ITunes Match arrives, as does a new Apple board member

iTunes Match, which Apple originally promised to ship by the end of last month, went out to users as part of a software update this week. It stores music tracks in the cloud, and makes them available on any device with iTunes. It can as well tidy up old collections of ripped CDs with high-quality versions from Apple's music store.

The $24.99-a-year service is a big step in bringing user music libraries into the Web era, where people want to access their music--not just tracks they've bought through Apple--anywhere and everywhere.

At its core, Match offers two things: matching and storage. The matching bit goes through your library and identifies tracks that correspond with what Apple has in its library. When it finds matches, it gives gives you a licensed copy that can both be re-downloaded in a higher-quality version, and downloaded to your other devices. The second part of the service is that it takes whatever tracks aren't matched, and uploads them to Apple's servers, where they're stored for re-downloading on other devices you own.

The service is notable in that it's the first paid subscription service to come to iTunes since the introduction of the Music Store in 2003. Apple has sold all sorts of content through iTunes since at that time, however this is a different approach, mixing its media sales business with its recently launched iCloud platform.

For more on iTunes Match, be sure to read CNET's how-to on using the service for the first time on both your computer and iOS devices. We've as well got a how-to for upgrading your library with higher quality copies of songs that have been matched up, which you can find here. Read on for the rest of this week's happenings in Apple land.

The top Apple-related news

Apple Talk Weekly rounds up of some of the top Apple-related news and rumors. It appears every Saturday morning and is curated by CNET's Apple reporter, Josh Lowensohn.

Apple names Levinson chairman of the board, Disney's Iger joinsApple named Arthur D. Levinson as non-executive chairman of its board and added Disney CEO Robert Iger as a board member this week. It was the first board-level reshuffle the company has made since the passing of co-founder Steve Jobs. Levinson's been a board member with Apple since 2000, and Iger's a longtime business partner with Apple and Jobs.

Texas Hold'em shelvedApple this week quietly killed off Texas Hold'em, the first and only iOS game the company ever offered. The $4.99 card game, which continued the card-playing franchise from the clickwheeliPod era, went on sale just weeks afterwards the launch of the original App Store. Apple pitched it as an illustration of the kind of things developers could do on its at that time-fledgeling software development and sales platform.

The security protocol Apple uses with Siri

Siri's security cracked openDeveloper Applidium this week noted that it's cracked the security protocol Apple uses with Siri, the voice assistant that ships on theiPhone 4S. In a post detailing its findings, the group notes that Apple is sending raw audio data to its servers that's compressed with a special audio codec. Those messages deep down shake hands with Apple's servers using identification, which Applidium says can be used by other, non-iPhone 4S devices. The hackery is the latest in efforts to bring Siri to older phones, and other platforms.

Apple TV gets a price drop, nevertheless not from AppleApple's $99 set-top box saw a notable price drop this week, selling for $10 less at both Amazon and Best Buy. Of note, was that Amazon's listing had it as the "2010" model, a curious change given that it was listed as the latest model previously the price drop. Apple last updated the hardware in September 2010, yet skipped any hardware tweaks this year, short of software updates.

NewiPhone to get it covered

Apple laxes AppleCare+ rules for new iPhone buyersApple this week quietly changed its AppleCare+ policy to allow buyers to pick it up within 30 days of buying a newiPhone to get it covered. Earlier buyers had to buy it together they were buying a new device to get the protection, which is the first extended warranty from Apple to cover accidental damage. In accordance with the new policy, buyers need to come into one of Apple's stores and get their phone looked at ahead of spending $99 on the coverage.

Apple had AMD chip-based Air in the worksApple's used nothing nevertheless Intel's x86 chips in its Macs since it switched over from the PowerPC architecture, yet a new report this week claimed the company could moved to AMD's chips in its MacBook Air line, due to considerably better graphics performance than Intel's chips could pump out. Blog Semiaccurate said Apple scrapped those plans early last year when a move to the AMD chips would result in better graphics power at the expense of poorer systemwide performance.

15-inch MacBook Air coming shortly?More signs that Apple's cooking up a 15-inch version of its MacBook Air cropped up this week. A report from the often incorrect DigiTimes said that suppliers are starting to send Apple parts for what they think is a bigger version of the Air, or like as not even a slimmer redesign of its MacBook Pros. Apple's last big overhaul to the MacBook Pro line was in 2008 in the move to a unibody design.

Siri to control hardware features in future update?Fresh rumors from German Mac site Macerkopf.de this week recommended that Apple's readying not just another small iOS update to target battery life, nevertheless also an update to Siri that would give the software access to certain hardware features. That includes taking pictures and turning Wi-Fi and Bluetooth once in a while, the report suggests. Siri was unveiled last month as a "beta" product, with the promise of adjustments and improvements in future releases.

Suppliers delivering iPad 3 displays already? Smaller iPad on the way too? Rumored supply cutbacks by Apple for parts to build the iPad 2 took an interesting turn this week, with one report saying that the move was to begin work on the iPad 3 instead. Digitimes claimed Samsung Electronics, LG Display, and Sharp were all in the process of shipping out new high-resolution panels to Apple for the construction of a third-generation iPad model, which would begin in January. The same report claimed that Apple was as well evaluating 7.85-inch panels, potentially for a smaller version of the iPad.

Alleged iPhone 5, iPad 3, new MacBook Pro details surfaceCiting its "most reliable source," iLounge yesterday put out a number of suggestions for changes coming to Apple's products at once year. For the iPhone, that's said to be a move to metal casing, a 4-inch display, and a design that does "not look like the teardrop-shaped version that was widely rumored for release in 2011." For the iPad, which has quickly become one of Apple's top-selling products, the third-generation model is said to be set for a March release, and sport a slightly thicker design for the rumored dual-light bar research that will brighten its higher-resolution display. After all, the site recommended that the MacBook Pro line is getting a new design then year. "Think thinner," the report said.

Josh Lowensohn joined CNET in 2006 and covers everything Apple. Earlier that, Josh wrote about new Web startups, video games, and remote-controlled robots that watch your house. When not attempting experimental pizza recipes, Josh is an avid photographer.

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Household full of innovation

Josh Lowensohn grew up in a household full of innovation. From a young age he was taking apart computers, snaking Cat 5 cable through walls, and reprogramming video games. Prior to joining CNET, Josh covered breaking video game news and wrote game reviews. Since at that time he's spent his time covering everything from Web apps to all of Microsoft's latest moves. For this blog, Josh is keeping a close eye on everything Apple.