It is the third party applications that have recently been rumored to be on the menu on the next Leopard operating system update. That's when many believe a a more significant software update for the iPhone will arrive. Apple will then also, according to rumors, will open up the iPhone to third party approved applications. While the iPhone is open to third party applications, the ones confined to the Safari development environment and not, hackers want to be able to run native applications. 9to5Mac, the blog that brought the rumor, says that Apple wants to have a system similar to the one T-Mobile has with Sidekick where Apple would approve applications it thinks its customers would want and when the application won't interfere with the smooth operation of the phone.

These are all very interesting developments. To the average investor, they may not mean much, but to the Apple fan community and hackers, they are what makes this whole experience worth while. It is this fan community that helped launch Apple into the company that it is today. While I doubt that by now any such developments would affect the iPod much, they might still affect iPhone sales in the future. The hackers, despite everything, would prefer to work with Apple, rather than circumvent it, although it still is part of the thrill.

As Erica is nearing the end of her successful hack into the iPhone with the comments section growing (as is the number of Diggs), AAPL shares are up $2.65 or 1.7% to $158.89. Of course there's no connection, but I find the coincidence amusing.