Yup, it finally happened! You can now do what iPad users have been doing for months now and stream Netflix to your iPhone and iPod Touch! Just look in the App Store for Netflix and download it for free. You have to be a subscriber to the service though, but who isn’t these days? The quality is really good and sharp, but my only concern is that the iPhone screen is way too small for watching movies of any kind. But, it might be nice to watch a TV episode or something that doesn’t demand a huge screen on there. Or like if I’m out and about and have the sudden need to watch 30 Rock. But overall, I agree with David Lynch here (warning, one NSFW word in the video below)

Apple’s path towards the Orwellian overlord company it didn’t want to be in 1984 continues. As we all know, Apple recently rejected Camera+ for allowing people to use the volume buttons to take pictures. Now, Apple has rejected a small update to the Read It Now app. Why? Apple explains…

“Applications cannot require user registration prior to allowing access to app features and content; such user registration must be optional and tied to account-based functionality.”

WTF mate? That doesn’t make any sense at all. So you can’t have an app that requires registration, unless it’s required for account related functionality. What is Apple smoking here? The app is back in the store, I know one thing, if this kind of stuff continues on the App Store, I might have to make the switch to Droid. Apple’s just getting way too nutty these days. I mean, we hear something on a weekly basis about an app that gets rejected for weird reasons. This needs to end.

There’s this app called Camera+ that got pulled by Apple. It was pretty popular, but Apple still felt the need to pull it. Why? Because it allows people to take photos with the volume button, which apparently violates their Human Interface guidelines because it modifies the functions of external buttons. Pretty lame that Apple would do that since taking pictures with the volume buttons, or ANY button has been a feature demanded since day one. The strange thing is that the feature had to be enabled by the user. When Apple found out about that, they pulled it saying that users expect the volume buttons to only do the volume. That doesn’t make sense because the user has to enable the feature, so they know what it’s doing. To me it just sounds like a coverup for Apple to maintain their iron grip on the App Store. It’s things like this, Trent Reznor’s Nine Inch Nails app, censoring Oscar Wilde, and censoring Ulysses Seen that make me question the App Store and if I want to continue supporting these practices.

Read the full story at Gizmodo. It’s worth doing.

Adobe has filed a complaint with the FTC in regards to Apple’s refusal to let them develop Flash for the Apple iOS devices. Because the Internet demands info about this, Wired.com contacted the FTC for the the complaint documents with a Freedom of Information Act request. However, the FTC denied their request claiming “disclosure of that material could reasonably be expected to interfere with the conduct of the Commission’s law enforcement activities”. This implies that the FTC is looking into Apple’s rules on the App Store. Last year, they banned apps that weren’t written in Apple’s native code, which makes life a lot harder for developers because they can’t use tools that help them translate more generalized code to Apple’s language. This also means that since apps can’t be translated into Apple’s language, that cross platform development is made much harder. Hopefully the FTC sees the App Store for what it is: a means for Apple to retain control of their device and babysit their customers. Not that Apple fanboys would mind being babied by Steve Jobs…

Source: Wired

Cult of Mac has the newest installment of the long-running series of HOLY CRAP IPHONE IS COMING TO SOMEONE THAT DOESN’T SUCK AS BAD AS AT&T rumors. According to them, a high up at T-Mobile said that the chances of the iPhone coming to their service in the fall is 80%. They don’t say who this person is because he wanted to remain anonymous (no doubt because he’d probably be fired on the spot). This is actually a pretty good rumor because there would be no hardware changes needed on the iPhone in order to make it compatible with T-Mobile’s network: both use GSM. Heck, people with jailbroken devices are already using iPhone on T-Mobile.

Apple is reportedly working on a CDMA version of the iPhone, which would make it compatible with Verizon…but I don’t know that it would go to Verizon because they’re so loyal to Android right now. Regardless, I think everyone knows that other carriers will be getting the iPhone in the very near future because AT&T’s exclusivity deal is almost up. I’m sure Apple will do here what they did in other countries when this time comes: add more carriers.

Source: CultOfMac.com

Firefox just launched a neat little app called Firefox Home. It allows you to access your bookmarks, tabs, and history from your desktop on your mobile device. I tried it out, and it works perfectly. In order to use it, you need to first install the Firefox Sync extension on your desktop machines and make an account. Then: grab your iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad, go to the app store and look up Firefox Home and grab the free app. When you launch the app, just log in and you’ll see all your bookmarks and tabs, right from the cloud! It’s pretty awesome!

Source: http://blog.mozilla.com/blog/2010/07/15/get-firefox-home-on-your-iphone/

Wow. As if we needed any reaffimation of Apple’s absolute dominance in the smartphone industry! Lately, there’s been talk of Android making gains on the iPhone, but then this happens and I have to doubt what people are saying. 1.7 million units in 3 days. To put this in perspective: Apple sold 394 phones per minute…or 7 PER SECOND! That’s CRAZY! Think about this from a monetary perspective: the phone starts at $200 (with contract) for the 16gb model, so if they sold 1.7 million of that unit, that’s $340 million dollars in Apple’s pocket at a bare minimum! What hasn’t been stated is just how many of these sales have been upgrades from previous customers. I’m sure there’s a large chunk of devoted Apple fans that upgraded simply because it’s the latest thing to leave Steve Jobs’ Magical Kingdom. Regardless, it’s still a very impressive number, no matter how you slice it.

However, it hasn’t been all good news for Apple. The launch has been marred with many issues such as shortages, screen discoloration, fragile glass, camera problems (sorry, no crazy Jetsonesque FaceTime for you!), and most notably: antenna issues (to which Steve Jobs replied: hold it differently).

I think all these issues came about because Apple probably put iPhone 4 on the fast road to shipping after the prototype was found in a bar a few months ago and leaked to the net. That and Steve’s philosophy that real artists ship. Regardless of all the issues, the launch has been an amazing success. Let’s just hope Apple fixes all these issues.

I can’t believe we have whittled the process of marital separation to an iPhone app. This is technology gone too far. The Estate divider calculates a couple’s marital possessions to try and make the divorce process easier. And if you thought children would be spared, there is an app being developed to help calculate custody.

Now, this I could really get into, especially for those long car trips. Netflix will have a streaming app on the new iPhone. so, when you want to pass the time waiting for a bus, your food or the car trip to be done, you can stream a Netflix movies directly to your iPhone.

You know, with all this talk of the iPhone and Verizon, I’ve been neglecting a certain smart phone that is actually gaining popularity and giving Apple a run for its money. The Droid, powered by Google, is gaining a lot of attention and taking a decent part of the smart phone market. So, this looks like it could turn into a two horse race; Apple’s iPhone vs. the Droid.