My friends, there's less than a week remaining until the official release of the long-awaited Apple iPhone 3G. If you ask me, I don't think most stores will face iPhone 3G shortages, but that depends a lot on the location and service plans offered. Until we get to the iPhone 3G service plans part, you should also remember that iPhone 3G queues have been started already, although I can't exactly say what those people have in mind (if they really have some sort of a plan, or they are just iPhone geeks without any special purpose). OK, these being said, let's move on to the service plans part, because it seems that Rogers Wireless got "penalized" by Apple(it was the time for that, in my opinion)!

When talking about the iPhone 3G subscription plans available, we have some very nice prices, like in Australia, competitive plans, like in Switzerland, Netherlands, Denmark and Finland, but not limited to them, of course, and some insanely expensive plans. For example, look at Rogers Wireless, Telia Sonera and Netcom. I know this is one of those few occasions when we see Canada, Sweden and Norway together, but there are some things that need to be said. I have no doubt that the market for the iPhone 3G will be much smaller in those last two countries, when compared to Canada, so those prices could have somehow an excuse, since the living standards in there are extremely high, but what about $60 per month in Canada, with only 400MB of data?

Well, this is where the battle starts. Strangely, this is not between Rogers Wireless and some competitor, but between Apple and Rogers. How is that possible? Well, it's all pretty simple - after seeing Rogers Wireless' planned service prices for the upcoming iPhone 3G, and the reactions of their customers, Apple decided to "punish" the Canadian mobile carrier with less iPhone 3G deliveries!

According to Daniel Smith, quoted by AppleInsider, multiple sources, including a person from Rogers, are claiming that a serious amount of planned iPhone 3G deliveries were diverted to Europe. Now, I don't know if we should consider the fact that stores may get as little as 10 to 20 iPhones each for the beginning more than just a rumor, because it seems too close to 0, for me.

For now, Apple and Rogers are still quiet, but over 43,000 potential iPhone buyers have signed this petition against Rogers' prices. What do they say? "Over 43,819 people say NO to Rogers," as you can see on the RuinediPhone page, if you click the link above. Is that good, is that bad? If you ask me, Rogers should definitely lower those prices, but I guess some people may even be happy with them...or not?

In the enterprise environment, switching to a whole new operating system is much harder than for a home user, especially when we're talking about thousands of computers, in most cases. Nevertheless, there are more and more companies taking this risky step, and I guess I don't have to say the source and destinations, because things are pretty obvious - it may be said for Microsoft, but most switchers are moving to Mac, and some of the remaining ones, to Ubuntu or another Linux distro. Today, I have to tell you about the switch to Mac of the German newspaper publisher Axel Springer...

According to a report published by AppleInsider, Axel Springer is pushing aside no less than 12,000 Windows PCs, and replacing them with Macs. Why? The answer is extremely simple - as Axel's CEO, Mathias Döpfner, said, "The Apple computers are easier to operate than all the others." Should I say more?

Yes, I guess I should say more, because I have a little problem with that statement. Macs are great for beginners, or for casual computer users. From my own experiences with Macs, Windows and Linux, and after observing my friends switching back and forth, I must say that Macs are still a bit out of reach for all-around power users. I know, Macs could be the best solution for a sound engineer, or a graphics artist, but when you have people that write code, play a lot of games, work with Photoshop, Corel, Maya, and also hate using virtual machines...they won't fall for it, believe me!

At last, it should also be noted that Axel Springer is going to be Apple's largest corporate client in Europe, and second, behind Google, in the world. Well, I can only hope all the employees to receive a Mac in the coming months will be happy with it and work better than with their previous PCs, because no matter what happens, this is a victory for Apple. In the end, I am sure everyone will get along with those Macs...and if they won't, there's always Parallels Desktop for Mac!

Having problems with the iPhone? Well, be sure to check your head first... because if you don't have any problems with the iPhone, then the iPhone could cause you some problems. No, I am not calling anyone crazy...yet, but how could one call people that would stand in line for OVER A WEEK waiting for a d*mn phone? I know, it's not just a phone, it's the iPhone, and it's not just the iPhone, is the iPhone 3G, but this is still completely insane!

Reports about a queue formed outside Apple's Fifth Avenue retail store have been confirmed, and the image above is one of the many that appeared less than a day ago on GearDiary.com. The funny part is that, according to the last updates, this is some sort of peaceful gathering to support organic farming(!?!), buy iPhones, and who knows what else.

In an open letter to Steve Jobs, various New York important people (mayor, state governor, two senators), and "The Good People of New York State," the group currently queueing for the iPhone 3G claimed they are trying "to set a new Guinness World Record for "longest time waiting in line to buy something."."

Here's an excerpt:

"We are excited about the new Apple iPhone, and the Independence it will provide us.  We are so excited, in fact, that we have arrived an entire week in advance of the on-sale date.  Coincidence or not, we think that Independence Day is a great day to begin Waiting For Apples!

