The iPhone’s coming out in a week.
You already knew that.
And whether it’s the greatest thing since sliced bread or not, you already have a clear idea as to what you want from the device. For those of you who demanded an unlocked unit, your prayers may be answered.
According to cnet’s news blog, retailer PureMobile looks to be touting unlocked eight gigabyte iPhones on its web site.
If completely kosher, an unlocked iPhone could be used on any GSM carrier as opposed to running exclusively on AT&T’s network.
Currently, the web site only declares that the iPhone is “coming soon” and doesn’t offer a price, but alerts the user that shipping will either be US$19 or US$29 depending on delivery speed selected.
Though an impressive idea, it’s also important to note that an unlocked iPhone will be subject to the same quibbles as all other unlocked phones in that while it will be able to make calls without any problems, data features won’t work out of the box. To date, no alternate carriers have come forth with any plans regarding this issue.
Stay tuned for further details on this developing story.

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This may not be next on your shopping list, but it could be interesting:
Italian fashion company Ermenegildo Zegna Holditalia SpA (Zegna) recently demonstrated the Solar JKT, an outdoor jacket lined with wearable electronics such as two solar modules in the coat’s collar that can turn solar energy into electricity. According to Playlist, the stored electricity is then routed by conductive textile cables to a buffer battery which can be used to charge a device or store power.
The battery, which measures 70 millimeters by 60 millimeters by 13 millimeters, weight about 100 grams and requires about four to eight hours to load. Once full, a device such as a mobile phone or iPod can be charged in less than four hours through a five volt connection for USB devices and a six volt connection for mobile phones.
The jacket is currently being developed by Interactive Wear AG and Innovative Solarprodukte GmbH (Solarc).
No details have emerged as to pricing and availability, but the Solar JKT coat is expected within the second quarter of 2008.

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Your Santa Rosa-based MacBook Pro just arrived in the mail. And after showing it to your spouse, kids, pets and co-workers, you settle down to work with it.
If it feels a bit too warm, that might be Apple’s contribution.
A report over on Engadget is citing how dozens of users on MacRumors and Apple discussion threads are mentioning that their newly-acquired MacBook Pros are running hot.
An intrepid reader pulled his laptop apart only to find about 40 times too much thermal paste having been applied to the logic board. Other readers have echoed similar complaints and offered similar logic board pictures.
A recent firmware update issued by Apple seems to have helped somewhat, but no official comment as to the issue has been released.
If you’ve seen this problem on your new MacBook Pro or have a solution, idea or workaround, let us know.

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While it’s unknown as to whether the iPhone will walk the dog or consistently predict tomorrow’s winning lottery numbers, it will be able to access YouTube content.
According to cnet’s Crave blog, the upcoming cell phone will feature “a special YouTube player that you can launch right from the home screen.” Leaked photos have also shown a specific “YouTube” button in the main menu interface.
The iPhone is slated for release on Friday at June 29th at 6 PM at various AT&T and Apple retail locations. Check your local outlet for additional details.

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Apple’s iPhone is scheduled for release only a handful of days from now, reader Kenn Marks voices his opinion on Apple, AT&T, unknown required contract details and the other mystery areas of iPhone ownership he’d like to see covered before he picks up Apple’s next generation cell phone:
Stick it to the Man or We Get No Respect
By Kenn Marks
With the iPhone just around the corner, as a loyal Mac enthusiast I’m beginning to feel like Rodney Dangerfield that “I get no respect” from the company I support, sometimes on the bleeding edge, like my desire to be one of the first iPhone owners. I’m also feeling some of my sixties roots in wanting to “stick it to the man” with Apple introducing the iPhone six months ago at Macworld SF and letting us know it’s going to cost us US$499 or US$599 plus the big AT&T unknown. Here we are, less than two weeks away from the big day and NO ONE can tell us what our monthly commitment to AT&T is going to be, or if there is a multi-year contract involved.
It’s like buying that new car with all the features we want at a great price then finding out once we drive it off the lot that it only gets ONE mile per gallon fuel economy (aka, consumption). I know I can trust Apple for product and service reliability, but what about the New AT&T, the old Cingular and the Old AT&T. What are they trying to hide with all the name shuffling?
I think it’s pretty arrogant of Apple and AT&T to introduce a new piece of hardware one day BEFORE the end of month and quarter and be betting the farm and their next bonuses on a great couple of sales days, while you and I might have to fork out US$74.99/month for an unlimited internet two-year contract (if a contract is required – “2 yr contract required” removed from advertising on June 7th). If that’s the price point, then it’s an additional US$1,800 commitment after purchasing the phone.
I feel that if we let Apple walk all over us this time when we have the opportunity to make our vote heard, we’ll all lose. We can take all the online polls we want and have no guarantee that Apple even looks at the results. In the construction industry, where there are such things as holdbacks to ensure that there are no problems down the road with your newly constructed project, we as potential customers, who hold the cash/credit card, can influence future company decisions on how they treat us.
Not buying gas on a certain day doesn’t even make a ripple for the oil company pond you are boycotting, but holding off your iPhone purchase until Monday July 2 could really make the bean counters scream. All that revenue they were planning for end of quarter just vaporized into Apple’s fourth quarter. Yes, it will affect the value of my Apple holdings, but I feel treating customers fairly outweighs making a bunch of shareholders rich. We can do nothing about what the CEO of our employer makes unless we work in a union shop. Our supervisor will call us a troublemaker and tell us to seek employment elsewhere and that we’ll be easy to replace. Unless Apple & AT&T publishes the rate plans necessary to purchase an iPhone by Monday June 25th I strongly suggest waiting two more days (you already waited six months) and buy the worlds greatest phone on Monday July 2nd.
An owner and loyal purchaser since my first IIe Plus.

