Jason Unger

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On Sunday, Debbie and I had a little bit of time to kill at the mall, so we headed over to the Apple store to take a look at the iPhone, which we are considering getting her for her birthday this month.

(Hopefully, the event planned for Thursday will shine some light on whether we should wait to get her iPhone 2.0).

One thing about the iPhones in the Apple store — they are all live. They all have phone numbers and can make calls and send text messages.

So I was only sort of surprised when the phone I was checking out started ringing.

Like any inquisitive journalist, I picked up the phone and said "Hello."

On the other end was a rugged voice. "Who dis be?"

"Umm … you're calling an Apple store. In the mall. On a display iPhone."

"What?"

"You're calling the Apple store. In the mall."

"Huh?"

The conversation didn't go much longer than that, but either this guy was randomly drunk dialing phone numbers, or someone had used the phone to call him.

So I checked out the SMS log, and someone had text messaged him a couple of minutes beforehand. Hah! Gotta love it.

After we hung up, a text message arrived from the same phone number.

"Who the hellz is this."

(No question mark necessary.)

I was going to reply … again … but the store was closing and they shooed us out.

Honestly, I'm just upset I missed the chance to ask him if his refrigerator was running.

I'm stuck at a standstill, and I'm not sure I'll be able to move forward until I have your help.

For the past few weeks, I've been debating between purchasing an Xbox 360 or a PlayStation 3. Both are attractive for separate reasons — and I cannot get both.

Here's my situation. I need your help.

Xbox 360

Cheaper. But which model? HDMI is preferred.

Rock Band. Will hard drive-less Arcade model have enough space for DLC?

Media Center Extender. But would need to run powerline to add to network.

Better games. But I don't really have time to get into hardcore games. Scene It is more attractive.

PlayStation 3

More expensive.

Blu-ray. Won the format war, but I don't buy (or rent) movies that much.

Rock Band. But can't use my PS2 guitar, which is moronic.

Free Online Play. But would I buy any other games?

Tell Me What to Do

You guys have given me good advice in the past — help me out again.

Which should I buy — Xbox 360 or PS3? Vote now!

If this is true, Apple has to be one of the dumbest companies on the face of the earth.

iPhone/iPod SDK: Apple to approve, distribute apps, limit add-ons:

The most controversial aspect of Apple’s SDK plan is its intention to formally approve or deny all SDK-based software releases for its devices. Our sources confirm that Apple will act as a gatekeeper for applications, deciding which are and are not worthy of release, and publishing only approved applications to the iTunes Store; a process that will less resemble the iTunes Store’s massive directory of podcasts than its sale of a limited variety of iPod Games.

Seriously, wtf is this company thinking? There is a MASSIVE market for jailbroken iPhone apps. People love them! They want them! And they'll do anything to get them!

Why would Apple even consider being the gatekeeper for applications? It's beyond obvious that consumers want access to custom apps. Why else would someone build a piano app, an NES emulator and a porn browser (NSFW)?

Why would you prevent people from getting access to content and software that they want? It's obviously not working now … why would it work in the future?

I can understand why Apple would want to distribute the apps through iTunes (even though Boing Boing says this is bad). Finding podcasts (for me) has never been easier than with iTunes.

But Apple isn't vetting podcasts for their content. And they shouldn't be vetting apps either. It's moronic. It really is.

Apple, get with the times. Or you're going to have even more backlash against you.

In case you were wondering, Hillary Clinton is your new HD DVD player.

Honestly, I'm not quite sure what that means, but Hillary Clinton …

• is not the new betamax
• remains focused on championing consumer access to high definition content
• would like to remind you that hd-dvd is still the only way to enjoy ʻchildren of menʼ in high-def from the comfort of your living room … unless youʼre peter guber and your living room is an actual movie theater
• wishes michael bay would reconsider his stance re hd-dvd vs blu-ray
• is not your fucking khakis (just sayinʼ)

Chuck Norris, you have competition.

Too bad he's supporting Mike Huckabee.

The 3G iPhone everyone is looking forward to is reportedly coming by mid-year, according to German chipmaker Infineon Technologies AG, which says it is making the chips for the phone.

3G iPhone To Include Infineon Chip, Launch By Mid-Year: UBS:

UBS also believes that 3G-enabled iPhones will be released by mid-year, and that the current EDGE iPhone platform is being ramped down earlier than expected to "clean" inventories.

This is the news I've been waiting for. I want to buy an iPhone, but based on your recommendations, I'm waiting until the second-gen launches (and 1.5 didn't cut it).

So, beyond 3G, what other new features will the phone have? Probably "business"-related things, like Exchange support, and hopefully some of the things I need to switch.

It's an exciting day. Hopefully they will announce more at the SDK event next week, but I'm not holding my breath.

You know Apple.