Apple has placed a new page on their website with a lot of big numbers focused on how they're creating jobs in the U.S. in important and innovative ways.

Throughout our history, Apple has created entirely new products — and entirely new industries — by focusing on innovation. As a result, we’ve created or supported more than 500,000 jobs for U.S. workers: from the engineer who helped invent the iPad to the delivery person who brings it to your door.

• 304,000 current jobs ranging from engineering to manufacturing to transportation

• 50 states with full-time Apple employees

• 210,000 iOS app economy jobs

Apple has been in the headlines a lot lately due to working conditions in Chinese factories, with part of the debate centering around why U.S. companies can't manufacture on U.S. soil. Apple isn't entering into that debate with this page -- they're trying to change it.

Including the impact of the App Store not only bolsters the numbers, it shows the impact a company can have beyond their own walls.

Whether or not any of this draws fire away from the China issue, we'll have to see, but once again Apple is offering up data while their competitors stay silent and try to hide behind Apple's massive media gravity well.

Source: Apple.com

The Apple Online Store went down briefly last night but sorry everyone, no white iPhone 4 -- just an slightly animated revamp of the Apple.com website.

Both the Mac and iPod pages get products that fly in and bounce into place and the menu on all pages now drops down into place and in general looks just a touch darker.

Since HTML5 has been renamed simply HTML there's no super cool technology term for what Apple's done other than adding eye candy. They do have a long history on the iPhone of using animation to help mask transition times and provide extra orientation information. I'm not sure the new Apple.com counts as a functionality improvement though. What do you think?

[Apple.com]

Interested in how Apple is advertising iAds to advertisers? Well they've got a brand new highlight video up on Apple.com that'll give you a good idea. The emotion of TV. The interactivity of digital. The power of Mobility. Indeed.

We only have two questions. Was it made with iMovie 11's trailer feature, and is it enough to get Mad Men-types to buy buys in hopes of attracting buyers?

[Advertising.Apple.com via SAI]

It looks like Apple might just be live streaming today's Back to the Mac event, though the announcement so far is lurking only in the darkest backwaters of media alert-land (i.e. RSS aggregators).

Here's the link: http://events.apple.com.edgesuite.net/1010qwoeiuryfg/event/index.html

Here's the alert:

Media Alert

What: Live video stream of Apple’s October 20 event

When: Wednesday, October 20, 2010, 10:00 a.m. PDT

Where: www.apple.com

Live Video Streaming

Apple® will broadcast its October 20 event online using Apple’s industry-leading HTTP Live Streaming, which is based on open standards. Viewing requires either a Mac® running Safari® on Mac OS® X version 10.6 Snow Leopard®, an iPhone® or iPod touch® running iOS 3.0 or higher, or an iPad™. The live broadcast will begin at 10:00 a.m. PDT on October 20, 2010 at www.apple.com.

Hopefully the media alert is legit and starts propagating soon. If so, tune one browser window to Apple.com and the other to TiPb's live meta blog, and let's watch together, shall we?

[Thanks Dave]

Whether or not you agree with Apple going all-in on HTML5, they're certainly putting their clout where their mouth is, launching a new showcase on Apple.com, complete with some terrific demos and a link to developer.apple.com for those who want to roll their own interactive, standards based solutions.

Every new Apple mobile device and every new Mac — along with the latest version of Apple’s Safari web browser — supports web standards including HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript. These web standards are open, reliable, highly secure, and efficient. They allow web designers and developers to create advanced graphics, typography, animations, and transitions. Standards aren’t add-ons to the web. They are the web. And you can start using them today.

Interestingly, Apple's previous iPad ready HTML5 site listing, and Steve Jobs' Thoughts on Flash article are both featured at the bottom of the page.

If there was any remaining, lingering doubt, HTML5 and Safari are Apple's open app platform and they're going all in. How far are we from a future where HTML5 and web apps are legitimate peers to native apps in terms of delivering the functionality and features users need?

UPDATE: 9to5Mac points out you can get these to open in other HTML5 browsers like Chrome or Firefox by going to the developer.apple.com page. Weird.

[Apple.com]

Apple.com has posted not only a page touting over 100 (!) new user features for iPhone 4.0, but streaming video of today's iPhone 4 Sneak Preview event is also now available, as is the higher quality download in Apple's Keynote podcast feed [iTunes link]

[Rah-roh! Looks like the iTunes download freezes about 20 min. in, right when the Pandora demo is starting. Avoid until Apple fixes. We'll update when they do!]

Check 'em out and tell us what you think!

Apple.com has just dropped the megaton bomb of pre-launch hype -- 11 guided-tour videos of iPad software, including Safari, Mail, Photos, Videos, YouTube, iPod, iTunes, iBooks, Keynote, Pages, Numbers, and the nuclear option -- watch all. (We're doing that one right now!)

