An iTunes movie-rental store will take the stage at Apple's upcoming Worldwide Developers Conference, a gathering for Mac software programmers, according to Think Secret. That Apple is planning to rent movies, rather than sell them - if indeed this is the case - comes as something of a surprise, since Apple CEO Steve Jobs has previously badmouthed subscription and rental plans for music. But, says Think Secret, the movie studios have insisted on rental plans rather than permanent downloads, and Jobs -- who now oversees a major movie studio as a Disney board member -- has finally given in.

Virtual Economics calls Apple's rental plan "flawed," saying that the movie studios have failed to learn from the music industry's experience with iTunes, where selling permanent downloads got people to stop using file-sharing services and pay for music instead. But Carlo Longino at Techdirt says that the "studios' insistence on playback restrictions" actually benefits Apple. While Jobs may not be thrilled with the rent-not-buy requirement, other restrictions -- like limiting movie playback to video iPods -- will suit Apple just fine, since online movie rentals will help it sell more of its portable media players.