Despite the unusual amount of speculation surrounding this year’s WWDC, we really do not know much. However, unlike previous events fueled entirely by rumors, we do know something.

At the keynote, Apple will unveil its next generation software – Lion, the eighth major release of Mac OS® X; iOS 5, the next version of Apple’s advanced mobile operating system which powers the iPad®, iPhone® and iPod touch®; and iCloud®, Apple’s upcoming cloud services offering.

However “unlike Apple” this may be, many are speculating this press release (1) will save Steve precious minutes during the keynote, or (2) set the tone for the event. The first is just stupid, so I’ll make my bed — so to speak — with number two. Ben Brooks has it right:

… lots will say Apple didn’t do enough, but most will piss themselves with joy.

Steve will announce the “offerings”, and naturally people will flock to either side of the fence.

The silent announcement of iCloud tells us nothing. Yes, nothing. That said, many are reporting on what it might include. My favorite thus far, is an article which appeared on Cult of Mac, partially entitled, “iCloud & Time Capsules”. You should read it.

I like the idea of having a central repository, a “conduit” as they described it, to serve-up my files as I need them (or when I want them). As Cult of Mac describes it, you should be able to access all of your files, “pictures, videos…documents.” With the new machine rumored to run iOS on an A5 chip (a la Apple TV), Time Capsule should presumably be rebranded. I like it.

iCloud should be seamless. If a file is accessible by any application, it should be available as a “local file”. Let me explain; when browsing iPod.app, you should not go to a separate tab to see music available for streaming. Instead, cloud-based music would appear in the same list as your locally stored music. Perhaps a change is color, or an additional icon could be used to denote, “this song (or file) will be streamed over your 3% or WiFi connection.” The feature will be intuitive and unobtrusive. However, once you have used it, you will not be able to live without it.

If what Cult of Mac wrote about Time Capsule & iCloud is true, I am not completely sold we will see any dealings with the music industry today. I do, however, believe iCloud will serve your backed-up music to your iDevice as I described before.

Mark my words, MobileMe is not going anywhere. There is a distinct difference between my life, mobile and iCloud – an online services offering. I expect iCloud to be (1) an extension of MobileMe (replacing iDisk), (2) an extension of MobileMe, or (3) accessed through MobileMe. I’d go with any of the three, but MobileMe is here to stay. Why did Apple buy iCloud.com? Many reasons, including brand recognition and easy access.

The infamous North Carolina Data Center. Four words I hope to never hear after the event – wishful thinking. The rumors suggesting a $25/month-year subscription for the iCloud service makes sense, if you are not using the rumored Time Capsule solution. Perhaps you will have a choice between limited file access (i.e. Dropbox) and full access via Time Capsule.

Also shrouded in mystery, iOS 5. Not much is known, so there really is not much to say . We do have an image provided by TechCrunch, which suggests a new notifications system, Twitter integration, and at the very least, a new Camera.app icon.

Of everything scheduled to be announced, Lion is the only item on the agenda not shrouded in mystery. Apple as a landing page detailing features such as a fully-realized Mac App Store, Launchpad (aka Springboard), Full Screen Apps, Mission Control, and much, much more. Did I mention versions, auto save, resume, Mail 5 or AirDrop? Tentative release date: June 17th.

If the length of this article is any indication, the keynote is sure to be jam-packed with new records, product announcements and unveilings. Apple has set the tone, and I am excited.