Was Public Enemy wrong -- is it time to believe the hype? Watch the videos and let us know!

[Apple via 9to5Mac]

iPod + iTunes is dead on the Apple.com menu, long live iPod | iPhone | iPad | iTunes. (And yes, Mac is still there too).

The all new iPad section coincides with the launch of pre-orders and pickups today, and links to all the content previously available at apple.com/ipad via the homepage. The broken out iPod and iTunes section lets Apple focus on the devices (with the iPod touch front and center) on the former, and the iTunes software and store on the latter.

So what do you think of the new navigation, cheers or jeers? And is iPhone, iPad, iPod, and iTunes taking the place over?

And 9to5mac finally puts to bed the does-iPad-support-Flash flood they kicked off yesterday by noting Apple and their advertising agency have updated promotional videos and images on Apple.com to properly reflect the lack of Adobe Flash support on the iPad, including the blue lego bricks of plugin fail we iPhone users are so used to.

As we were told by our source at the secretive organization, Apple came crashing down on them with urgent requests to change the video.

In other no-Flash-on-the-iPad news, TheFlashBlog has removed the lone porn fail image from their condemnation graphic, while Merlin Mann at Kung Fu Grippe [via Daring Fireball] points out that if the graphic had been in Flash rather than a JPG, no iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch owner would have seen it anyway... (Or would they, as Gruber updates to pass on that the site in question has an iPhone version that replaces the Flash with QuickTime. D'oh!)

Thus ends the latest flare up in the never ending Flash on iPhone OS saga. Right?

Apple.com is now showing off the iPad, and http://www.apple.com/ipad is now live.

Along with the usual Features, Design, App Store, Gallery, Tech Specs, and Pricing, and Notify Me links, there's a video up showing designer Jonathan Ive, software head Scott Forstall, and others talking up the device.

Check it out and let us know what you think!

Apple.com has gone and souped up their iPhone app promotion page, carrying forward the "Apps for Everything" tag from their latest rough of commercials.

Featured categories include apps for cooks, keeping current, the great outdoors, music, work, students, moms and dads, working out, going out, managing money, traveling, and the fun and games.

Another attempt to provide curated recommendations, along with featured apps and staff picks on the App Store proper, it will no doubt give a boost to any developer who gets the spotlight, but it remains to be seen how much it aids iPhone and iPod touch users still struggling with the discoverability of the App Store.

If you check out their listings, let us know what you think of their picks.

[via Loopinsight]

Echoing previous years, Apple.com has once again posted an easy, online way for iPhone 3GS buyers to check and make sure their local Apple Retail Store has units on hand.

Both 16GB and 32GB, black- and white-backed models are shown, with nasty red squares connoting sell outs and happy green circles, supplies on hand.

So if you're heading out to get your hands on an iPhone 3GS this weekend, give it a try, and let us know how it works for you.

[via MacRumors]

This was sent our way along with a tip saying almost a dozen people had successfully processed US apple.com iPhone 3G S orders using this hack to avoid AT&T's online contract sign-up.

It doesn't get you the subsidized $199/$299 price, nor an unlocked iPhone, of course, so don't get too excited.

We have no idea if it actually works either -- if orders placed this way will actually ship, or if AT&T goons in black will show up at your door for a little curb-stomping contract reminder. We obviously can't condone it either, so we link to it strictly for educational and entertainment sake, knowing our readers are all responsible adults. Right?

Check out iTalkiPhone for the details...

Apple.com/business has published a case study of micro-blogging darling, Twitter. Not surprisingly, Apple.com gives Twitter a lot of love for loving Apple products, especially the iPhone:

When it comes to availability, iPhones accommodate peoples’ needs to work remotely and stay connected with the Twitter team. Stone notes that Twitter remains loyal to iPhones even though other handset manufacturers offer them free equipment.

Not surprising. The price of a thing is seldom equal to its cost. If a free product takes you more time or resources or requires greater infrastructure to support, the cost of using it can rapidly grow higher than the dollar price of even a premium product or service.

For businesses that thrive on the technology the iPhone best supports, web, media, and a certain strategic perception and mind set, paying for iPhones is probably a much greater value than any "free" phone.

The man with the enormously big hands is back, baby!

Apple has posted a new Guided Tour video, highlight the new form and features of the upcoming iPhone 3G.

For those keeping track, following on a Keynote and the release of software updates (OS X 10.5.4 last night, the beta for iTunes 7.7 along with SDK beta 8 last week, etc.), Guided Tour videos are usually the next indicator that Steve Jobs is readying to break the final seal, on the final sign, of iPhone launch.

Are you lining up yet? July 11th cometh!