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Apple is recommending that iTunes users stick with Windows XP for now. The iPod-maker is warning that its music store software might not be compatible with Vista, Microsoft ’s latest operating system.

Those who own iPods depend on the software to synch music stored on their computers with their MP3 players. Apple is suggesting that, although iTunes 7.0.2 might work with Windows Vista on many typical PCs, customers should wait to upgrade Windows until after the next release of iTunes. The company said the upgrade would be available in the next few weeks.

According to Tim Deal, a senior analyst with Pike & Fischer, Apple has a strong incentive to respond to the issue quickly: the possibility of losing revenue. “Apple has been relatively quick to respond to compatibility issues in the past,” he noted. “The quicker the better because if users get frustrated they could switch to another digital music player.”

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As if its options woes weren’t trouble enough, Apple Computer Inc. said Friday it is facing several federal lawsuits, including one alleging the company created an illegal monopoly by tying iTunes music and video sales to its market-leading iPod portable players.

The case, filed July 21, is over Apple’s use of a copy-protection system that generally prevents iTunes music and video from playing on rival players. Likewise, songs purchased elsewhere aren’t easily playable on iPods.

The plaintiff is seeking unspecified damages and other relief. The court denied Apple’s motion to dismiss the complaint on Dec. 20.

Another lawsuit, filed Nov. 7, alleges that the logic board of Apple’s iBook G4 fails at an abnormally high rate. The plaintiff is seeking unspecified damages. In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Apple said its response to the complaint is not yet due.

The Cupertino, Calif.-based company also disclosed that PhatRat Technology LLC filed a lawsuit Oct. 24 alleging patent infringement. The Nike-iPod product in question, developed jointly with Nike Inc., allow runners to keep track of how far and how fast they’ve gone. The company’s response to the complaint is not yet due.

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A couple of days ago, Infinite Loop reported on a research note from Forrester Research which said that Apple’s music sales were slowing and that sales of the company’s venerable iPod were failing to drive downloads from the iTunes Store. Two days after Forrester’s report, investment firm Piper Jaffray has released its own report saying that no, the iTunes Store is doing just fine in terms of growth.

Analyst Gene Munster of Piper Jaffray says that through September, iTunes Store weekly sales are up 78 percent from 2005. Munster’s report is based on Apple company data, according to Reuters, and shows that Apple sold 695 million tracks through September, a total of 18.5 million per week.

In contrast, Forrester’s figures come from a analysis of credit and debit card purchases from the iTunes Store, made over a 26-month period ending in June 2006. From April 2004 through January 2006, Apple saw a seven-fold increase in transactions, according to Forrester, with the average transaction size growing to $6.69 from $3.55. Since the beginning of the year, the number of transactions has fallen by 58 percent, with the average transaction size dropping to $5.56. Only 3 percent of US Internet-using households made purchases at the iTunes Store during that period.

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Apple Computer Inc. introduced iTunes Latino on Wednesday, a service featuring popular telenovelas, or soap operas, from Telemundo and an increased collection of Latin music that can be downloaded from the online store.

The Cupertino company’s popular online music store already offers Latin song downloads, but for the first time it will feature a dedicated corner with television shows from Telemundo, music videos, podcasts, audio books and music from artists such as Paulina Rubio and Cafe Tacuba.

The new service hopes to tap into a fast-growing and wired community. An estimated 24.8 million Latino consumers are online, and that population is expected to grow to 34 million by 2011, according to JupiterResearch.

“It’s the largest minority group in the United States, so we know there’s a huge opportunity in going beyond what we were doing” before, said Eddy Cue, Apple’s vice president of iTunes. “We’re now offering a lot more variety and a lot more choice.”

The songs and television shows will be sold at the regular iTunes price of 99 cents per song and $1.99 per television episode.

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