the word "destroys," you ask? Well, the SX-8 (Son of Earth Simulator) apparently has a peak performance of 65 teraflops, compared to its predecessor's 40. Note that this is theoretical "peak" performance, and not an actual measured benchmark; still, using the efficiency of the Earth Simulator as a guideline, when it spits out a real value, the SX-8 ought to score somewhere in the 57 teraflop neighborhood-- which very likely will "destroy" BlueGene/L's performance, since BlueGene/L's peak rating is 45.88 teraflops, which is known in technical terms as "a lot less."

However, there's no reason to finalize your will and start penning a "Goodbye Cruel World" note just yet; interestingly, NEC hasn't released any measured benchmarks from SX-8, so its claimed lead in the teraflop race is still entirely theoretical. And since no scores have been reported, it's also not clear to us that the SX-8 will even qualify for inclusion in the next TOP500 list, so there's a slim chance that BlueGene/L may have six months at the top of the heap anyway. On top of that, The Reg notes that, while SX-8 is 25 percent smaller and consumes 50 percent less power than the Earth Simulator, it's still way behind BlueGene/L when it comes to space and energy efficiency. And last but nowhere near least, let's not forget that the BlueGene/L prototype that snuck past the Earth Simulator's best score is only a fraction of the final planned system; when the whole thing gets finished next year, IBM claims it'll score a whopping 360 teraflops-- well over five times SX-8's current theoretical peak.

So relax; the PowerPC will eventually capture the top spot-- if not next month, then next year. On a side note, we notice that-- according to page 54 of the latest Dongarra Report-- Virginia Tech's G5 cluster has managed to eke out another fifth of a teraflop, racking up 12.25 of 'em with the next TOP500 rankings right around the corner. That's still fifth place, but a darn fine showing for such a low-cost cluster-- and decent bragging rights for the PowerPC and Apple.