Analysts at investment bank Morgan Stanley have upgraded Apple to an “overweight” investment, a positive move, due to hot prospects for the new iPhone over the next 18 months.

It’s road trip time again, and that means I need to scrunch another bunch of movies and cartoons for playback on our family’s iPod touch and iPod nano—gotta keep the kiddies transfixed. Here are four AVI to MP4 conversion solutions that will get that job done with varying degrees of speed and finesse, one of which is sure to meet your technical and budgetary needs.

With the permission of the movie studios, our favorite fruit company expanded its iTunes Store movie offerings on Thursday, though fans will definitely be paying a bit extra for the convenience of not leaving the comfort of their couch.

The patent watchers have been at it again. This time they have come up with an Apple patent that may presage a Wii-like device for Apple TV.

The Apple TV is a closed sandbox. Even when ordering, your only options are how much capacity the integrated hard drive has—40 ($229) or 160 gigabytes ($329) — though even the largest of those two choices is puny and inadequate for many (and neither is cheap).

For many people, there is no replacement for the shows, characters and collective buzz that cable television provides. For others, cutting the tether and putting that money back into their budgets is a no brainer—literally.

Since the Apple TV launched in 2007, users and pundits have clamored for the Cupertino, CA-based widget and media giant to add digital video recorder (DVR) and cable box features. Nevertheless, Steve Jobs has steadfastly claimed that the device is only a “hobby,” a fact borne out by the company’s relative inattention to the device.

This week has been filled with yawner predictions and rumors surrounding the Let’s Rock Apple event tomorrow. It’s become a given that we will get new or updated iPods, and the iTunes rumors seem fairly solid as well. What Apple needs right now is some really exciting news.

While everyone has been yammering on about the release of the iPhone 3G, the lines surrounding the release of the iPhone 3G, and the opening of the iPhone Apps Store, a significant announcement was being missed. AppleTV was given a face lift!

Apple already has its users attention on the computing, television and music fronts. Judging by patents filed by the company it is looking to add the gaming front to its conquests as well. Apple has filed a patent for a 3D gaming controller to go with its AppleTV.