It's been an up-and-down day for porn-loving iPhone owners. Reports began breaking last night and this morning that the app 'Hottest Girls,' which formerly featured nubile lasses dressed in bikinis and lingerie, would be providing photographs of nude models. The nudity news shouldn't come as too much of a surprise since Apple implemented parental controls for its newly released iPhone 3.0 SDK, which many believed would lead to the availability of pornographic apps.

Strictly for research purposes, and to maintain journalistic integrity (is that still a word?), we browsed the app store to verify the new release. (It wasn't just to catch a glimpse of boobies, we promise.) We left disappointingly unfulfilled, though, when we received a message that the app was not available.

Now, some might be worried that Apple pulled the racy app due to negative publicity, but, according to AllenTheGeek.com, the app is merely temporarily sold out. Afraid the porn rush of prospective buyers would crash their servers, distributor ATG has temporarily halted the app's sale, but has assured the porn-loving public that the titillating images will return. Until then, you'll have to continue getting your iPhone porno fix with Safari. [From: TechCrunch and Engadget]

Back in January, Steve Jobs took a leave of absence for vague health reasons that he said had something to do with a "hormone imbalance." After six months of his being M.I.A., we heard rumblings earlier this month that the leader of the Cult of Mac was preparing to make his grand return.

Well, it's official, says MacRumors; Jobs is back on -- well -- the job. And we've even gotten some clarification; when the turtleneck-clad CEO said "hormone imbalance" he actually meant "complete liver failure." Methodist University Hospital in Tennessee confirmed rumors that Jobs had a liver transplant after being bumped to the front of the waiting list. According to the hospital, the CEO had the highest MELD score (a standardized scale for measuring the severity of liver disease) for his blood type, allowing him to jump ahead of others also waiting for a transplant.

The whole Internet, it seems, is currently fawning over the new iPhone 3GS. That's partially because the device seems to be a worthy upgrade to the iPhone 3G. (We're not sure we'd call it a successor, since it will be sold alongside the existing handset; it's more like choosing between the basic MacBook and the souped-up MacBook Pro.) We also lay responsibility for the hype, though, on the shoulders of one of our pet peeves -- the media's love affair with Apple.

At least one Web site refuses to swallow the story whole, though. The popular tech blog TechCrunch's M.G. Siegler recently wrote an opinion piece arguing that the iPhone 3GS might not be the best bet. But then again, he lays that blame squarely at the feet of AT&T, only backing up our argument that the media may love Apple a bit too much to give a fair assessment.

Today was the start of Apple's World Wide Developer Conference (WWDC), and today's keynote started off the week-long event with a bang. There were so many announcements that we could easily spend all day sharing every minute detail of the upgrades and new products in the Apple family. We'll leave the nitty-gritty stuff to someone else, so here's a quick recap of everything you need to know about Apple's latest announcements:

Faster and Cheaper Portables

• Upgraded 15-inch MacBook Pro: The new 15-incher uses the same uni-body construction and non-removable battery as the 17 inch MacBook Pro Apple announced in January. The Pro line gets an SD card slot (finally, a way to capture our images without lugging around camera wires), but at the expense of the ExpressCard slot (this means you will lose the ability to add devices, like an internal 3G data card, to your laptop). On the plus side, the Pro line is getting a $300 price cut -- the 15-inch MacBook Pro starts at $1,699.
• Aluminum MacBook is now the 13-inch MacBook Pro: The sleeker looking MacBook will become a member of the Pro line and get a boost in specs with more RAM and a faster processor (more multi-tasking, better video performance, overall faster computing). The 13-inch MacBook Pro also gains an SD card slot, and gets a price cut to $1,199, down $100 from it's October 2008 launch.
• MacBook Air: The Air is also getting a spec boost, but, more importantly, is seeing a drastic price cut to the tune of $700. The base model with a hard disk (as opposed to the fancy solid state drive) will now start at $1,499.

When Steve Jobs ambiguously announced in January that he would be taking a medical leave of absence from his Apple CEO position, he predicted he would return to work by the end of June. According to a Wall Street Journal source, even though Jobs was "starving to death" (according to an unnamed source that spoke with the WSJ) prior to and during his leave because of an inability to digest proteins, the pancreatic cancer survivor amazingly appears to be on track to make his scheduled return.

According to the Journal, some unnamed industry insiders have even predicted that Jobs will make an appearance next week at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference. Others, though, including Richard Doherty of the Envisioneering Group, attribute those hopes to wishful thinking. He told the WSJ, "He likes to surprise people, but we don't think thats likely to happen at WWDC."

