Worth Your Consideration 002 - A GF5 Linkdump

Here’s a round-up of some interesting pre-WWDC stories.

• The Unofficial Apple Weblog is running a story on this abysmally hot WWDC Day about a new Mac aimed at developers called the Mac Fusion. It certainly looks cool, and it makes me wonder if Apple will have more announcements this year than in years past. It certainly seems like there could be quite a few.
• MacNN is following up on a story that I first mentioned in last Friday’s linkdump. Apparently, the mysterious brown boxes which first appeared in Australian Apple outlets are now appearing at Apple retail stores worldwide. I’m telling you now: if there’s one on display at the Boston Apple Store this afternoon, then I will be there on my lunch break no matter how hot it gets.
• Lastly, Mac Rumors has news on potential iPhone 3G subsidies which may bring the cost of the phone down to as low as $199, which is about what I could afford. So, I’m really hoping those rumors, which come courtesy of USA Today, will prove true.

That’s all I have for now, Geek Forcers. But let me close with a question, which I hope you’ll consider responding to in the comments: What’s the over/under on when Twitter goes down during today’s WWDC keynote? 

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Worth Your Consideration 001 - A GF5 Linkdump

“Other sites have linkdumps, so why not Geek Force Five?”

Well, that’s a good question, Laddie. And I don’t have a good answer. So, here you go:

• The teaser for Kevin Smith’s next film, Zack and Miri Make a Porno (previously mentioned here), has been pulled off of the Internet by the MPAA. Apparently, Kevin’s production company forgot to follow some “important guidelines” or something. Have I mentioned how much I love the MPAA lately?
• The lack of ‘Mac’ branding on certain posters spotted at the Moscone Center in San Francisco (where Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference will begin on Monday) has made the natives restless. Mac Rumors’s Page 2 is wondering if this signals the arrival of OS X for PCs. I, for one, hope it does. I’m sick of seeing poor John Hodgman so mopey all of the time in those Mac vs PC commercials. If he were running OS X, he’d be much happier, right? Isn’t that the idea?
• Apple retailers in Australia have received packages they’re not supposed to open until after the WWDC keynote. This is exciting only because it means some Australian dude is going to be sued by Apple for opening a box ahead of time and leaking photos of the new iPhone onto the Interweb. And we all love a lawsuit, don’t we?

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iPhone 3G Pricing Information

Rumors are flying over at Mac Rumors about pricing information for the new iPhone, which is due to be announced at Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference next week. Citing “unconfirmed whispers,” Mac Rumors is saying that the new iPhone will be priced at $499 or $699, depending on the size of the hard drive inside. That $499 price-point for the low-end model is $100 higher than the price-point of the current iPhone, and it will officially put the device out of my price range (if the rumors are true).

I can only hope that the rumor Kevin Rose is hearing, the one about a $200 low-end model, is closer to the truth than what Mac Rumors is reporting.

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3G iPhone Arrives June 9?!?

Maybe it’s a good thing that I haven’t yet found the money for an iPhone. Mac Rumors, Electronista, and The Unofficial Apple Weblog are all reporting on a rumor originally posted by Gizmodo that says Apple’s new 3G iPhone will be available on or soon after the WWDC Keynote on June 9. The first-generation iPhone is no longer available via Apple’s Website and is in short supply at retail outlets across the country. Many other signs in recent weeks have pointed to the imminent release of a new model, but Gizmodo is the first to claim that at June 9 launch has been “confirmed”.

I’ve been living with a third-generation iPod for four years now, and the thing is doing its best not to give up the ghost, but its time may be almost up. It regularly forgets that it has battery power nowadays, resetting itself at random intervals, and it refuses to play podcasts or high-quality audio files at all. If I had the money a couple of weeks ago, I would have bought an iPhone straight away. But now I’m glad that things have worked out the way that they have. I might be positioned just right to be one of the first to get his hands on the new device, instead of one of the last to pick up the old and out-of-date one. That would be a new experience for me—I bought my iMac last year two months or so before the newer, slicker version came out—and a most welcome one, to boot.

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.Mac and iPhone 2.0

A little birdy has apparently dropped by the offices of The Unofficial Apple Weblog to spread the rumor that a .Mac relaunch is coming just in time for the release of iPhone 2.0. TUAW’s informant says that the revamp could include .Mac syncing on Windows, among other things. As I’m sure you’ll recall, I’ve been thinking a lot about synchronizing data lately, and particularly about syncing data between my iMac and my Dell laptop. If this rumor becomes reality, I might actually have to give .Mac a try.

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