The Google team has long dreamed of the possibility of carrying the Earth around in its pocket. Now, Google Earth is official; the team’s dream has come true. With an iPhone or iPod touch, it’s no problem flying from Bermuda to the Bahamas or any other locale mentioned in the Beach Boys’ song, Kokomo. Whether this global imagery software will become of any use to its users or just another app to pass time while waiting for the bus remains to be said, but we can’t wait to climb Mount Everest from the safety of our cozy office chairs.

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Way to be lame, Facebook. Thanks to Facebook being a bitch and blocking Google’s Friend Connect service, Facebook in turn will not develop a standalone application for Android. This comes as a huge disappointment to both myself and Google. A lot of people are addicted to Facebook and although the G1 handles the normal Facebook website just fine, a dedicated app like the iPhone’s would have been nice.

No dice. We’ll see what the future holds but let’s not hold our breath.

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In a terrible attempt to stay partisan, we’ll just point you to the link on the iTunes store where you can download a Obama/Biden ‘08 iPhone application. It has campaign news, an Election Day ticker, donate button and plenty of other information. You can even call your friends to get the word out. Anyone used it? Decent? Since McCain has admitted he’s out of touch with technology, I doubt we’ll see an iPhone app from him anytime soon.

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Remember Apple’s dirty little secret? It’s no mystery that Apple has complete control over your iPhone, after all, Apple made it. Well, it turns out that that shoddy little news about a blacklist is possibly true. Daringfireball.net (they’re gay for iPhones) reports how potentially malicious or useless applications that don’t meet Apple’s standards could be revoked not only off of the App Store but also off of any individual iPhone carrying the app.

It is not a blacklist for disabling apps completely, but rather specifically for preventing any listed apps from accessing Core Location — an API which, for obvious privacy reasons, is covered by very strict rules in the iPhone SDK guidelines.

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Did you know that Apple has complete control over your iPhone? If you download an application from the App Store that is later removed, like I Am Rich, it’s normally no big deal. There’s simply no cause for alarm. But what if someone had uploaded a secret malicious application and it was installed on iPhones across the country?

No problemo. Apple can remotely remove applications from your iPhone whether you like it or not. It’s more of a safety precaution and makes sense if you take a second to think about it. However, this also means Apple could help the government out if need be. Watch your back, kid.

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From smug asshole and (possibly) Nazi extraordinaire Armin Heinrich comes the most ridiculous iPhone app of all time. It costs $999, which is the highest priced application available, and does not do anything. It displays a glowing red gem. Know why? Because you’re rich. In fact, that’s what the app is called. I Am Rich. Yup.

Apple takes a 30-percent cut of all apps sold on the App Store, so that’s $300 it gets while Armin takes home $600 because he’s a bastard. Bastard.

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Dice can be some cumbersome equipment to carry around for board games. That’s alright though, because as long as you have your iPhone on you, you’ll have a set of some topnotch dice that’ll have any D&D enthusiast drooling at your feet. It’s only 99 cents from the Apple store, after which you’ll be rolling away with your D20 Gaming Dice Set. More practical than iBeer, with a prettier interface than that chick holding the D20 die.

Remember, it’s compatible with most die-based games, so you’re not limited to playing Dungeons and Dragons exclusively but c’mon, that’s what this app was made for. It’s got four, six, eight, ten, twelve, twenty and hundred sided dice a shitload of dice that’ll also let you roll between one and nine dice at a time.

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