Usa

Due to a ruling by the Librarian of Congress, come tomorrow it will be illegal to unlock a new, on-contract iPhone -- or any phone -- in the U.S. If you bought your iPhone before tomorrow, or if you bought a factory unlocked iPhone straight from Apple, or off-contract, full priced iPhone from carriers, or your contract is over, you shouldn't be subject to any restrictions. Doing it on your own via Jailbreak, however, will be strictly verboten, and likely subject to prosecution by law enforcement and the Batman.

As of today you can walk into an Apple Retail store in Canada and walk out with an unlocked iPhone 5. That's something that was only possible via Apple Online orders until now, likely to prevent the type of scalping activity -- the same people lining up everyday to buy unlocked iPhones only to resell them overseas -- that caused problems with previous Canadian launches. Not to be left totally behind, the U.S. has also started selling the iPhone 5 unlocked, but only via Apple Online.

So, if you still haven't gotten your iPhone, and you want to walk into an Apple Store and walk out with an unlocked one, and you live in Canada, today's your lucky day.

Go get it.

Confession: the US broadcast news networks I get up here in the frozen north come mostly from Vermont with a side of Northern New York. So, lo and behold, I caught part of the Burlington CBS station's teaser last night, and the big news? They're finally getting the iPhone 3G!

It means dozens of new jobs in Vermont and that the heavily-hyped iPhone will soon be here in Vermont. [...] AT&T officials say their products and services will be available at ten former Unicel locations in mid-January. They will honor current contracts for up to a year.

Is that the last state in the Union to get with the iPhone? Anyone else still missing out?

Looks like Apple might be shutting down iTunes in the US and Norway. At least that's what VP of Internet Services (iTunes, Mobile Me, App Store), Eddy Cue says (via Macrumors):

"If the [iTunes music store] was forced to absorb any increase in the ... royalty rate, the result would be to significantly increase the likelihood of the store operating at a financial loss - which is no alternative at all. Apple has repeatedly made it clear that it is in this business to make money, and most likely would not continue to operate [the iTunes music store] if it were no longer possible to do so profitably."

What's the deal'yo? In two separate, but equally perplexing bits of news, the US Government is thinking of dumping an extra $0.15 surcharge (going to copyright holders) onto digital downloads, which would result in either consumers paying $1.14 a track for iTunes music, or Apple eating the $0.15 itself.