iTunes, Safari Merger Qualifies as Dumb Rumor of the Day

But it won't happen. Doing so would be a bad move by Apple -- both from a practical and a business perspective.

The rumor's source, a blog called Three Guys and a Podcast, claims that Apple will unveil a browser-based version of iTunes at the August 2011 iPod event, but instead of opting for universal accessibility, the company wants to make it Safari-only.

Putting iTunes in the cloud is not a new idea; it's been discussed for years. The twist reported by Three Guys and a Podcast is that Apple is dissatisfied with its low status in the Web browser market and wants to catapult Safari from niche to necessity by brute force.

Here are two big reasons Safari + iTunes doesn't make sense.

iTunes is too bloated

Similarly, Apple's efforts to add buckets of gloss to Safari would be grossly undermined by a chunky sidebar. It would dominate screen space, it might increase page-load time, and should your Internet connection cut out, you'll be left helplessly in silence.

Browser market share really isn't that important -- and neither is Safari

Safari + iTunes would certainly boost Apple's browser market share and would contribute to the company's ideology of a fully integrated, Apple-only experience. But who really cares about Safari?

Apple is a hardware company -- an influential and powerful manufacturer of laptops, desktops, tablets, MP3 players, phones, streaming television boxes, and more. Safari is just a Web browser, not a money-minting machine. Apple will continue to focus its energies on building solid, lusty products, and keep its attentions on Safari limited to someone who reads only the Sunday paper -- it's an experience, but not a weeklong affair.

Maybe iTunes in the cloud will finally be announced during Apple's summer music event, or maybe it won't. Either way, it's absurd to posit that the app's next iteration will be a human centipede with Safari.