The launch of the phone that is supposed to change things that last year's phone changed

The iPhone 4 is finally in Melbourne.

Though we were personally weren't in the market for one, being the good little geeks that we are, we marched through the winter cold down to Bourke St to be there at its midnight Melbourne launch yesterday.

No way were we going to pass on the chance to be witnesses to a part of tech history.

There were long lines of people clad in layers of clothing standing patiently,single file, on both sides of the street. One line headed into the Telstra shop, while the other Optus, but all these people stood there in the cold, for hours by now, waiting for their turn to enter the shops and purchase Steve's new magical wonder.

Or was that the iPad now?

Rare moments of geek glamour

There's no point turning this article into a teardown of the device for two reasons:

1. We don't actually have one on us to play around with
2. Your average shopper's not buying the phone for its impressive specs.

Besides, you're going to get one anyway. It works, and it makes perfect sense after all.

So when are you getting yours?

Melbourne minus gloss

Brochures and ads frequently promote Melbourne as Sydney's quirky European sibling, citing the many laneways, coffee places, and general hipsterhood as the city's winning points.

Less highlighted are the inner suburbs. They may warrant a line or two in tourism copy as proof of Melbourne's multicuturalism, but they are a whole different world from the rest of the city. Dirty and coarse, they are the CBD's grittier reflection, trendy young professionals crossing paths with robed recent migrants before a backdrop of drugs,alcohol, and hope.

With a little help from our friends

From ASAM at the Park Potluck

2009 draws to a close, and what a roller-coaster ride it has been. To mark the end of the year, the ASAM Team decided to throw a modest shindig and meet the people who matter to us most: YOU!