When Daniel Ek, CEO and co-founder of music service site Spotify, spoke at SXSW Interactive, the audience was anxiously awaiting an announcement of a launch date for the service in the U.S.  Unfortunately, no such date was given.  Though Ek did confirm that Spotify is working on a U.S. launch and is going through the agreements and process necessary to enter the market and that there will be service in this country. 

This coming monday, January 11th 2010, the submission period for the SIGGRAPH 2010Computer Animation Festival will begin.  This five day event has been going on for the past 36 years, and it showcases the latest and greatest in everything computer generated.  From animation to special effects, to digital rendering; they've got it all, and they're looking for digital animation professionals to showcase their best work. If you've got a knack for digital animation, and can make it to the Los Angeles area this coming July, this competition might be worth looking into.

All the hype for Apple's anticipated tablet has been very popular with shareholders at the NYSE. Apple Inc.'s closing price went to $211.61 today, a 1.23% increase over the record high set on Thursday. This news arrived coupled with Brokerage firm Thomas Weisel raising its first quarter estimate for Apple's share price, raising to $3.55 from $3.36. The firm was impressed by strong demand for iPhones and iMacs.

Of course, Apple holds several trademark names that were never used, and the tablet has been worked on and shelved before. Bilton also wrote that "A former Apple employee, whose name appears on numerous Apple patents, worked on an Apple tablet five years ago and recently told me when the first version of the tablet was shelved by Steve Jobs, a lot of the technology made it into other devices." Meanwhile, Susie Pan wrote in Digitimes that "Apple has been seeking solutions to strengthen the glass of the 10-inch panel for the device and was forced to delay the launch until first-quarter 2010, the sources noted." This is a logical step, as the tablet will have no protective clamshell. Its screen will always be exposed, and the industrial design requires inventive measures to prevent against damage.

Many hints have dropped in the last few days about Apple Inc's rumored tablet PC, but nothing is yet written in stone. Companies associated with Apple have made several telling moves, such as trademarking the name "iSlate", preparing large scale production and shipping on 10-inch glass panels, and renting a stage at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco for several days in late January. What does Apple have to say about this?

It is always cool to see different mediums inspire each other. In a new series called Project Song,  the folks at NPR challenge musicians to take a photograph and record a song about it in two days. Talk about a time crunch!

The Royal Opera House in London is bring opera into the world of online social networking. They have put a call out to their followers for tweets, which they are assembling  into an opera. So far the production includes several talking cats from the looks of it...