25 more days of iPhone hype: Now that we know the actual release date for the iPhone, iPhone fever will reach new heights. Some people call the iPhone the God phone, while others already have a list of things to do once you get an iPhone. Expect the media to go gah-gah about the iPhone for the next few weeks - some of you will love it, others will get tired. (We tend towards the latter...)

Rumor: Speculation about the iPhone's cost: The rumor is that no insurance will be offered for the iPhone from AT&T or Asurion (Asurion provides insurance for AT&T plans). Also, an AppleCare plan will probably be similar to the AppleCare iPod plan that covers the hardware for a period of two years. The AppleCare plan doesn't cover user damage, however, and pricing has yet to be determined for the AppleCare plan. Apple charges $59 for AppleCare for iPod, and $39 for AppleCare for iPod nano.

Palm hires ex-Apple hardware honcho Jon Rubinstein: Fresh from its head-scratching unveiling of the Palm Foleo at the D5 conference, Palm has hired former Apple VP Jon Rubinstein as executive chairman. The company also sold 25 percent of itself to private equity firm Elevation Partners for $325 million. Elevation PArtners features an investment team that includes former Apple CFO Fred Anderson and a certain lead singer of an aging rock band named U2.

More uproar over iTunes Plus. Now that the media has had the weekend to mull it over, there's a giant wave or reaction to discovery of user data in the new DRM-free iTunes songs. The EFF compred two DRM-free songs, (one iTunes, one not), and found that the iTunes' DRM-free songs are much bigger. One person goes to great length to document the differences. In any case, it does seem something's been done to iTunes Plus songs. Stay tuned.

In other news: Apple made the top 10 server brands in Q1 07 with 73 percent growth on-quarter. How many skills do you have in the top 10 dying computer skills? And finally, the space elevator may never leave the ground floor.