It's Showtime

Or so reads the message on Apple's iTunes Music Store. It appears Apple's preparing to introduce movie downloads immediately via its iTunes service.

That's amazing. Not so much the technology as it's Apple's that's the first major provider to the market with movie downloads. How did Microsoft let itself get beaten, again?

I've had a wonderful Windows Media Center Edition PC for two years, now. But where's the option to download major motion pictures?

It's in iTunes, now, that's where it is!

UPDATE: Apple's done it. iTunes 7, announced and released today, includes feature-length motion pictures from Walt Disney, Miramax, Pixar and Touchstone Pictures. Movies will run $9.99 to $14.99. They'll work on existing iPods as well as a slew of new units introduced today. In addition, Apple revealed it will introduce an 802.11 wireless iTV device enabling users to stream movies and music from Macs and Windows systems to television sets. While Amazon introduced downloadable movies last week, it doesn't offer the ability to mate movies simply with portable devices, as does Apple's setup. Yet again, Apple is creating a revolutionary new market.