What Will Steve Jobs Say At Macworld?

With the Macworld keynote mere days away, the Mac-o-sphere is falling over itself to make "Stevenote" predictions, trying perhaps in vain to anticipate what the fearless leader of the Mac faithful will unveil in San Francisco.

Macworld rumors fly as fast as ones about baseball players and steroids (albeit with less malice) and everything from updates to revolutionary breakthroughs have been objects of speculation.

Will there be an updated iPhone? Will Apple actually launch a miniature notebook or a tablet PC? Will there be deals with Blu-Ray or Hollywood movie studios? What about that docking station that someone is trying to get a patent for that looks like a giant monitor with a slot in the back to insert your laptop?

In a confusing and unprecedented move just a few days ago, Apple brought out its next generation Mac Pro and Xserve server products, updated with Intel Core Duo processors that can bring users up to eight cores of computing power, leaving some to speculate that the move was made to free up Jobs to talk about other things.

That then leaves the door wide open for new, flashy hardware like that tablet or ultra-portable notebook to take center stage. The iPod was just updated, so changes to that are unlikely, but updates to iTunes and to the latest Mac OS could be on the horizon. Some think G3 iPhones capable of transmitting data at higher speeds than today's iPhones are likely going to be announced, but others think the idea is far-fetched considering the product is only six months old and still selling like hotcakes. The jury is out on whether Apple's underperforming Apple TV will get a makeover next year.

Unfortunately, only Mr. Jobs himself knows what he will say on Tuesday. Well, Jobs and a handful of loyal followers who've signed non-disclosure agreements and don't want to bite the hand that feeds them, leaving the world to wait with baited breath for Jobs to reveal where Apple is steering them next.