ChainsawAsh said:

I am relishing the day in the future when I'll be able to afford an 8-core Mac Pro with a 30" HD display, 32 GB RAM, a 1.5 GB graphics card, and 4 terabytes of hard drive space ... a man can dream ...

Unless you're working for George Lucas in your basement, I'd say that's a ridiculous piece of useless technology. I do a fair amount of design and development work, and besides a desire for some extra RAM (currently 3GB, but I'd like 8GB to make my various VMs run a bit faster), my quad core Mac Pro is more than enough to get the job done.

I don't get all the iPhone hate. It is, without a doubt, the best consumer electronics device I've ever purchased. To have the entire web--the real web, not some hacked up mobile version of it--available to me at any time or place is amazing. Nevermind that it's a pure joy to use. It's great to be out and about, decide you want eat, search for a restaurant, touch the phone number to call, and make a reservation. And now that the iPhone has real GPS, Google Maps will be even more useful. It's also the best iPod ever made. If you're going to get an iPod and separate cell phone anyway, why not get an iPhone?

And while I think multitouch is the best UI interaction improvement ever, I don't see it working on the desktop, at least not for 8 hours out of each day (plus whatever time you put in at home doing your own nerdings). People are getting RSIs just moving a little mouse back and forth; get the whole upper body involved and you're asking for problems. Multitouch will remain most effective on portable devices with small screens like phones and touchpads.

At $199, the upgrade is a no-brainer. I wish they offered some kind of trade-in program.