iPhone First Impressions

The auto-suggest correction system works pretty damn well, considering it hasn’t yet had a chance to learn much about what and how I type. Most impressive touch: it knows the word “fucking”.

Lot's of people are posting iPhone first impressions today, but I appreciate Gruber's views of design and UI and so I'm sharing his with you. If I encounter other opinions that add something he didn't cover, then I'll add links to those as well, but otherwise look elsewhere for a compendium of iPhone reactions.

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Google Maps adds drag and drop for driving routes

fishwreck has been asking for this one for a long time!

Don't like the driving route Google Maps doled out to you? Now you can change the driving directions by grabbing the blue route line and dragging it to create a new destination point, which will in turn create a new route.

Thanks Lifehacker.

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Web radio says royalties could kill it

New royalty rate hikes could kill Internet radio, station managers, a country musician and head of an independent record label told lawmakers Thursday.... Though only a fraction of a penny, the new rates are a 300 percent cost increase for large webcasters and a 1,200 percent increase for small operations.

Don't let corporate greed kill a good thing: Save Net Radio.

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I've even done favors for Apple employees

This is, by far, the BEST coverage of the iPhone I have seen yet -- featuring "America's number one technology expert" Henry Winkler on the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson.

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Internet radio webcasters plan silent protest

On Tuesday, thousands of U.S. webcasters are expected to go silent to protest the planned royalty rate increase by the Copyright Royalty Rate Board.

Support Internet radio while you still can. The new rates make no economic sense whatsoever. It represents the kind of stupid, corporate greed that drives things to extinction -- to the detriment of all, including the greedy bastards who are too myopic to see their own self-interest.

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A Friendly Reminder from your IT Department

The 12 commandments of IT? I know this is pretty much how the net admin runs things where I work.

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First Apple iPhone shipments arrive stateside

Armed guards are extremely unusual for freight coming out of the Asian sector, those familiar with the matter explained, and are typically reserved for shipments containing riches such as gold and diamonds.

Good grief. Gold and diamonds?

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Unconfirmed: iPhone Data Plan Revealed

I linked to this, not because of the article (which will soon be irrelevant), but because of the graphic. The angelic iPhone is goofy, but the Death Star AT&T logo is spectacular and truly inspired. It captures perfectly the land-line monopoly-induced, heavy-handed, antagonistic and unhelpful customer service delivered by the Baby Bell that ate it's mother.

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With hype high, iPhone may have to fight a flop

"God himself could not design a device that could live up to all the hype that the iPhone has gotten," said David Platt, a computer science professor at Harvard University.

A classic quote, no doubt. But, there's more...

Blogs chronicle leaks about the phone like children plotting Santa's path from the North Pole.

Jump for the rest.

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Yes, we paid Microsoft's ad agency to make this ad

Seriously, this has to be the lamest advertisement ever made. It looks like two dicks trading genital warts.

I don't know what to say about this. You just have to watch it. Eeew. Leaves me feeling dirty somehow.

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WWDC Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard) Videos

Someone posted video clips to Brightcove demonstrating Apple's Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard (WWDC Build).

Get your own sneak peek at the forthcoming release. No telling how long these will be available (I give 'em until midday Monday), so don't delay.

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ALERT: OS 10.4.10 Snap, Crackle, Pop

Fun name for a not-so-fun problem. I upgraded the Intel iMac at the office without any issues, but your mileage may vary. If you haven't upgraded yet, I'd recommend holding off for awhile to see how it plays out. Read on for deets and user reports.

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Comparison of Services to Create Online Polls

Recently, I've been considering the use of an online polling mechanism for a project I'm working and today I happened to stumble upon this most excellent review of free online poll widgets/services. If you're in the market to add custom polls to your website or blog, this is the place to start.

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iGod: Has Steve Jobs Peaked?

It’s a stunning box, a wizard object with a passel of amazing features (It’s a phone! An iPod! A Web browser!). But for all its marvels, the iPhone inaugurates a dangerous new era for Jobs. Has he peaked?

Apple’s competitors, by contrast, find the prospect of the iPhone terrifying. “The entire fucking Western world hopes that it’s a case of imperial overstretch,” says the CEO of one of the planet’s largest communications companies. “But everybody is quietly saying, er, what if people want to buy a $500 phone? What if, er, people have been waiting for a device that does all these things? What if this thing works as advertised? I mean, my God, what then?”

Jump to the backstory or go straight to the article.

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Leo-like Desktop in Tiger

Can't wait to have Leopard on your Mac? Neither can these folks who have thoughtfully collaborated to share instructions and links, including the grassy desktop pic, to give your Tiger install a close approximation. Poseur.

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iChat for iPhone

I have no idea why Apple hasn't included an iChat / IM client on the iPhone, but it's nice to see one will be available anyway.

For those Digg fans out there, take a look at it's buddy, iPhoneDigg, where you can also test your iPhone flicking ability.

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Flaws Abound In Apple's Safari Beta For Windows

We'll see how this all shakes out over the coming days and weeks, but ye be warned.

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Gates vs. Jobs

I'm just reminding everyone that PC's are for fart-offers and Macs get you laid.

This is not how I recall their joint appearance at D. But it could have been just like this....

And Finder is BOSS!

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Crazy Rotating Wall Makes You Wonder if You Are Crazy Too

Not really sure what the point of this is, but somebody sure spent a lot of time and money making it.

Jump for details or larger video.

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You Are Beautiful

Clever and good for you. Be sure to check out the installations to see some creative and fun applications.

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Google hits the streets, raises concerns

In San Francisco, there's a man picking his nose on a street corner, another fellow taking out the trash and another guy scaling the outside of an apartment building, perhaps just for fun or maybe for some more sinister purpose.

Further down the highway at Stanford University, there's the titillation of a couple coeds sunbathing in their bikinis.

I can see where some people might have some issues with this and especially organizations wanting to protect their images. Google may find it difficult to stay true to their "do no evil" corporate policy if the requests for changes overwhelm their ability to accommodate. Still, it's an awesome feature. How long till we have live views do you think?

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