Well the Technological messiah has finally arrived in Canada. Now we can get back to anticipating other things, like the Dark Knight, or the ability to watch the Dark Knight on your iPhone.

With the iPhone available and the grassroots consumer action which led to lowered fees, The iPhone will keep Apple afloat for at least another five years. At which point PCs will be tired of the fan boy arrogance and crush them with one quick swoop destroying hundreds of starbucks and graphic design schools.

So enjoy your iPhone. They are really cool.

Sources:

http://flickr.com/photos/littera/353133292/

Just when we feel comfortable enough to say “wow, cell phones have really changed the way we operate,” things get even weirder. Here are 10 facts about cells from around the world that show the scale and style of our contemporary global use; sometimes for bad, but sometimes for real, cool, innovative good.

1. There Are LOTS of Them

There are half as many active cell phones on the planet as there are people. When you think of the general wealth distribution across the planet, it’s pretty remarkable to have over 3.3 billion active mobiles. Then again, Luxembourg’s mobile phone penetration rate is 158%. Yep – that’s 158 active cell phones for every 100 people.

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2. And They Make a Mess

125+ million phones are discarded every year. Given the rate at which people go through cell phones (Koreans replace on average every 11 months), it’s easy to see how the environmental side can get out of control. At least there’s gold in the garbage! Yarr.

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3. M-Voting in Estonia

While the 2008 US election is abuzz with web penetration, E-stonia’s been leading the global technopolitical charge. As Lithuania books a seat on the e-voting (online voting) train, Estonia’s letting mobile phones both act as a convenient vote delivery platform, but also a personal identity confirmation, ushering in a new era of what is being called “m-voting”.

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4. Koreans Love to Text Message. Seriously.

Korean teenagers between 15 and 19 years of age send well over 20,000 text messages a year, on average (60.1 texts per day). I don’t care how fast StarCraft has made your fingers – that’s a lot of time that could have been spent… I dunno… talking to people. According to the Korea Times in February 2006, “over 30% of South Korean students send 100 text messages a day”.

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5. The First Cell Phone Came Out in 1983

Well, at least, the first to get FCC acceptance. It was called the Motorola DynaTAC 8000X. Before you lolz at the cheesebag name, wait until you hear what it stands for: Dynamic Adaptive Total Area Coverage. Kinda endearing, I guess. They sound… proud.

6. Cell Phone… Or Flashlight?

Lost power? Sneaking back into bed? According to a Sprint survey, just under two-thirds of cell phone users use the backlight as a flashlight. A testament to human ingenuity! I guess it’s obvious, in a way. And here I thought I was being clever.

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7. You Can Get Stuffed Into a Locker Through Your Phone

Ok, not really, but apparently text message bullying is on the rise in England. As an online anti-cyber-bullying guide explains, text message bullying allows for abuse around the clock. You want to pick on some kid, he’s available 24/7. It’s like those massive Blackberry ads at airports that boast that you now never have to leave the office. Bullying has never been more efficient!

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8. Cell Phones Can Help Stop Nuclear Terrorism

Using solid-state radiation sensors, researchers at Purdue University are working to allow network of properly set up cell phones to track the presence of radioactive material. Since likely targets for terrorist attacks are major urban centers, and since most people have cell phones, this system could help collectively find out where the problem lies.

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9. Used for National Disaster Response

Mobiles are more useful during an emergency than just for calling loved ones. Other countries have adopted systems whereby phone companies automatically warn citizens of emergencies/disasters – free of charge. Finland, in 2005, adopted such a system, as did Japan.

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10. Half of Japan’s Top Fiction Was Written on Mobile Phones

Absolutely nuts. Turning the publishing industry on its head, this trend’s subscriber models are thriving and making significant money for aspiring writers, in turn fueling the phenomenon. Authors tend to be young women sharing fictionalized aspects of their lives. Five of the top ten works of fiction in 2007 were written on mobile phones. Japan, you never cease to amaze me.

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Games invent worlds with rules, and in these worlds, secrets are magic. Tricks and codes are the perfect way to appendage value to a game without having to mess with the basic flow of it. Easter eggs about as old as gaming itself, adding intrigue and establishing a playful line of communication between player and designer. The most fun secrets lead to unlocked game elements, rewarding you for your hard work playing (or looking up codes) with new tools and functions, but the best of those are the unlocked characters. The examples below show three famous badass unlocked characters, each accessible in totally different ways, each interacting with the player in different ways as well.

1. Minion (Twisted Metal 2)

With six massive tires and the firepower of a small battalion, Minion was fitting as a final boss. As much as running for your life to avoid being crushed was fun, playing as Minion was even better. It was the perfect kind of thing to unlock after having worked through the game. There’s always been something fair and nice about being able to use/acquire that which you defeat in games, and Minion’s a perfect example.

Special Abilities

• Can crush other cars
• Powerful machine guns
• Heavily armored

How to Unlock

Press L1, Up, Down, Left at the vehicle selection screen.

