Recently, TUAW has received numerous tips about near random iPhone boot loops that force users to restore their units. This forum thread suggests that these reboots may be due to the iPhone's onboard watchdog system.

The iPhone has to create a new Application Map whenever you load or unload apps to the system. Should the time to create that map exceed two minutes, the phone enters an endless boot cycle.

The solution proposed on the thread isn't of much general use -- it requires jailbroken shell access. You may want to limit the number and scope of Apps you load to your phone (i.e. cut down on those tip calculators and sudoku apps that we know you're secretly addicted to) to achieve the same, stable results.

Fewer apps mean a shorter time to generate that map and a better likelihood that your phone will work with greater reliability.

Thanks, Goran

Doesn't matter whether you're a Republicrat or a Demublican, or if you're blue, red, or purple. If you've got an interest in World Events, the US iTunes stores has all the speeches from the recent American conventions -- from both sides of the aisle.

The speeches and video highlights are free and available as podcasts for your delectation (and bonus raised blood pressure, where applicable).

Pretty much everyone wants the same good things for the US and the world. Let these speeches help you decide which side can get you there.

Thanks, Gordon Werner

Until September 8th, you can buy Office for 30% off with the purchase of any Mac at Apple resellers. Visit this Microsoft Promo Page and choose "Save Now".

Students can get additional discounts by purchasing Office with academic pricing. This Student Pricing page offers tips about ongoing student discounts that aren't limited to the September 8th cut-off.

A cheap copy of Office ... what more could you want?

When a developer submits a "Pull My Finger" application, you've kind of got to expect it's going to be rejected. iFartz was rejected. Ibrate was rejected -- and that one was even raising money for breast cancer research. Today, over at Mac Rumors, I read about "Pull My Finger"'s rejection for limited utility. Right at the bottom of the rejection letter was the name "Victor Wang".

Mr. Wang has become a near legend for his rejection letters, usually long, delayed (I suspect he's second- or third-tier in the review process) and for aesthetic reasons that leave developers blinking with surprise. While "Pull My Finger" would probably not meet "Koi Pond" levels of user reach (here's our look at Koi Pond), it could have a solid audience. It's a simple, stupid joke app (notice how I'm not pulling punches here) but it's the kind of simple, stupid joke app that a lot of people would download and use because people like simple, stupid joke apps.

I've complained about this before, so apologies to everyone who has heard this point -- the next post is just a wee bit below this one, feel free to scroll -- but until Apple offers developers a firm set of guidelines, developers will continue to be ticked off by seemingly arbitrary rejections like this one. Apple is clearly refusing applications that fail the sniff test -- and yes, I know that's a little more apt a metaphor than this application deserves. "Pull My Finger" is tasteless. Apple should have rejected it for that reason, rather than pulling new reasons out from thin air.

Apple needs to step forward, and do so soon, with a clear set of guidelines that explain to developers exactly what to expect when they press that "submit" button for their new app. Developers shouldn't be wasting Apple's time with unpublishable software. Apple should not be wasting Developers' time with a secretive and arbitrary review process.

Update: The app's author has set up a plea-page

This Business Week article describes the rising demand for first generation iPhones. "Shelf prices" (using eBay values of virtual shelves) for the 16GB iPhone are currently at about $600, and $500 for 8GB models. In other words, the $250 AT&T refurb specials from March are now worth roughly double what you paid for them.

From easy-unlocking to contract-free usage to eco-consumerism, consumers are looking for those original units and paying premium prices to get them. A majority of phones are heading outside the US for resale while growing demand at home keeps resale prices high.

With the September 9th "Let's Rock" event confirmed at Yerba Buena, TUAW readers seem confident that we're about to see a new iPod debut. 70% of you agreed on that point.

Rumors point to a revamped nano, with a longer silhouette. This new shape makes the nano easier to hold onto without dropping, especially when running.

An updated Nike kit appears likely. Nike support is long overdue for the iPod touch and, especially, the iPhone 3G with its built-in GPS system. Rumors suggest that the update will include more biometric logging and feedback for the stats-obsessed athlete in you.

Read more below...

Having trouble this morning accessing data through your local cellular network? You're not alone. As several dozen (very appreciated!) TUAW tipsters have let us know, AT&T data seems to be down around the DC metropolitan area and areas North. If you're affected by this outage, drop us a note in the comments and let us know where you are.

Update: Associated Press confirms that the AT&T wireless data network is down in parts of the eastern US. Affected areas include Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Illinois (not part of the east last time I checked) and Missouri (ditto).

Voice service remains unaffected but Web surfing and email are not functional. Surprisingly (not!) most outage reports came from iPhone users, once again proving that the iPhone is the first smart phone that really gets used as an Internet device (versus as an Email-specific device).

Rumors say that AT&T has been hard pressed keeping up with the iPhone demand on the data network -- because with an iPhone it's really easy to get online and surf effectively.

