It’s tough to keep track of the iPhone’s slow global release, so one Apple fan assembled all the data into one easy to read map. If the country is red, then they either have the iPhone or will be getting it this summer. (Note: Switzerland, Spain and Poland are still just rumored, not official).

It’s like one of those pandemic maps from the movies. You see the military general plotting two little red dots. Then four. Then eight. And then, all of the sudden, the dots have covered the general’s body, spewing puss across the room in all directions. [Apple 2.0]

The iPhone is “currently unavailable” at the AppleStore US, following the dry-out in the UK. Does this mean they are waiting for the shipment of the next version? If so, this is a brilliant and rare move for Apple.

We won’t know for sure until next month, but knowing Apple’s tight command of their stock levels, it looks like this may be the reason. But considering we’re almost exactly 30 days from the WWDC keynote, it could mean the 3G iphone is coming sooner than we think. Let’s assume this is what is happening. If so, this move is brilliantly kind and uncharacteristic of Apple. What they’re doing is trading off secrecy to protect people from buying the first-gen iPhone in its last days before its successor is unveiled. I mean, if you’d bought an iPhone and it was upgraded to v.2 days after your purchase, wouldn’t you be pissed? Maybe they’d rather short the sales for a month and not have to deal with thousands of pissed off customers. [Apple Store–thanks, Erik]

Something called the “iPhone Black” is now appearing in the “Select Model” popup menu on AT&T’s registered customers screen. An AT&T spokesperson has told us that the company doesn’t have any comment on this. And we don’t know what “iPhone Black” means, but some may take this as a confirmation of the rumored all-black iPhone allegedly coming next month. However, since there’s no other information except this screenshot, we will take it as is. [AppleInsider]

Update: AT&T’s just denied the existence of an iPhone Black, pointing to leftover placeholder text from a weekend update.

Most of you probably know Jonathan Ive even if you don’t recognize the name—he’s Apple’s head of design (otherwise known as the comapny’s Senior Vice President of Industrial Design). And he’s chiefly credited for designs of the iMac, iPod and iPhone. In an interview with The Independent, he shared some of his philosophies on designing for Apple, and just how Apple “does it.”

We have a very clear focus that all the development teams at Apple share, a focus around trying to make really great products.That can sound ridiculously simplistic, almost naive, but it’s very unique for the product to be what consumes you completely.

Later in the piece, Ive talks about Apple’s place as a cultural icon.

I’m not driven by making a cultural impact. That’s just a consequence of taking a remarkably powerful technology and making it relevant. My goal is simply to try to make products that really are meaningful to people.

We could easily pull the entire interview and paste it here for you to read, but you should really hit up the original article instead. There’s plenty more interesting stuff left. [The Independent via psfk]

This Ubuntu app isn’t quite as cool as the TiVo remote app for iPhone we saw last week, but the concept of controlling your TiVo over your network is just getting started. By allowing any network device to issue orders, you can essentially make your cellphone, laptop, PC, wall panel or internet connected dog into a remote for your TiVo. [Zatz Not Funny]

Today Apple revealed its plans for WWDC, confirming that the Jobsnote this year will take place 10AM PST on Monday, June 9, rather than the usual Tuesday. (No word as to whether the turtleneck will still be black, or if the 3G iPhone will actually be present.) The WWDC will of course have two separate tracks, one for iPhone and one for OS X. More info at Apple’s WWDC website, or in the press release after the jump. UPDATE: Some things we tend to forget repeatedly around here—WWDC keynotes are always on Monday, Macworld Jobsnotes are the ones that are always on Tuesday. My bad!

Apple Executives to Showcase Mac OS X Leopard and OS X iPhone Development Platforms at WWDC 2008 Keynote

CUPERTINO, California—May 13, 2008—Apple today announced that a team of Apple executives, led by CEO Steve Jobs, will kick off the company’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) with a keynote address beginning at 10:00 a.m. on Monday, June 9, 2008 at San Francisco’s Moscone West. This year’s WWDC will showcase two revolutionary development platforms, the ground-breaking innovations of OS X Leopard and OS X iPhone , the world’s most advanced mobile operating system.

The five-day WWDC event, which runs from June 9 to June 13, will feature the first ever iPhone track for mobile developers with in-depth sessions and hands-on labs to fully explore the capabilities of the OS X iPhone 2.0 software, including the iPhone SDK and the App Store, a breakthrough way for developers to wirelessly deliver their applications to iPhone and iPod touch users.

The iPhone track will also enable mobile developers to work side by side with Apple engineers to create amazing applications that leverage iPhone’s revolutionary Multi-Touch user interface, animation technology, rich set of APIs, including programming interfaces for Core OS, Core