One of two things are going to happen. Either Steve Jobs is up to his usual tricks and is investing in ways to send those who follow Apple’s patterns off the trail, or MacRumours (and others) have got something right.

The sudden outburst of rumours are generally fuelled by the evidence spotted in the MacRumours forum. They noticed Apple’s recent purchase of www.me.com. This was recently followed by the acquisition of www.mobileme.com. I’m no expert, but it’s a safe bet that these domains cost a lot of money, as the demand for almost any two-letter-worded domain is through the roof right now (edit: you’re right, it appears to run into hundreds of millions). Click the upcoming pic for proof.

I honestly feel for poor Kenneth Eddings (the registrant, presumably on behalf of Apple), who’s inbox is apparently (still?) full of questions about the Mobile Me service.

.Mac, will likely be rebranded to become Mobile Me. All of this evidence supports the theory, which is involved somehow in pretty much all current rumours, so it’s safe to say that it’s true. However, the chance that this is incorrect cannot be overlooked. WWDC is a time for new things, not a time for service changes. It could be that Apple simply wants to create a whole new brand, to compete with Microsoft’s Live, which overtook .Mac long ago.

Another thing that’s more than likely, regardless of wether the service is replacing .Mac, is that the aim will change.

Apple will be focusing on mobile content, perhaps over-the-air syncing of wireless goods, perhaps extended desktops via the internet. One thing’s for certain, www.me.com will be Apple’s single place for people to access anything Apple. Be it: iPhone, iPod, media, files, users, search, billing, support, socialising or anything else.

Yes, you heard read it right, some rumours are that Apple’s going to found  social network. Shockingly, when you think about it, it could happen, it’s more than likely they can integrate iChat and other services. Sound familiar?

Oh and if you really want to look closely, the previous registrant of www.me.com has now moved to www.SnappVille.com, who is apparently affiliated with Google AdSense. Controversy or coincidence?

Either way, it’s almost definite that it will take a chunk out of Live.com, and make a heck of a lot of Apple users’ lives easier. Any guess as to the price of this beast though?