2. Reptile (Mortal Kombat)

As the first unlockable/secret character in a fighting game, Reptile was the ultimate in mystery ninja cool. Scorpion and Subzero had their own thing going, and then this weird green guy would pop out every now and then with rather cheeseball clues as to how to find him. I liked that there was yet another ninja in the game, but it did seem like just another example of palette swap laziness (at least, until later on in the series when he was made more lizardish). Overall, though, it spiced things up. With a secret unlockable riddle-giving ninja character, how can you go wrong, really? Only a hidden in the first Mortal Kombat, his popularity earned him a real spot in the lineup for subsequent games in the series. Later hidden characters in Mortal Kombat world include Smoke, Jade, Noob Saibot, and others, but Reptile really started it all.

The ninja color-swap precedent established by the ninja turtles is to blame.

Special Abilities

• Can spit acid
• Can throw forceballs (projectiles)
• Fatality: Exposing his lizard face, then tearing off his opponent’s head with his tongue and eating it

How to Unlock

In single player mode, wait until a shadow covers the moon in The Pit stage, and win two flawless victory rounds. You’ll fight Reptile in the pit below.

3. Sheng Long (Street Fighter II)

As the story went, Sheng Long was the former teacher to both Ken and Ryu. Electronic Gaming Monthly, in their April 1992 issue, played an April Fools joke on their readers, claiming that you could fight him in the arcade version, but only under very specific and nearly impossible circumstances. The hoax was a huge success, with players all over the world dumping loads of quarters into the local coin-op to be the guy who pulls it off. Sheng Long’s legacy inspired the character Akuma, who appeared in later games in the Street Fighter series. While it’s maybe a bit unfair to put him in place of an actual unlockable character, that the joke was pulled off so well earns a spot in history.

Special Abilities

• Can use all the abilities of all the other characters
• Flaming dragon punch (before Ken got it in later versions)

How to Unlock

The full description’s in the pic below, but basically, you had to go through the entire game without getting hit once, then spar with the final boss for 10 rounds without either of you hitting each other. As if!

The limited edition handset is the perfect metaphor for Marvel Comic’s latest blockbusting superhero. It wraps the inventive, technologically savvy qualities of Tony Stark in the durable, sleek, red and gold armor of Iron Man. Sweet. LG Shine to the Rescue.

But as cool as the movie looks, with all due respect, I was never a huge Iron Man fan growing up. Rich dude flying around in a suit of armor? Fap fap fap. So I can’t help but wonder Why does HE get a phone in HIS honor, when there have been countless comic book butt-kickers who deserve it way more? Are there less juvenile, more serious issues to ponder in the world today? Definitely. Did I spend an afternoon matching my favorite comic book characters with their respective cell phone technology? Absolutely.

Dr. Octopus – iPhone

At the height of smart-phone technology, who better to operate the multi-touch interface screen of Apple’s iPhone than evil super-genius Dr. Otto Octavius?

When he’s not busy throwing tanks, activating nuclear reactors or beating up Spidey, Doc Oc can use his mentally-controlled, telescopic tentacles to check emails, download music, text message his girlfriend while updating his blog, all at the same time! We’ll call it the iiiiPhone.

Wolverine – RAZR

For obvious reasons Wolverine needs something sharp, virtually indestructible, and able to accommodate his short temper. When he’s finished dealing with some punk Rogers customer service rep, he needs a phone he can throw into an enemy’s jugular. A cellular ninja-star if you will. So what better than a RAZR?

Silver Surfer – Motorola Q (Silver)

Exiled on earth, the Silver Surfer needs his very own silver…surfer…to surf….the web…get it? ‘Cause the phone is silver, and he’s……oh man that was terrible! What am I doing with my life?! Have you ever actually “booed” yourself? I can’t even look at myself in the mirror after that one. Wow. I suck for just suggesting the Motorola Q. Kicks me in the balls next time you see me.

The Hulk – TA-838/PT

“Hulk wearing ripped purple pants. What you wearing?” My impression of the Hulk having phone sex everybody….No? Nothing? Tough crowd. Anyhow, it’s pretty hard to picture the giant green bundle of rage delicately tapping away on his Blackberry, especially since one finger could turn the phone into blackberry juice. And I can’t picture him about to launch an oil tanker into orbit, only to be interrupted by Rihanna’s Umbrella song muffling its way out of his left pocket, when he pulls out his flip phone to take the call: “Hello? Hulk busy. Send text.” The Hulk needs something bulky with big buttons, something with the ability to send and receive calls while surrounded by explosions and incoming missiles.

Nothing takes a beating like the TA-838/PT Military Field Telephone, and incidentally nothing dishes them out better either. In the hands of our angry green friend the TA-838 is perfect for clobbering bad guys, smashing them into the ground like hammering a nail. And for fashion purposes, the phone also matches his skin color!