Update 2: TUAW Reader Tim writes that he was given a credit for the outage this morning. If you're seriously put out by the lack of data service, it may be worth a call to AT&T. You may not get the same $25 credit Tim got but you may be prorated for the downtime.

Update 3 South New Jersey seems to be affected as well.

Data still out for you? Share your location here or continue reading for a map.

Update DC Area seems back online. First reports that Boston is back.

Christina Warren. Erica Sadun. Two Women. Two Opinions. One love of all things Macintosh. This week, we take on iTunes rentals. Are they the next best thing or a waste of your money? We'll start the discussion and you judge the smackdown winner for the week.

Erica: Totally hot! No commitment, less than it would cost in gas, time and popcorn at the local second-run theater. Plus (bonus!) no used bubblegum under the seats. Why wait weeks for Netflix? You can watch on demand for three or four bucks with at most an hour or two of download time. Plus there's that 99-cent special each week.

Sure, I'd prefer the rental to go for 48 hours instead of 24, but it's really convenient to watch movies that I'd otherwise never get around to seeing. Rock on, iTunes Rentals.

Christina: Erica, you ignorant slut! Hey, I'm always up for new ways to watch movies, but the only real reason I can see renting from iTunes is laziness or random 3 AM rental attacks. And I haven't had random, "Ooh, I want to watch Fletch at 3 AM on a weeknight" moment since college. Weeks for Netflix? More like a couple of days -- I often get my queue replenished in 24 hours. And then I can bask in the joy of extra features, like director commentary, surround-sound, and if it's an older film, I can make sure I'm getting the latest/digitally restored print and not some digital export of a 10-year old print that was just cheap LaserDisc to DVD hack-job back in 1997.

Really though, what saddens me is how many films are available to buy, but are NOT available to rent. I can find new releases at Blockbuster, On-Demand or catch them on any of the premium movie channels, but its the catalog titles that have real potential. The Movie Store baits me by featuring Secretary on its "What We're Watching" section, but when I try to get my Spader-fest on, I find out my only option is to buy the movie. If I'm going to do that, I might as well get the DVD and watch Sex, Lies and Videotape (which is not in the store, to purchase or rent) from my own collection in the meantime.

When it comes to the iPhone, it's really really difficult to narrow my app love down to just three picks. So with apologies in advance for all those amazing applications that didn't make this cut, let me jump in with three choices that I simply do not live without on my (jailbroken) iPhone:

Cydia. When Jay Freeman's Cydia first debuted, I was hesitant to use it. It sucked up the root partition space like a sponge and its interface was, at best, preliminary. And now, in 2.0, Cydia owns me. It's simply fabulous. From its command-line Unix support to its fully overhauled interface to its extremely workable update system, Cydia provides a powerful software distribution system, perfect for modern smartphones and a great competitor to AppStore.

Boss Prefs. Boss Prefs offers a wonderful services application. It lets me enable and disable services such as EDGE, Bluetooth and SSH from a central application. Because I only intermittently subscribe to data plans, Boss Prefs ensures that I won't accidentally start downloading a la carte data that starts at about $500 million (or so) per kilobyte. It also lets me enable and disable my mail accounts, so the iPhone works perfectly for whichever mode I'm in: intrepid TUAW blogger at large or private Soccer Mom on the go.

Othello. Othello is my current fidget-game-on-the-go. When I'm stuck waiting somewhere for a few minutes, I pull out Hongtao Guo's perfect take on Othello. With three playing levels, optional sound and a really nicely designed interface, Othello provides the perfect time waster. There are other free versions of Othello under various names on AppStore but I particularly like this implementation. Although I wish it would put me directly into the game board rather than the welcome screen, that's my only criticism of a lovely, free application that's a great deal of fun.

Doesn't matter if you're Obamapublican or a McCainocrat. One thing all Americans can agree on is that Macs rule when it comes to live media presentation. The Democratic national convention here in Denver is no exception. TUAW reader-on-the-spot YodaMac sent in these pictures live from the Pepsi Center.

They show this beautifully designed video backdrop being used at the convention, and better yet, the man-behind-the-curtain.

YodaMac writes: "Here are a couple of pics I snapped on my iPhone at the Pepsi Center in Denver during the DNC. Just thought it was interesting that those giant screens being used seemed to be run by Macs! (see 2nd picture- behind the scenes) I don't know about "ALL" the screens, but those fellas were definitely changing the names that appeared on the big screens for different speakers as they took the podium."

Cool stuff. And another vote for the Mac.

So Victor comes to us and says, "Quick, what are your favorite apps?" Without pausing to breathe or think, the words "OfficeCreativeSuiteQuickeys" tumble out of my mouth. That's because these are the three software packages for Mac that I cannot live without. These three apps are where I spend 80-odd percent of my working life.

By the time I can pause and reflect, I realize that I have picked three apps that provide the least Mac-like user experience. With all the rich and beautiful OS X software landscape out there, I've picked the plain but reliable dinosaurs. They're ugly. They're ported (at least Photoshop and Office are). They work.

