Do you remember WebM? It was the video compression technology Google spontaneously announced early last year as an open, free alternative to the H.264 codec, used by Apple in every video shown on the iPhone, iPod and iPad.

Despite the fact that Google said that this was completely free, and H.264 is technically subject to a number of royalty fees, uptake on WebM has been pretty slow. Steve Jobs himself thought it was such a non-starter that all he did was link to a screed against WebM that argued that it was just a slight variation on the H.264 codec, and well covered by MPEG-LA’s patent pool… something that was likely to get Google sued.

Well, here comes the lawsuit.

One of the perpetual complaints levied at Apple over the years is the fact that iTunes is a bloated mess of an app that tries to do too many things at once to maintain Apple-style elegance.

No doubt Apple would love to address these concerns, but what it would take is a complete overhaul and rewriting of the software from the ground-up. Give how much of Apple’s business links into iTunes — everything from apps, to music purchases, to iBooks, to iPhone, iPod and iPad syncing — that’s a prohibitive task.

A prohibitive task, according to reports, that Apple’s already in the thick of.

Hey there, true Beliebers! You know who jailbreaks? No less a personage than Mr. Justin Bieber, that chart-topping iTunes artist!

Do you feel like you have to be just a huge honking moron to use Internet Explorer instead of a superior browser like Safari, Chrome or Firefox? That might not just be hyperbole: a new study has found that the IQ of people using IE is lower than the average of those using competing browsers.

Don’t expect another Nokia-like settlement in Apple’s current legal wrangles with HTC and Samsung. The Cupertino, Calif. tech giant could convert courtroom victories to market gains over Android worth more than $30 billion a year, argues one analyst.

AT&T has just slashed $98.99 off the price of Apple’s iPhone 3GS allowing you to purchase the device for as little as one cent. There is a catch, however. A device that cheap will come with a few warts.

Apple’s new MacBook Air models don’t ship with OS X Lion on a USB thumb drive like they used to. That diminutive little white wedge of flash storage is gone, no where to be found inside of the box that these computers ship in. If you want one, you’ll need to pay Apple $69 for the privilege in August.

That’s a potentially big problem for some users. Yesterday, I found this out the hard way after an attempt to install Mac OS X Lion onto a 32GB Class 10 SDHC card failed. Apple’s failure to ship their new Macs with any media can leave you with a hosed Recovery HD partition, and a potentially lengthy fix may be the only way to get it back.

Following last week’s discovery of a white iPod touch digitizer in Asia, it now seems these parts are making their way around the globe — even appearing in the United States. One gentleman on the East Coast has managed to get his hands on a white iPod touch display for his fourth-generation device, but was it made by Apple?

Too lazy to do your chores or errands? Willing to pay some cash to crowd source it? Meet TaskRabbit, a collaborative service that allows you to post up things you don’t really want to do, along with how much you’re willing to pay for them to get done, and then get a willing stranger to show up at your door to do them.

As you stare lovingly at your new MacBook Air before you go to bed tonight, caressing its smooth aluminum shell, know this: its Thunderbolt port is inferior when compared to that of its cousins.

Apple may not be the world’s largest computer maker, but a growing number of reports put the Cupertino, Calif. iPhone company as the largest global smartphone manufacturer, topping beleaguered cell phone giant Nokia.

Frustrated by Apple’s reticence to release a Mac with a built-in 3G modem for everywhere internet connectivity? Don’t sweat it, Apple may have something else in mind: Super WiFi that would allow your MacBook to connect with your Time Capsule from up to 62 miles away.

Best of all? That tech just got one step closer to reality.

The iPhone 5’s rumored September release isn’t far away now, and as we enjoy a number of case leaks and photos of the device (purportedly) in the wild, carriers are beginning to prepare themselves for its launch. AT&T has reportedly begun communicating launch plans to its staff, but Korean carrier KT has even started listing the device in its system.

Having watched Mark Malkoff’s hilarious video earlier this week, we now know it’s possible to have a pizza delivered to your local Apple store, take your pet goat to check out the latest Mac minis, and get your iPhone repaired while you’re dressed as Darth Vadar. But will a real Apple store help you troubleshoot your knockoff MacBook Air?

