Yesterday we posted some first impressions of the Mac App Store by a list of some of the finest software developers around. Overnight we’ve had more responses from more superb developers, so here for your reading pleasure are their initial thoughts about the Store and what it means for their business.

Overall the mood is positive, but uncertain. There are still many questions to be answered. Almost all the devs we’ve spoken to are keen to get started, but not quite sure yet how they’re going to make it all come together.

(And to all the developers who took part, providing comment for this post and yesterday’s, Cult of Mac would like to say a big, big thank you. You people rock.)

Despite a massive lion lurking in the background of the press invite for today’s event, the big news didn’t have much to do with OS X 10.7 (now officially “Lion”); instead, the big news was about the new MacBook Air pair, the Mac App Store, FaceTime for Mac — and iLife ’11

In fact, iLife almost stole the thunder from the later “one more thing” MacBook Air announcement. And for good reason: There’re some really impressive features included in this round of what is quite possibly the best software suite to ever come standard on a manufacturer’s entire product line.

With his usual fanfare, Steve Jobs has just strutted onto the stage at Apple’s own Cupertino headquarters for today’s Back to the Mac event.

Steve’s looking confident, and he has every reason to be with $50 billion in the bank. The big question is, what will Apple be announcing today to add to the corporate coffers? iLife ’11 and OS X 10.7 are definites, as is a new MacBook Air… but could we also see a Verizon iPhone, refreshed MacBooks and maybe the slam dunk of a totally new product that Apple has somehow managed to keep completely secret by the end of the next hour and a half?

Place your bets in the comments, but best do it quick: Steve’s about to open his mouth, and that’s when the bets begin to close, one by one.

[image via Engadget]

In just a few hours, Apple will announce a new version of OS X, and will almost certainly unveil new MacBook Airs and new versions of iLife/iWork. But we’re wondering if they won’t reveal one more thing: a social media network with the goal of creating millions of home-based Apple Genii at its core.

The conventional hard disk drive may be going the way of the floppy disk, a retirement accelerated by Apple’s increasing use of flash memory in such popular devices as the iPad. Hard drive maker Western Digital could see shipments for netbooks and inexpensive laptops fall by 10 to 20 percent, the company CEO told reporters Tuesday.

CEO John Coyne told analysts investors should take a longer view about his industry in words meant to reassure a nervous Wall Street. “What I would say to investors is to look at the long-term demand for storage, the fact is the most appropriate solution for mass volume storage is hard drives and to look at the long-term progress the industry has made over the last 10 years,” he said in a call.

This Wednesday, Apple holds a media event in Cupertino entitled “Back To The Mac.” As soon as they sent out the invitations, the internet started frothing with rumors. What will OS X 10.7 look like? Will there be a new MacBook Air? Will my iPad finally make coffee? The list of apple rumors is tremendous. Vegas odds makers are even taking bets on what Apple will unveil during the announcement.

I think the New York Times bits blog described the frantic Apple rumor mongering best:

When Apple makes an announcement about a coming press event it can sometimes feel like the National Hurricane Center has identified a new hurricane.

There is usually rampant speculation surrounding the importance and impact of the event: Will it be a Category 5 announcement with a revolutionary device, or a less-important Category 1, with basic updates to operating systems or gadgets?

Keeping with this tradition, the blogosphere was in full swing on Friday as technology experts and Apple fans tried to guess what Apple’s chief executive will announce next Wednesday when the company hosts “a sneak peek of the next major version of Mac OS X,” and other new products.

And this isn’t a new phenomenon. This happens Every. Single. Time.

I wanted to know why. How can a computer company create such a frenzied pitch about a routine product announcement? And what can other companies learn from the Apple method? After looking at Apple product launch and product development strategies, I have come up with a few deductions. Here are some of the secrets that make Apple fans incredibly loyal and the press keenly interested in Mac product updates.

Check out the great graphic below from designer Spencer Caldwell. It shows the screen sizes of Apple’s full lineup of machines — and where the rumored 11-inch MacBook Air will slot in.

Look how neatly it slots into the lineup. It’s pretty stunning. It’s almost like there was a hole just begging to be filled with a 11.6-inch machine.

Want to pick yourself up one of Sanho’s amazing HyperMac batteries, which will allow you to recharge your MacBook, iPhone or iPad for dozens or even hundreds of hours on a single charge?

Well, better get moving: Sanho has just sent out a notice saying that they will soon stop selling their line of HyperMac products due to their current legal woes with Apple.

We start out with a variety of deals. First up is a neoprene sleeve for your iPhone for just $3.29. The sleeve protects your investment against water and includes a fold-over enclosure. Next up is a 2.8GHz Core 2 Duo MacBook Pro with a 15-inch screen and three years of AppleCare for $1,849. Speaking of AppleCare, Expercom has a two-year AppleCare Protection Plan for your 13.3-inch MacBook Pro, MacBook or MacBook Air for $169.

Along the way we also check out number of applications for your iPad, iPhone or iPod touch, including ESPN Scorecenter XL for your tablet, Monster Mayhem for your iPhone and Rocketeer. As always, details on these and many other items (like Apple’s Magic Mouse) can be found at CoM’s “Daily Deals” page after the jump.

File this one under ‘seeing is believing.’ A rumor is spreading Friday morning from China that a speculated 7-inch iPad is “a finished product.” While Shanzai.com cites only talkative suppliers, the web site claims the supposed device looks more like an iPhone 4 than an iPad.

In order to prevent another iPhone 4-like prototype disaster, Apple has five different designs floating around to prevent anyone blabbing, according to the site. This isn’t the first time we’ve heard about a planed smaller iPad. In August, the Chinese-based Economic Daily News reported a smaller and lighter iPad was being considered by the Cupertino, Calif. consumer electronics maker. The most recent report, however, by Digitimes, suggested a second-generation iPad could appear the second-quarter of 2011. The new tablet device would retain the original 9.7-inch screen, but add a front-facing camera already used by the iPhone 4. The report claimed this iPad model was in “advanced testing stages.”