The iPhone Release Date

I'm back! I hope. My room mate is jerk and despite my being really ill today (I believe it's a fever), he unpacked his clothes hangers rather than set up wireless Internet (which he has been hogging for a week) for me, so I'm still on low grade Internet. Hence, I'm probably going to keep this post short. Anyway, the big news today was that Apple has announced, by way of plain old advertising, that the iPhone will be released on May 29. Obviously, this is a pretty big deal. Apple geeks have awaited this day many moons while regular geeks have been writing cocky editorials about why it's going to fail miserably. Personally, I think people should wait until its release to start passing judgement, and I think it has a good chance of succeeding despite the astronomical price because their laptops are overpriced and yet sell like hotcakes. A few more tidbits have been discovered more recently, as well. Apparently, the device will not support iChat when it ships, nor will it come with a SIM card slot. I don't know how many people would be deterred by iChat not being included, but I'd imagine it to be fairly important since people love their instant messaging. Whether they release this as a free update is yet to be seen. Meanwhile, we're going to have to just wait on June 29!

That's definitely not all the Apple news though. It turns out that they're attaching some personal information of yours with your DRM-free music purchases, which could compromise your privacy if in the wrong hands, and the EFF is livid. Some people really aren't all that alarmed, but being as conservative about privacy as I am, I think that it may cross a certain line. First of all, they really should be disclosing this information, because I consider it fairly important. Of higher concern though is the issue of your iPod being stolen rather than you distributing the mp3s illicitly yourself. Is it really ok to just overlook this case for the sake of deterring users from promoting piracy? Tough call, but I personally don't believe you should be so distrustful of your audience.

While I'm on the issue of DRM, I think it's worth noting that the RIAA has lost a controversial case to a disabled single mother whom they accuse of distributing gangster rap music. Oh, and her child is a 9 year old daughter, so she really wouldn't care too much for such gems as "Hoes in My Room". I really just posted this because I like showing how evil and retarded the RIAA is for continuing with this campaign of fear and litigation against the very people they need to save their pathetic industry.

Big news from YouTube: they're partnering with a number of local stations to give them a slice of the advertising revenue in exchange for legal rights to show select programming from them. Not only that, but apparently I missed a huge deal with EMI in which they gained the rights to show music and music videos from their vast library of artists, and so they've now joined the trio of Warner Music, UMG, and Sony BMG in licensing their music to YouTube. Very nice, YouTube. Very nice. Now don't let us down!

I just have a couple of one-liners here. Coding Horror has an awesome blog post on the importance of reducing the complex of user interfaces that I really liked and meant to talk about last week but was held back by technical difficulties. Also, if you want to test your typing speed, this is a cool Flash application to do just that. I'd reveal my results if I was feeling well enough to test my typing optimally.

Speed Racer was one of my favorite cartoons the summer I spent in India (I was 12 years-old), and now we have a high-res shot of the Mach 5. I personally think it looks pretty sweet, and I'm still extremely curious to see what the Wachowskis come up with.

If you want to see Optimus Prime duke it out with Bonecrusher, then this clip is a must-see. Oh how I miss that animated series; it was so awesome and campy.

All I have left for you guys are trailers. The first trailer is for Heartbreak Kid, and I'm not impressed. I didn't even come close to laughing, the plot sounds like it's been done several times before. The trailer for the Fantastic Four 2 is much more impressive, and makes it out to be the movie that the first Fantastic Four movie should've been. W00t!

I'm going to try out the Monday's a Bitch meme:

1. Do you like Coldplay?
YES! I <3 Coldplay! They're definitely one of my favorite artists.
2. Were you jaundiced as a baby?
Nope.
3. Who's your favourite blond? Do blonds have more fun?
I supposed Elisha Cuthbert. I know one brunette who has a lot of fun, so I kind of doubt it ;)
4. Is this shit bananas? And is Gwen Stefani a talented artist?
No and she was back when she was with No Doubt. Go back to them, Gwen! PLEASE!
5. Have you ever been stung by a bee? If so, where?
Nope, thank God!