As Jobs has been known to make surprise announcements, his presence at the event, however unlikely, could signify that the Cupertino company is ready to unveil the new iPhone, which will reportedly include increased processing power and video editing capabilities. The timing would be perfect for iPhone owners with two-year AT&T contracts, as they'll certainly be ready to upgrade. [From: The Wall Street Journal, via The Mirror and Gawker]

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak (pictured left) told the Wall Street Journal that his friend Steve Jobs (pictured right) seemed "healthy" and "energetic" in a recent telephone conversation between the two.

Though they didn't discuss the issue of Jobs' health directly, Woz optimistically said that Apple's CEO "doesn't sound like he's sick." Jobs has been on a leave of absence for the past six months due to a hormone imbalance, a result of his battle with pancreatic cancer. Jobs is slated to return to Apple in about a month, although it's still unclear in what capacity he will rejoin the company.

Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) is next month, and Apple is expected to unveil the new iPhone, as well as to announce its release of the newest update to OSX, dubbed Snow Leopard. And if Jobs shows up to deliver the keynote, you can expect an ovation akin to that received by the Knicks' Willis Reed in game seven of the 1970 NBA Finals. [From: WSJ ]

High-end jeweler Cartier garnered itself a bit of (perhaps unwanted) attention this past weekend when it filed a trademark infringement suit regarding a small time iPhone app developer -- Digitopolis Game Studio. The company created a pair of apps, called Fake Watch and Fake Watch Gold Edition, which featured recreations of Cartier's "Tank" watch.

Oddly enough, Cartier didn't sue Digitopolis, but rather, Apple, for allowing the applications into its marketplace. The jewelry maker withdrew its suit after Apple yanked the offending titles Friday afternoon, stating that Cartier's "concerns had been addressed."

Of course, Cartier might do better to spend its time battling guys selling cheap knockoffs on Canal Street, rather than suing Apple over poor renderings on an iPhone. Just a thought. [From: TUAW]

Turns out those lovable little earbuds may deliver more than pleasant sound waves.

According to a support bulletin issued by Apple, the cans are a possible conduit for static electricity. The company has issued some tips to keep the voltage down--which essentially tell you to stop using the player.

Among the dangerous conditions are dry or windy environments (sorry U.S. Southwest, Midwest, and coastal zones). Motion is also a troublemaker, so Apple advises against exercising with the iPod or frequently taking it in and out of your pocket, especially if you are wearing synthetic fabrics such as nylon. Sure, who does that with their iPod anyway?

Apple has fired back the latest salvo in its never-ending marketing war with Microsoft. The glossy white maker of the iPhone and OS X looks like it's feeling the heat from Microsoft's Laptop Hunter series of ads, in which laptop shoppers realize that, while Macs sure are pretty, they're much more expensive than PCs.

Since Apple can't really claim that a Mac is a better value proposition, its latest ad argues that, although you may pay less for a PC, you're getting what you pay for -- namely crashes, viruses, and headaches.

Of course, at this point, we're getting kind of tired of ads from both sides. The "I'm a Mac" commercials are annoyingly smug and condescending, and the "I'm a PC" commercials are disingenuous and too touchy-feely. Really, all either campaign has done is make Linux look all that more attractive. [From: Engadget]

Everyone loves Macs, crooks included. From the New York Post, we get this story of Dwayne Stewart, a serial Apple store robber. According to the story, back on January 15, the ex-con Stewart got the bright idea to start following people leaving the Apple store on Prince Street in New York City's trendy SoHo district. He would then swipe their fresh Apple gadgets as soon as they were out of sight of security.

During his two week spree, the thief allegedly nabbed a 16-year-old's new iPod, a 50-year-old man's laptop, and a 25-year-old's laptop. Stewart would then pawn the items, which, in the end, turned out to be his downfall. Months later, someone bought one of Stewart's pawned computers and took it to the Apple store for warranty repair, where it was discovered to be stolen. Police tracked it back through the pawn shop straight to Stewart, and he was arrested on May 6th.

Just goes to show you, once again, that crime doesn't pay, especially where Macs are concerned!

[From: New York Post]

Demonstrating the power that technology holds over Generation Z (or maybe Generation Apple would be more appropriate), a new YouTube video displays just to what extent today's tech-tots are dependent on their gadgets. In the video, which can also be found at GeekSugar, a screaming, tearful toddler is immediately satiated with the gift of an iPhone. Although it could just be that the little guy is happy at the prospect of talking to "Bubba."

