There is something about human nature that compels us to challenge ourselves. It's as if evolution itself coalesces into corporeal form to drive us forward; clinging to our backs as it whispers sweet rewards to tempt us into actions to prove we are worthy of our place on this planet. For some, these temptations burst free with creative impulse resulting in works of art, literature, or entrepreneurship. For others, especially young males, these temptations lead to dangerous physical follies involving beer. And those individuals with exceptional skills, experiences, and capabilities demand even more extreme challenges. Challenges that risk their very survival.

I've been trained to survive some of the harshest, most dangerous conditions in our world short of combat. As a former paramedic and firefighter with over a decade's experience in mountain rescue, I'm confident in my ability to handle everything from natural disasters to run-of-the-mill survival situations from the ocean, to the desert, to the mountains. But nothing could prepare me for my latest challenge... surviving 5 days on vacation in California with only my iPhone; leaving my trusty MacBook Pro at home.

iPod owners have an embarrassment of riches when it comes to choosing a speaker system for their music player. I should know—over the past few years, I've reviewed many of these accessories, which typically combine an iPod dock, an amplifier, speakers, and a remote control. And while many iPod speaker systems make considerable compromises between sound quality, size, and convenience, some are quite impressive....

But that got me thinking: how difficult would doing so be? With some smart shopping, could you create a system - an amplifier, an iPod dock with remote, and speakers - that competes on both price and performance with the best systems specifically made for the iPod?

I decided to find out.....

Sitting at the perfect, if somewhat niche, intersection of Windows Vista and Apple iPhone fandom is this: VistaPerfection 2.0.

Independent developer Spec-Works has released VistaPerfection 2.0 to ModifyMyPhone, an iPhone site covering hacked and unlocked devices, that lets you give your iPhone that unmistakable Vista-look-and-feel. Fortunately, that's all you'll get, as VistaPerfection 2.0 won't put Microsoft's resource hog on your precious little device.

It can't be... it is, kinda

According to AppleInsider (via MacRumors) [how's that for a third-hand rumor? Ed.] Apple has added a geotagging feature to the Camera application in the upcoming iPhone 2.0 firmware. The shot below is courtesy of the latest build seeded to Enterprise customers.....

In reponse to reports that personally identifiable private information can be easily swiped from used iPhones sold on eBay, the tireless Rich Mogull has cooked up a nifty way to wipe data from iPhones.

Mogull admits his process is "not perfect" but it does look to be an easy way to overload the iPhone with music files to force an overwrite of the device's storage. The Securosis.com consultant recommends the steps are followed multiple times, with multiple music playlists to make sure the device is wiped properly.

With so much recent news about 3G iPhones and Apple's real (or virtual) presence around the world, we thought it would be good to compile a comprehensive list of all the countries for which iPhone availability has been announced, and/or where Apple has some kind of presence. This presence can be a country-specific web site under apple.com (W in our table), an iTunes Store (i), an online store (O), or retail stores (R). Note that only the US, the UK, and Japan have more than a handful of Apple retail stores.

The table lists the existing, announced, or rumored carriers for the country in question, and the frequency band that the carrier's UMTS 3G network runs on.....

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