Apple’s Rock and Roll event is still in full swing, but there’s at least one bit of news worth sharing right now. Steve Jobs didn’t just make an appearance at today’s event; he was on stage, announcing the release of iTunes 9, which is available for download today. Obviously it’s good to see him back in good health, and better to have him at these big media events, making announcements.

As for iTunes 9, Apple’s added a lot more features, which means more and more bloating. The software seems to be getting bigger than ever, and I don’t really see that as a good thing. There are some new features, though, that will excite some.

Perhaps the best is Apps Organization, a new tool within iTunes that will allow you to view the app pages on your iPod or iPhone and reorganize them with simple dragging and dropping. As a matter of fact it works a lot like the custom app I wrote about a few weeks back. You can move multiple apps at a time and spring to an app by double-clicking in a scroll menu containing a list of all your apps down the left side. Good stuff.

Another notable feature is iTunes LP, a service that gives you access to all of the trappings of a traditional LP purchase – album art, lyrics, special materials from the artist – in a digital format. Apple will also be adding custom interviews and other special materials to iTunes LP, all viewable within iTunes.

One of the best features with iTunes 9 is home sharing. Yes, I’ve heard the arguments about owning the music you purchase and doing what you please with it. Let’s not rehash that here. Point is, iTunes can now be authorized on 5 computers and those computers can actually copy music between one another with a simple drag and drop. The feature also allows you to view only those songs in a networked library that you don’t have yourself.

As for the less notable features, the iTunes store is getting a redesign and there’s going to be Facebook and Twitter integration for sharing the things you like. Not anything I’m all that crazy about. The iTunes redesign is more of a tweak than a true overhaul and I think we all know how I feel about the social media iTunes will be integrating.

As I write this I’m also working on two other significant Apple updates, so check back often. There’s some disappointing news ahead.

After having a liver transplant Steve Jobs is reported to have an “excellent prognosis” by the medical institute responsible for the operation. Nice to hear some good news surrounding a pancreatic cancer survivor, even if he is one with the means to pay for the very best in medical care.

The Methodist University Hospital Transplant Institute also issued a statement with the prognosis claiming Jobs received his liver because he was “the sickest patient on the waiting list at the time a donor organ became available.” This was no doubt released to allay concerns that Jobs may have seen special treatment because of status.

Good news for Jobs means good news for Apple, whose stock dropped some 10 points when the CEO announced his leave of absence in January. There had been speculation about his health leading up to the announcement, though Jobs claimed it was a hormone imbalance until he finally had to leave.

Despite his absence, Apple stock has continued to blow up, surging 60% this year alone. Hopefully we’ll see Jobs taunting handicapped grandmothers in his Cupertino parking lot soon.

It’s getting hard to quantify success of Apple’s iPhone. The iPhone 3GS was the quietest launch of the product line so far, yet they managed to go through a million phones in the first weekend alone, and without too many hangups.

There were some, though, and affected users are likely less than happy. Several new customers saw delayed activation, which may still take some time. Apple hopes to assuage their pain with $30 iTunes gift cards.

Apple’s sales statement included words from Steve Jobs, who’s made headlines recently for his struggle with pancreatic cancer and a recent liver transplant. “Customers are voting, and the iPhone is winning,” Jobs said. “With over 50,000 applications available from Apple’s revolutionary App store, iPhone momentum is stronger than ever.”

Jobs couldn’t be more right, though that could mean trouble for AT&T. Complaints about poor service due to network overload come in the thousands for the iPhone’s sole US carrier. The FCC also recently launched investigations into exclusivity contracts in the wireless market. There’s been no word from the Senate committee.

There has been a whole lot of back and forth today about regarding whether or not Apple will announce its latest iPhone at WWDC this year.

Most folks were saying no, citing Steve Jobs’ absence from the conference this year. Instead, the Keynote will be given by Phil Schiller, Apple’s Senior VP of Worldwide Product Marketing. Prominent Apple analyst Gene Munster thinks the address will primarily deal with software (at a developer conference? No way!), specifically Snow Leopard and the iPhone OS 3.0. Munster expects Apple to hold a special event in late June, early July, which will herald the return of Jobs and the release of a new line of iPhones.

So why wait? We already know the iPhone App Store to be the fastest growing developer community in the world. Wouldn’t Apple want to let that massive developer base know about the new hardware they’ll be working with at…the developer conference? And what makes the Senior VP of Worldwide Product Marketing a bad choice to do this?

Dan Frommer, an analyst at SAI, agrees, and cites quite a few compelling reasons for Apple to roll things out in June. For starters, the first round of iPhone contracts expire in late June. Also, the Palm Pre drops later this month. What better time to get people to start thinking about some new hardware?