Not that any of you across the pond have been waiting for this or anything, but if you haven’t seen it yet you might want to head over to Apple UK and checkout the main graphic.

Thanks to listener Jeremy for the tip off.

Ok, Microsoft is not the first company you think of when you think creative, artistic, or avant-garde. They also tend not to be too trendy or hip. Well, the folks over at the Microsoft Mac Businiess Unit (Mac BU) seem to want to try and up old Mr. Softies’ cool factor. To that end, they have created a new “social” networking site to showcase the more creative side of Office for Mac. The new Art of Office site is an online community where users can go, share, view, and download some of the most unusual (and I have to admit, somewhat cool) Office .doc, .xls, and .ppt files I have ever seen. The site has a nice web 2-oish look and feel and it might just change your thoughts on what you can do with a spreadsheet. The Mac BU says they, “wanted to give Mac users an outlet to showcase (their) creativity and passion”. Now, I’m not sure I believe we are all suddenly going to drop Photoshop and FinalCut for PowerPoint and Word, but I will give the BU props for their efforts. They are at least trying to “Think Different” and make Office more appealing (or at least interesting) to a Mac crowd. The site is definitely worth a look and I have to say I was impressed by some of the things I saw there. Check it out for yourself at http://www.artofoffice.com/. Who knows, maybe you can be the next Van Gough of Microsoft Word.

I just saw this on the Fake Steve Jobs web site. Looks like Microsoft has a Flash header on their Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 page. In the image a streamer flows through displaying different words at random. One of the words is “viruses” and other is “built-in” so at the right moments it will actually read “viruses built-in” or “built-in viruses” (see above). Too hilarious. See it for yourself.

Ok. Reality is, this is likely more about not having to pay $7.95 postage every time they mail a customer a bill; but at least the trees benefit too.

Listener Wyane just let me know that AT&T delivered a free text message to his iPhone informing him they will no longer be itemizing data charges on his bill. Hooray! Here is the text of the message:

AT&T free msg: We are simplifying your paper bill, removing itemized detail. To view all detail go to att.com/mywireless. Still need a full paper bill? Call 611.

So kudos to AT&T for responding to this issue fairly quickly. Question is, why wasn’t this problem thought of ahead of time? Oh well, welcome to big business in America.

Listener Jeremy just alerted me to the fact that Apple is giving away iMoive HD as a free download for iLife ’08 customers. As I mentioned on the special edition podcast, if you have older projects that use themes or FX they won’t work in the new version. Mac owners with G4 and older G5 systems will also need to keep iMovie HD as the new version requires a G5 1.9 GHz or better system. I took a look and the page does state, “iMovie HD 6, previously distributed with iLife ’06, is available for download for those who have purchased and installed iLife ’08.” The download is 154.6 MB, so I assume it is the full thing. I m not sure if it does a check to ensure iLife ’08 is on the same machine, so it may work for anyone. If you try it and it does, let us know.

Join us for Live Maccast chat starting at 9:00 AM PDT and going through the end of Apple’s live event today (8/7). Join us on iChat/AIM in the room: maccast.

To access it using iChat:
1) Launch iChat
2) Go to: File–>Go to Chat… and enter ‘maccast’ as the chat name.

or Click this link to join now (AOL Instant Messenger or iChat account required)

I don’t normally cross-post, but this little iPhone tip came across my RSS feed and I thought it was so clever I had to share. Smoosh away!

Smooshtacts — iPhone Contact Photo Awesomeness: “

So you’ve got one o’ dem shiny new iPhones and you’ve been pinching and flicking and browsing and occasionally even making phone calls all week.

What next?

How about some killer custom contact photos? We adore these trapped-inside-the-iPhone style contact pics we found via our pal Brad Smith.

If you’ve got a Jesus phone, grab a friend, gently prod them face-first into the nearest scanner (or glass door) and get going! (And if you have a friend with an iPhone, be sure to forward this along.)

The technique yields amazing smooshed contact photos (’smooshtacts!’) for an iPhone, but it also makes a great background pic for any other mobile phone.

(Via Photojojo.)

Listener Guido just sent me these images of the construction site for the new Apple Store at Rosenstasse 1 in Munich, Germany. You can likely tell from the images, but he says the building that was in place at the site has been completely torn down. The construction zone has now been completely branded Apple, with a huge iPod banner on the building adjacent to the construction pit. The store is said to be a large 4-story design and will be the first of four sites set to open in Germany. Early rumors have the Munich store opening sometime around mid-2008.

Now you can “knock out the fat” and pump out some killer tracks at the same time. In the “now I HAVE seen it all” category we have the George Foreman iGrill. For USD$149.00 you get an indoor/outdoor electric grill with a built-in 10 watt amplifier and speakers. The site doesn’t provide many details, but it looks like it will support any MP3 player, so I assume it is using the 1/8″ mini jack to connect to the grill, and not the iPod’s 30-pin dock connector. From the images it looks like there is a holder near the base of the grill where you would set your iPod. I am guessing the speakers are also mounted near the base of the grill. Now, in checking Apple’s iPod tech specs the rated operating temperature is 32° to 95° F (0° to 35° C), so it’s a good thing the iPod is kept far away from the grill, but I imagine that doesn’t make for convenient operation. I would also worry about hot grease splattering and raining down on my precious Pod. Definitely not for most, but if you would like to hickory smoke some ribs and listen to the Maccast I’m not going to stop you.

Earlier this week there were reports of a new iPod game, “iQuiz” surfacing on the French iTunes store and then quickly disappearing. Well I was just on the iTunes US store (12:51 AM PDT 4/24/07) and saw the game featured on the main page and for ONLY $0.99? I of course clicked through immediately and the resulting page showed the standard price of $4.99. Unfortunately when I tried to buy a copy it reported that the item was no longer available. Bummer. Not sure if this means they are launching it today and just getting it set up or if it is another fluke. Just in case I grabbed a screen shot (below) and a screen capture of the preview video. Basically this looks like an updated version of the iPods previously built-in “name that tune” style game with a much improved interface and graphics. It also claims to have the ability to create and share your own quizzes, so that should prove fun.

Update: Well… Looks like it is official and it’s only $0.99! Great price, but no scoop here. Darn. Looks like I just caught them setting things up in the wee hours of the morning.