Fanmail for some flounder: Apple’s going to go live with a new TV commercial, bypassing all of their typical ad geniuses at Chiat/Day (genii’s?) in favor of a fan-based, YouTube-driven bit of home brew. What, what? Yeah, exactly: 18-year-old Nick Haley, a student and Apple fan and fanatic, got a call about his iPod touch commercial and then in short order a plane ride to LA and a TV commercial. The iPod touch, lagging as it is in sales, could probably use all the help it can get.

Fool me once: Try to lift a bit of Apple’s mojo, mostly unthinkable by CEO Michael Dell’s lights a few years ago Dell, in some sincere act of flattery, is lifting lots of iMac magic for its XPS One. Just what the world’s been waiting for: a bad copy of something great. Perfect.

Straight to iTunes: Unlikely cult fav (quick: name his last three movies) Ed Burns is trying to upend the film distribution model by releasing his latest film, Purple Violets, for debut on iTunes. Expected to hit November 20th and cost $14.99 Burns’ flick, self-described as a “small, talky’ movie is hoping to find an audience that’s not being found through traditional theatrical mediums. We're still not probably going to see it, drawn instead by the new Rambo flick, but nice try Ed.

And speaking of iTunes: The Washington Post is saying that like Universal, another big player (unnamed at this point but rumored to be Warner Brothers) is thinking of shifting from long term contract to month-to-month with iTunes. The reason? The do-re-mi, apparently. Steve Jobs has not returned our calls for comment mostly on account of him not wanting to lose count and having to start counting to a billion again.

Leopard Mania: Don't forget to check out our Mac|Life Leopard Guide to help you get through today's release.