We have come from all parts of the country, and even from abroad, to set a new record for longest time waiting in line to stimulate the economy of NYC.  We could have set this record anywhere, and on anything.  But, we heart NYC, the Big Apple.  And we love Apples grown in and near NYC.  So, what more nourishing place than right across from Central Park, the "lungs" of New York City."

Need I say more? To read all the mumbo-jumbo, you could go and check the Waiting for Apples website for yourselves. I am still wondering if I should consider these people insane, or not. What do you think? Are we having problems with the iPhone, or with its followers? No matter what's the truth, it seems Apple's marketing machine works better than ever. Congratulations!

Today is a beautiful day, don't you think? I don't know about you, but I have a good feeling about the near future. Why? I am not high, don't worry. I am clean as the sky in a July morning, 2000 years ago, so here's what I found - cheaper high-end  MacBook Air, as well as the cheapest iPhone plan so far. Good enough? Sure it is, so I won't keep you waiting any longer and I'll move on to the details now. Ready?

OK, first of all, let's take on the MacBook Air, since I didn't hear anything new about it in the last months. It was rumored to appear, they released it, everyone was amazed, a lot of people got one, even more considered it too expensive, and then...it simply remained around, but without any special news popping up, until now! Finally, the 1.8GHz SSD Macbook Air got cheaper...or "less expensive," put this how you want it.

Before I tell you about the money, one advice - in the future, when looking for "discount apple mac computers," "cheap macbook air," or other similar things on Google, be sure to check Apple.com for the current prices, so you can save some of your precious time, all right? OK, now let's see that $500 price drop...

Yes, you heard that right - the 1.8GHz SSD Macbook Air has fallen from #3098 to "only" $2598! I know, there are plenty of cheaper alternatives, but this is a SSD MacBook Air, after all, so $2598 isn't that bad, after all...

Next, let's see that iPhone plan, shall we? Previously, we discussed about the iPhone plans in a lot of places, last time being about Switzerland, Netherlands, Denmark and Finland. Now, the time has come for Australia's Optus to strike back with a vengeance, by announcing the cheapest iPhone 3G plan yet - $18! Here you have the details...

For this small fee, you will get the "Yes" plan, including 100MB of data and $50 worth of national calls and text messages, based on 47 cents/30 seconds, and 25 cents/text message. Even more, a fee of 35 cents is charged to establish each roaming call. For those subscribing for a 12-month period, the 8GB iPhone is worth $51, and the 16GB one, only $61. If you sign for 24 months, these prices go even lower, to $21 for the 8GB model, and $26, the 16GB one. Sweet!

Obviously, this is not the only plan available in Australia, but I think it's enough for today. We got a cheap MacBook Air, we got the cheapest iPhone 3G plan so far...what else could you look for? Remember - there's no such thing as "discount apple mac computers," all right? Enjoy the summer prices!

Instant messaging is something that, if not created, people would have found a way to make it happen. For example, more than a decade ago, some of my friends were crazy about using their mobile phones to send and receive text messages. They got so good (that means "fast," obviously) at it, that I can almost call "instant messaging" what they were doing. Well, that's for the past, but now, we have real instant messaging on our phones already, as long as the devices are smart enough, of course! As you know already, this is all taking us to the Apple iPhone...

One of the problems of the iPhone, just as it happens with most new products in the smartphone market that use a completely new mobile OS, was the lack of applications for it. I say "was," because this problem is slowly, but surely, fading away. Obviously, the App Store will have a big contribution to that, but until then, there are plenty of software producers working on iPhone applications and releasing them into the wild, and today, the time has come to talk about Google and its Google Talk instant messaging application.

So...what about Google Talk? First, a few general facts - until now, GTalk was known as a Windows and Web-based application for voice over internet, first beta version being released on the 24th of August, 2005. Since then, some time has passed, and with the release of the Google Talk gadget, all platforms able to run Adobe Flash applications also got the power of using GTalk. Does this ring any bells?

The story is short and simple - Google has just announced a new version of Google Talk, which is now designed to work with the  iPhone and iPod touch. Basically, there is no major change, but the layout has been formatted to match the look & feel of other iPhone applications. This isn't something new to Google, since Gmail and Reader are already available as iPhone applications.

Unfortunately, there are two issues with the iPhone GTalk - because it must be opened though Safari, owners of old iPhones won't be able to chat and take phone calls at the same time, while the second problem is that, when the browser window in which GTalk is running is left behind and the user is switching to another application, or even another browser window, the status in the instant messaging application is automatically changed to "unavailable."

That's it for now, so...if you want to get Google Talk for iPhone, you know the issues, you know where to take it from, and I suppose you already knew that GTalk is free to download and use, so...good luck messaging with it!