This is one in China did!

Apple sold 9.2 million iPads in the last business quarter of 2011, and the company’s CFO even went on record to say that Apple is selling “every iPad we can make.” This has been evidenced by the delayed shipping times for the iPad 2 since its release, with the tablet finally receiving a normal online shipping estimation only a couple weeks ago.

To contrast the iPad’s unprecedented success in the consumer tablet market, the Motorola Xoom shipped 440,000 units last quater. And, no, “ship” does not mean “sold.”

With more and more Mac apps gaining compatibility with OS X Lion, Microsoft’s widely popular Office suite for the Mac is the next in line. MacNN is reporting that Microsoft is hard at work implementing Lion features like Auto Save, Versions, and full-screen mode in Office 2011.

Apple’s own iWork productivity suite has already been updated with these Lion-specific features, and Microsoft aims at adding these features to Office in the coming months.

There’s nothing quite like the bliss of simply plugging a gadget into a slot and being rewarded with superb performance; and if the gadget happens to exude raw sex appeal, even better. Sounds familiar, right? Because that pretty much describes Apple’s entire lineup. It’s also a perfect description for the dynamic Samson Meteor Mic ($99).

Hold on to your hats, because the iPhone 5 may have just been spotted in the wild, again. In classic fashion, an anonymous tipster has snagged a not-so-clear picture of what he claims to be Apple’s next iPhone.

Taken in San Francisco, this picture is of an alleged Apple employee on his way home from work. The tipster in question feels very strongly that the device in the employee’s hands is an iPhone 5, and he just may be right.

The MacBook Air has ushered in a new era of powerful netbooks that function more like prosumer computers. In our review of Apple’s latest 2011 MacBook Air, it’s obvious that the Air now packs a punch and accompanying price tag that most notebooks of similar size haven’t been able to dream of for years.

The PC market is looking to level the playing field between the Air and its competition, with Intel announcing a new platform called the “Ultrabook.” The Ultrabook is the PC industry’s proposed MacBook Air killer, but these upcoming notebooks will also have an ultra-price tag that’s higher than the Air’s. Apple’s entry-level MacBook Air retails for $999.

Did you know that in OS X Lion you can get a quick dictionary definition of any word with a simple trackpad gesture? In the past, you would have to look up a definition in Spotlight or through a right click menu.

In Lion, a quick definition is as easy as a three-finger double tap on your trackpad. Just mouse over any word and perform the gesture; a nice little, translucent window should pop up with a definition. No more Google searches when you’re typing in a word processor!

Hey, guess what! In just a few months, AT&T’s going to start throttling your iPhone’s 3G speeds if they think you use too much data, just like Verizon already does… even if you’re an unlimited data subscriber! Aren’t mobile companies just grand?

Just a few days after rumors started springing up that Apple intended on buying streaming video service (and Netflix competitor) Hulu comes an even odder rumors, courtesy of BGR: Apple is in talks to buy Barnes & Noble out from under them. What?

We’ve already shown you here at Cult of Mac how to nuke Lion’s LaunchPad and Start over, but what if you don’t want to go to such extreme measures? Instead, what if you just want to remove or add a few different apps to LaunchPad, without starting from scratch?

It’s easy, thanks to Andreas Ganske’s Launchpad-Control. Here’s how it works.

If you’d like a glimpse into the Apple Store 2.0 concept, drop by the tech giant’s new Americana at Brand location opening this weekend in Glendale, Calif. Just a stone’s throw from Apple’s Glendale Galleria site, the 14,000 square-foot site makes it one of the iPad maker’s largest mall storefronts.

Reader Pascal Beausoleil pointed us to a cool (and, we think, new) easter egg in OS X Lion.

If you go to System Preferences > Users you can change your OS X default user icon to a vinyl record… but what are the track titles on that record? If you like Steve Jobs’ keynotes and his unique, shouted catchphrases, you’ll absolutely love this…