posted Aug 26th 2011 7:44PM 
Apple has pulled the plug on TV episode rentals via iTunes, abruptly leaving customers with only the option of purchasing per episode -- good thing you can watch those on your Apple TV streamed from the cloud -- or a Season Pass where available. AllThingsD has a quote from spokesman Tom Neumayr indicating this was in response to customers that "overwhelmingly prefer buying TV shows." Making the timing of the move particularly curious are once-again renewed rumors of an Apple HDTV and a WSJ profile of new CEO Tim Cook that indicates the company is "working on new technology to deliver video to televisions, and has been discussing whether to try to launch a subscription TV service." Like Google, any move depends on its success in negotiating a new delivery model from the networks, who so far have been averse to anything that threatens their existing relationship with pay-TV providers. It appears 99-cent rentals didn't move the needle, so we'll wait and see what the folks from Cupertino have up their sleeve next. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
By most accounts, the 3DS hasn't quite been the runaway success that Nintendo was banking on. The company attempted to address the lukewarm response with a significant price drop and an accompanying public apology. Now it seems that even more drastic measures may be in the works. French site 01net, which has hit past gaming rumors squarely on the head, is reporting that Nintendo is working on a $10 analog joystick add-on that will snap onto the portable console. That revelation poses all kinds of questions, like how the system will be able to close with the controller in place and whether 3DS users will really take to such a thing. Even more interesting is the rumor that the company is working on a redesigned system for 2012, which, among other things, will pull some of the focus away from the 3D functionality that was so central to Nintendo's pitch when the device first launched. According to the rumor, that distancing from the 3D functionality may also be reflected in the name of the new model.