This isn't to say that I'd change my list upon further thought. Between Word, Excel, Illustrator, Acrobat, Photoshop, and Quickey's Macros (so I rarely have to actually touch a mouse, eek), these packages get the job done. Throw in the equally ugly Eudora mail program (the original, not the almost unusable open source update that's floating around) plus Apple's cadre of less beautiful utilities, namely Terminal, Safari and TextEdit, and we're talking maybe 90% of my work time.

Sure, I've used Apple's Mail, Preview, iPhoto, iWork, Pages and so forth but I always end up going back to the more capable name-brand power-houses. The user experience might not match the slick Apple software but my efficiency goes way way up.

As for the built-in Keyboard prefs or QuickSilver, QuicKeys gives me all the programming control I need for creating and executing my macros. If I'm going to do a job more than once, I'm probably going to write a macro, whether it's sorting my mail or writing my TUAW posts.

In the end, I'm really happy with my paleo-software. One of the big reasons that I'm still (still!) using my 733 G4 Mac as my primary computing machine is that I know I'll have to re-buy these programs should I switch fully to Intel-based computing.

Instead, I'll hang with my favorite dinosaurs and keep getting the job done.

Like most phone cameras, the iPhone's lens is focused for the most general possible use, i.e. nearly at infinity. TUAW reader Daniel Forsythe modded his iPhone to focus a bit closer up so he could use it to read bar codes that he shoots from magazines and equipment labels.

The mod involves breaking the glue that holds in the camera module and rotating the lens to bring the focus closer to the camera. With this hack, he can snap photos of close-in subjects. Check out his Flickr photo set for samples and discussion.

He writes that he plans to make a full mod guide should readers express interest in it. The photo seen here is focused to 0.25".

It may be a personal preference, but I try not to use or abuse phones that can't survive a 3-foot drop onto concrete. That's why last week I ordered myself a sweet little Pantech Breeze.

It offers one killer feature that I refuse to live without: a dedicated speakerphone button. I have this on my beloved Kyocera Slider and I demanded it on any new phone that I would buy. The Breeze brings that to the table along with a video camera and full Bluetooth support. After rebates, the phone cost about $70 and works perfectly with my iPhone SIM.

So after unboxing my new toy, I enabled Bluetooth on the phone and opened Leopard's Bluetooth File Exchange.

BFE isn't some super-spiffy CoverFlow all-dancing all-singing phone interface. It's a simple little utility program (with the emphasis on "utility") that allows you to browse your BT connected devices and use its drag-and-drop interface to transfer data to and from the unit.

Leopard recognized my phone without incident and opened the browsing window shown here. It took just a few clicks to offload my latest pictures from the phone and drag them into iPhoto. Going the other direction, I threw a few mp3 files into my Download > Audio folder and they instantly appeared onboard, ready to play.

Obviously the Pantech Breeze isn't the iPhone (even as I end up tapping its screen and wondering why it's not responding) but in some ways, it should have been. Why does Leopard offer this fantastic Bluetooth interaction between phone and Macintosh for an also-ran third party phone, while balking at any iPhone interactions? This is the interaction that should have been on my iPhone, using functionality already built into Leopard. I wonder why it wasn't baked into the flagship Apple product of the century.

About a week or so ago, I spent $0.99 at iTunes to pick up a copy of Koi Pond. With all the software that constantly moves onto and off of my iPhone, it should say something that over a week later, Koi Pond is still installed. It's a little treasure.

Koi Pond provides exactly the experience its title suggests: it puts a virtual Koi Pond onto your iPhone, allowing you to place plants and feed the fish. The fish in question swim around the screen and run away from the rippled waves you create when messing with the water. If you leave your finger still enough, eventually a koi or two will investigate and nibble on your finger before darting off on its pre-existing fishy business.

In theory, there is no point to Koi Pond. It's there to experience and enjoy. In practice, my elder children issue each other challenges: "Make the worst pond" (no fish, no plants, no sunlight, brown rocks, rotting food) or "Make the most psychotic koi" (one fish, sunlight, lots of splashing), etc.

For $0.99, it's a great deal on a little toy. Turn off autolock and cheerfully burn out your screen by sitting it on a stand on your desk. The fish will swim and burble ad infinitum. (It helps to have the iPhone docked while doing this.)

Koi Pond is available for iPhone and iPod touch. It costs $0.99 at the iPhone App Store.

Good morning, Mr. Phelps. The man you are looking at is Justin T. iPhoneuser, one of our loyal TUAW readers. Recently, Justin's iPhone went kablooey and when he tried to restore, he found that his backups were corrupted. He lost a great deal of data and time, all because Time Machine hadn't backed up his iPhone's data.

Your mission, Jim, should you choose to accept it, is to help Justin back up his data with Time Machine so he never has to face this kind of data loss again. As usual, should any of your team members be caught by Apple, the Secretary will disavow any knowledge of your actions. This post will self-destruct in five seconds...

[This is the part where the Theme Music usually plays.]

Read on for your TUAWpossible Mission Briefing.