After a few sources, we can now say (though it is still unconfirmed, thus it is still a rumour) what is the Macbook Brick is! It is just a block of high-quality, aircraft grade aluminium; and is the beginning of a brand new thing at Apple.

And no, the brick is not the actual product; and so is the Macbook Brick. Wait, if it’s not a product, what is it? Well, you have to click the “Read More” link to find out.

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The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said that it will be investigating whether a false report that Apple’s CEO Steve Job had a heart attack was a deliberate attempt to push down the company’s stock price.

The story, which appeared on CNN’s iReport, a citizen journalist website, claimed that the Apple co-founder had been rushed to a local emergency room following the “major heart attack”; following a series of rumours of Steve Jobs’ health after he underwent treatment for pancreatic cancer in 2004, and a more recent struggle with nutrition, according to AppleInsider, that has contributed to his visible weight loss.

Apple representative Steve Dowling has denied the report, saying that it was “not true”. In addition, CNN spokeswoman Jennifer Martin told Bloomberg that the content published on iReport is “entirely user-generated,” and once the community alerted CNN, “the fraudulent content was removed from the site and the user’s account was disabled."

The company’s stock price fell to $97.07, losing 3 percent, at closing time. It earlier fell to $94.65, after the news was reported. This is the first time since May 2007 that Apple has traded below $100.

The recent performance of its stock has been declining since the middle of August, even though the company is breaking records and its products, especially the iPhone and iPod product line, are proving more popular. The declining stock value is due to the financial crisis that is affecting all companies.

CNN is cooperating with the Securities and Exchange Commission with its investigation, handing over the details of the user who posted the story.

Steve Ballmer, confirmed today that the Zune software will be coming to the Windows Mobile Platform.
“the Zune software will also be ported to and be more important not just with the hardware but on the PC, on Windows Mobile devices, etc.”

This was confirmed in an interview with CIO Magazine

Over at UNEASYsilence, they have succeeded into Running OS X 10.5.5 on a Dell Mini. They used a patched OS X install disk and installed it without the problem. Its reported than Wireless, Sound and Webcam works perfectly after some quick mods to the system. Head over here, to see more information.

You can now use VoIP and Skype without jailbreaking your iPhone, thanks to Fring, a free mobile Voice-over-IP service, after releasing a brand new app for the Apple’s App Store. This means, basically, you can now make Skype-to-Skype calls on your iPhone.

As well as the Skype functionality, Fring will also allow you to chat (and call) your friends over on MSN, Google Talk, AIM, Yahoo, Twitter, ICQ and its own service. While there are many VoIP applications out there in the App Store, this one shows much promise, since it uses different services, including its own.

VoIP applications are allowed on the iPhone, but they cannot be used on the 3G network – since it uses too much data to travel the call. It supports both iPod Touch and iPhone, but we will have a review as soon as I find a pair of iPod ready headphones with a microphone.

Michael Calce, a.k.a. “Mafiaboy”, has written a memoir about how he managed to temporarily shut down a major handful of major websites in 2002 when he was 15 and led the FBI and Royal Canadian Mounted Police on a manhunt.

Due to hit the bookshelves next week, “Mafiaboy: How I Cracked the Internet and Why It’s Still Broken” is a tell all-book about the story of the now 23-year-old man who learned to hack from other “online rebels”, according to The National Post.

His attacks brought down several sites belonging to Yahoo, CNN, Amazon, eBay and several others for several hours in February 2000. Once found, he pleaded guilty to more than 50 charges.

Book cover from Amazon.

19 people will be fired from Gawker Media, publisher of Gizmodo and Kotaku, but he will also bring in 10 new people to work on his stronger titles (like Gizmodo and Kotaku). As well, according to Silicon Alley Insider, Gawker will also suspend its controversial page view bonus plan for the remaining writers at the beginning of 2009.

Among those cut include three of Valleywag’s 5 staffers and two from The Consumerist. Joining them, however, will be Gabriel Snyder, from W magazine, will be the new managing editor of Gawker.com. New contributors will be added to Jezebel, Deadspin, Kotaku and io9 (science fiction blog).

Is this signs of a trouble 2009 for the Web 2.0? Full memo is below.

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So iTunes doesn’t have to shut down. The U.S. Copyright Royalty Board has decided to not change the rate on royalties that music stores have to give to the record industry, which was 9.1 cents per download.

The Copyright Royalty Board basically determines the rate on how much digital stores like Apple and Amazon have to pay every time you purchase a song on their service. But yesterday, Apple threatened to shut down its popular iTunes Store if the change would go ahead.

Nintendo has officially announced the brand new Nintendo DSi, and according to our sources – it is to be 12 percent thinner. However, unlike the previous DS Lite, it will ditch the GBA slot entirely. As well, it will bring in two built-in cameras, one at the front and one at inside at the centre (with a rumour saying that one will be in VGA resolution).

Also, the new DSi will add an SD card slot and will have internal storage, but we don’t know how much; and will have new multimedia capabilities. The screen has been given an upgrade, now it is 3.25 inches; and there will be a free browser application, and a new UI. Finally, photos taken from the cameras can be synced to the Wii Photo Channel.

Nintendo is also launching a “DSi Shop”, selling content directly over Wi-Fi. Prices will be tied into Nintendo’s Nintendo Points “currency”, previously known as Wii Points; and will use 0, 200, 500 and 800-point tiers. As a bonus, you will be given 1,000 Nintendo Points until March 2010.

It is implied that it will not be competing with the Nintendo DS, however; as the company is calling it a “third platform”. It will launch on November 1, in black and white colours, and will cost ¥189,000 (US$178) in Japan.

After the jump are some images.

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A federal judge has dismissed a copyright-infringement claim filed by EMI against Michael Robertson, the founder of MP3tunes, but the company wasn’t so lucky as the judge allowed it to pursue the claims against the company that was filed in last November in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, from 14 record companies and publishers affiliated with EMI.

MP3tunes allows users to store music in “lockers”, allowing you to play your music from any Web-enabled device – thus allowing you to play music on your smartphone or laptop. EMI, however, is arguing that the company does not have any authorisation to exploit the label’s music this way.

Michael Robertson was the founder of MP3.com. However, he was forced to shut it down after the major record labels went after him in court. What was different about this case was that EMI wanted to sue him personally. MP3.com is now a web property of CBS Interactive, after acquiring CNET Networks.