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Late Wednesday, Apple released Mac OS X 10.4.10, the latest version of its OS X operating system. The new version, available for both the PowerPC and Intel hardware configurations, features the follows fixes and changes:
-Addresses an issue in which a Bluetooth headset may show up as an available device for sound output in the Sound preference pane after it had been removed from Bluetooth preferences.
-Adds RAW image decoding support for the following cameras: Panasonic DMC-LX1, Panasonic DMC-LX2, Leica M8, Leica D-LUX 2, Leica D-LUX 3, Fuji S5 Pro, Nikon D40x, and Canon EOS 1D Mk III.
-Resolves an issue in which some DNG images may appear tinted or distorted.
-Improves compatibility of Mathematica 6 with 64-bit Macs.
-Improves reliability when using the IR remote control after waking from sleep.
-Improves reliability when mounting external USB hard drives.
-Resolves an issue in which a TomTom GO 910 may not be recognized when connected via USB to an Intel-based Mac.
-Improves responsiveness when using the Control-Eject key combination to display a shutdown dialog.
-Addresses a specific issue in which users importing video from a DV camera may experience dropped frames.
-Includes recent Apple security updates.
-Addresses issues with calendar calculations in certain applications.
-Addresses issues when rounding decimal numbers for display in certain applications.
-For Motion, addresses an issue in which some texture corruption could appear in Motion if VRAM is full.
The PowerPC updater, a 25 megabyte file, can be downloaded here while the Intel version of the update, a 72 megabyte file, can be downloaded here.
As with most major Apple software updates, users can also find the file by activating Mac OS X’s Software Update feature, which also offers combined updaters.
If you’ve installed Mac OS X 10.4.10 and have either positive or negative feedback about it, let us know.

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On Wednesday, Apple released Apple TV 1.1, a software update for its Apple TV device.
According to Electronista, the update both adds YouTube functionality and fixes a UPnP IGD (Internet Gateway Device Standardized Device Control Protocol) code vulnerability that could cause denial of service vulnerability and lead to arbitrary code execution.
The update is currently available only through the Apple TV and can be accessed via the device’s menus by selecting Settings and the “Update Software” option or allowing the Apple TV to automatically check for updates once a week.
If you’ve snagged the update and had either a positive or negative experience with it, let us know.

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Jason O’Grady’s blog over at The Apple Core links to pictures the mighty Engadget snagged of the upcoming iPhone’s dock.
Rumors are also circulating through Think Secret;/a> that the dock, which is a surprising white in the photo, could also be used to charge Apple’s Bluetooth headset via a port installed in the station.
Click the link for full details and we’ll see what June 29th brings.

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Apple’s new MacBook Pro laptops have been out for a few weeks now and, true to form, have become the tech maven’s objects of desire. Macworld’s Henry Norr recently sat down with the new laptops, the magazine putting them through their paces and discovering the better ends of Intel’s new Santa Rosa hardware architecture, which was used in the creation of the new units.
The review highlights the better points of the new laptops such as improved display technologies, brisk speeds, upgraded RAM capacities and improved frame rates on many games. Norr also brings up shortcomings such as slower frame rates than the previous generation of MacBook Pro on Unreal Tournament 2004, only modest gains on battery life improvement and current lack of PCMCIA and eSATA ports.
For the full review, click here.
If you’ve picked up one of the new MacBook Pros and have feedback about it, let us know.

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With the rumor mill in full swing, the current news is that AT&T will close its entire retail chain of stores for approximately two hours on June 29th in order to launch the iPhone.
According to AppleInsider, reports have emerged stating that the stores will close around 4 to 4:30 p.m. and not reopen until 6:00 pm, when the iPhone will be available for purchase.
The general idea to this seems to be to allow AT&T to coordinate crowds in order to prevent mob scenes and to hang iPhone displays, which are said to require their own power supplies and Internet connections.
Reports have also come in claiming that the AT&T stores will remain open until 10:00 p.m. or midnight, depending on location.
When asked for further details, AT&T retail store representatives stated that formal training and final briefings on the iPhone weren’t expected until “a day or two” before the launch.
Accessories for the iPhone handset may be arriving already, an AT&T retail employee telling AppleInsider that a significant shipment of iPhone accessories such as a phone holster, leather case and batch of gel cases had just arrived. The employee cited that it was unusual to receive accessories for a product with two weeks remaining prior to its launch.
Additional details such as availability for the iPhone have yet to be released.

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