July 22 - 6:45pm EDT   Several new Apple Stores are set to open their doors Saturday, including one in Liverpool, England. Housed in the redeveloped Liverpool One Complex, the new store is Apple's 16th in the UK. The company is also opening stores in Montreal, Glendale, Arizona, and Charleston, South Carolina. [full story]

June 23 - 10:00am EDT   The Beatles are close to securing a deal that would see their first digital music releases through music games rather than direct downloads from iTunes or or similar stores, says the Financial Times. The UK business paper claims sources who say that the pop rock group may have deals "in a matter of weeks" that bring songs to Guitar Hero maker Activision as well as to Rock Band co-creator MTV Games. While no specifics are mentioned, the deal suggests a Beatles-themed title and alludes to the possibility of making Beatles songs available as downloadable content. [full story]

March 10 - 11:45pm EDT   The parties involved in the allegedly close Beatles deal for iTunes have all denied its taking place, according to news from Billboard. The music chart makers warn that Apple Inc. has flatly denied the rumors as "unsubstantiated speculation," while the Beatles' own label Apple Corps as well as its parent company EMI have both refused comment on the matter, seemingly putting an end to claims by British newspapers made over the weekend. [full story]

March 10 - 10:10am EDT   The Beatles' back catalog should finally appear in digital form by the end of the year, claims a British tabloid. The deal will reportedly see the music come to the iTunes Store, with albums including the likes of Help!, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and possibly more. The deal is said to worth as much as £200 ($402.5) million, and has allegedly been sanctioned by lead Beatle Paul McCartney as means to help pay for his divorce from Heather Mills. Proceedings have already cost McCartney £5 million, and may jump by another £20 to £30 million after a settlement. [full story]

December 13 - 11:25am EST   A fair number of new devices and other offerings may be announced at next month's Macworld Expo, says Forbes. The magazine notes that while Apple followers can sometimes have fantastic expectations for the keynotes delivered by Apple CEO Steve Jobs, some of the products they previously speculated about may finally materialize. Among these is a sub-notebook, which is rumored to have a 12- to 13-inch screen with LED backlighting, optional flash memory, and no optical drive. [full story]