Already probably more adept at using the touchscreen than we are, the iPhone infant also seems remarkably composed, considering our reaction when we lost our own fully-loaded, 16 gigabyte iPhone. Aw, man. Now we're getting a little teary-eyed. [From: GeekSugar]

The Internet is definitely hopped up on a Twitter high at the moment, and, now that Oprah is included, many say the site has reached its high-water mark. It seems that with everyone and their mother (near-literally) flooding Twitter, the site will soon lose its appeal to the early adopters and tech-savvy folks that made first made it a hit. From there, we'd think, the site's popularity could only foresee a long, slow slide to the bottom. Despite all that, though, the site's founders are saying that Twitter is absolutely not for sale.

Biz Stone and Evan Williams, creators of the site, appeared on 'The View' yesterday to talk Twitter with Barbara Walters and co. Rumors were swirling about a number of companies wanting to buy up the king of microblogging sites, but, when asked about them, Stone said: "No. We are not for sale." This flies in the face of numerous recent reports about Apple being in the final stages of designing a $700 million takeover of the site. Our advice? Take the money and run, sons. [From: Computerworld]

Okay Mac and/or art lovers... prepare to make your ultimate wet-tech dream come true.

An Andy Warhol serigraph is currently up for auction at O'Gallerie in Portland, Oregon. This signed silkscreen print, which is expected to fetch between $20-30,000, was commissioned by Apple's first COO Del Yocam, and would surely be the prized piece of any tech aficionado's collection.

We know we're in a recession, but some things are just too good to pass up (if you have the money, that is). The auction begins on May 6th, so grab your best auction tux and head for the Pacific Northest. [From:TUAW]

We thought that the days of absurd iPhone rumors were behind us. We were pretty sure that the new phone operating system du jour -- Android -- had finally stolen the spotlight. Besides, the iPhone has developed a regular cycle of reasonably predictable improvements, so what could the rumor mill possibly stir up to take attention away from Google and the Palm Pre? How about the tantalizing idea of two new iPhone-like devices on the Verizon network?

Rumors have been circulating about the iPhone coming to Verizon, and about AT&T looking to extend its deal for iPhone exclusivity through 2011. But carrier deals are boring. If you really want to send the Internets into a tizzy, you've got to entice them with promises of secretive new hardware, like the oft-rumored-but-never-materialized iPhone Nano, or an Apple netbook-like device. These happen to be exactly the devices that a new Business Week article claims will soon be coming to Verizon's network.

Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam confirmed that the cellular provider is in talks with Apple about bringing devices to the network, but he revealed nothing about what the nature of the hardware would be. This of course has given people carte blanche for making stuff up. The two rumored devices have been described respectively as a "smaller, less expensive calling device described by a person who has seen it as an 'iPhone lite'," and as a larger, touchscreen "media pad" that will play movies, music, and make VoIP calls over WiFi, but will not include a cellular radio (Isn't that called the iPod Touch?).

Whoa, folks, the week's barely started and already we have some big tech news. According to "people familiar with the situation," USA Today writes that Verizon and Apple have been in "high level" talks for months about developing an iPhone for the Verizon network. Although Verizon's 80 million customers would make an iPhone deal pretty attractive to Apple, this news flies in the face of Apple CEO Tim Clark's comments last week. Cook stated that Apple would keep its iPhone exclusive to AT&T, calling it the "best wireless provider in the U.S."

AT&T's contract with Apple gives it exclusive rights to distribute the iPhone in the U.S. through 2010, but it sounds like we could be seeing a Verizon iPhone in 2011. As far as mobile data accessibility (e.g. surfing the Web, checking Facebook, and using e-mail), Verizon's CDMA network offers slower speeds than AT&T's 3G network. Roger Entner, head of telecom research for Nielsen, told USA Today that, despite the speed difference, Verizon's CDMA network is perceived as more reliable than AT&T's 3G network. (Either way, we think 3G is overrated, speed-wise.)

AT&T stands to lose the most if Apple ends up in bed with Verizon, because many potential customers love the iPhone but are either disappointed by AT&T or already have a contract with another carrier. Customers could be the big winners here, since Apple is likely to continue selling iPhones on the AT&T network, finally giving customers the option to choose a carrier. [From: USA Today via Engadget]