The iPhone is coming! The iPhone is coming!: As the countdown to iPhone Day continues, word comes of one interested party's confidence in the sleek li'l gadget's success: Steve Jobs has reportedly ordered a 246-foot yacht. No word on whether it'll be named the iYacht or the Yacht Pro, though... Although you may be forgiven for believing that the 'Phone Phrenzy has reached fever pitch, the good folks at Blackfriars Marketing report that it's cooled a bit, with today's stories numbering a mere 6,213, down 325 from yesterday. Preparations for The Day Everything Changes continue apace, however, with huge iPhone displays being set up in Apple Stores and Apple posting a 20-minute QuickTime tour of the mega-anticipated gizmo on its website.

iPhone prognostications continue: Everyone seems to have an opinion on the aforementioned phone-cum-browser-cum-music-player. PC Magazine, for example, has a "Pre-Game Analysis" of the iPhone versus "Real Smartphones," comparing their capabilities regarding email, music playing, Web browsing, portability, and - imagine! - making phone calls. We congratulate them on their analysis of that last capability, however, since they say that they're "still in the dark about the iPhone's call quality, reception, comfort, speakerphone, and battery life." Of course you are, guys - it hasn't been released yet! (Okay, okay ... we'll calm down.) We admit to not having listened to it yet, but we are intrigued by title of CNet UK's podcast, "Does the iPhone Suck?" Trolling for downloads, you wily Brits? Another bit of intriguing analysis is provided by Forbes, which in an analysis of Apple's successes (and some failures), comes to the conclusion that "It's The Features, Stupid!" If you, unlike us, are still hankering for more iPhone opinionificationizing, check out this analysis of the iPhone's possible effect on Apple's stock performance, this one concerning whether the market fully groks Apple's iPhone software strategy, this one calling the Next Big Thing the "Right phone [at the] right time," and finally, one breathless analyst who is following the entire Apple saga as a "Classic Drama." While all these - and many, many more - ruminations may seem a bit tiresome, in our minds they're still better than the incessant "Apple is about to die" screeds of years past. Ah, the price of success.

iPhone-in-the-enterprise contretemps: One area in which we find the iPhone arguments to be rather interesting is in the corporate world. It seems that IT types are none to happy about supporting it, expressing concerns over security, email management, and more. Our money, however, is on long-time Mac observer David Morgenstern's reasoned analysis, which concludes "My bet is that most IT managers will find that the iPhone FUD was overplayed and that support won't be so tough."

More iPhone details emerge (s-l-o-w-l-y): Amid all this augury, some actual facts are also emerging, such as that canceling your iPhone service early will cost you $175 (though other details about service plans will have to wait until the 29th), and that it appears that the iPhone will contain three ARM CPUs and a sophisticated GPU from NVidia, the GoForce 6100 - the iPhone's future as a gaming platform may be better than originally expected. The 'Phone's future is becoming a bit clearer, as well, with reports of LED backlights for future iPhones having been ordered, and rumors of future low-cost models beginning to bubble. ("Low-cost," however, isn't a fit description for Orbino's classy new iPhone cases, which list from $100 to $320.) One rumor that we don't give much credence to is that PureMobile.com will offer unlocked iPhones. Finally, here's one last Phun 'Phone Phact: Phoreign (uh, "Foreign") iPhone rip-offs are already beginning to appear. Ah, capitalism...

In other news: One Microsoftie claims that Windows is the most secure operating system in the known universe. Ars Technical has found hints in Mac OS 10.4.10 that new iMacs may appear as early as mid-July. Apple is now the third largest music retailer in the U.S. of A., having passed Amazon.com. It appears that Leopard won't run on PowerPC G3-based Macs. Despite all the recent empasis on wireless, portable devices, IBM's mainframe division is going gangbusters. And, finally, researchrs are studying whether an addiction to computer games could be considered to be a mental disorder. We'll keep our opinion on that one to ourselves.