You don't want to get in the way of this one

Help. I’ve lost track of what’s converging where. Where’s all this cool stuff going again? My computer? My game machine? My cable box? My smartphone? My imaginary iTablet?

As it turns out, where it’s going isn’t nearly as important as where it’s coming from. Remember, he who controls the spice controls the universe.

The iTunes Store is by far the most prolific provider of the digital goodies we humans love to consume: music, movies, radio, podcasts, apps and more. And it’s about to get bigger:

Cloud music. No more syncing? Apple just bought Lala.com. So soon you should be able to keep your music on the web and play it anywhere, from any device. (Since they physically keep the music, Lala only charges a dime per song. We’ll see how Apple handles that.)

Magazines reborn. The coming iTablet will fuel a rebirth of magazines that are as sexy as anything in this digital world, igniting a new media-rich boom in “print.” It’ll be exciting, and our forests will thank us.

Reading redefined. It’s that darn iTablet again. Thousands of books at your fingertips, but more beautifully presented than anyone imagines. (Good idea, Kindle. We’ll take it from here.)

Revenge of broadcast. Remember TV? It’s back. Watch your favorite shows in your living room, coffee shop or pleasure craft. On your own schedule, on the device of your choosing. Yes, the iTunes Store will now start making the cable companies panic.

App Store for big-boy apps. Think beyond iPhone. Soon you’ll buy all your apps this way. Not just Mac apps, PC apps too. Physical discs are so 20th century.

While its competitors are busily building music stores and app stores, Apple has a vision that is far grander — with an infrastructure that’s already in place. How far can the iTunes Store go? I’d say the sky’s the limit. But that’s just where it’s starting…