We recently described the long lines and ways to check for iPhone availability before you head out to sign up for that 2 year contract and lovely new electronic device. And despite it now being a few weeks since initial release, the demand for the iPhone is still very, very high.

Insanley Great Mac is reporting that Apple has adjusted their store hours as a result. All stores will now open at 8am to accommodate for the demand.

The other interesting fact is that they’re also increasing Apple Store employees to help customers get in and out with an agreement to spend almost $1700 over two years and the additional $199 for their new phone.

So, if you’re ready to sign over that money to enjoy the benefits of the iPhone, you can now show up at the store at 8am. You might want to be there a bit earlier if you want to avoid the lines. I imagine people will start showing up at 6am or 7am now to be first in line.

To continue our recent theme of iPhone related posts, I thought I’d comment about the iPhone availability. Recent reports have stated that the iPhone was sold out across most of the Apple and At&t stores .

If you are one of the few lucky individuals that plan to purchase an iPhone and still have some available at your local Apple store, be prepared to wait in line. Long lines.

Today, I ventured to the Apple Store in Tysons Corner Virginia to see if they had any iPhones left available.. And I was shocked to see a line of over 100 people waiting in front of the Apple store waiting for the phone. I didn’t expect that many people to be waiting in line in the middle of a Friday, but Apple store employees were helping invididuals in a few at a time to purchase and activate their iPhones.

So, while supplies are short at many Apple stores, it appears that the stores that still have an iPhone, have plenty of them to sell.
If you’d like to check to see if your local store has iPhone available to purchase, visit the Apple Availability site after 9pm to see what stock is available for the next day purchase. Additionally, it appears that new iPhones are being delivered almost every day.

I’m sure many of you have heard that Apple really struggled with their iPhone 2.0 launch. It seems like everyone had trouble getting their phones activated and their iPod touches updated to the latest version yesterday as their were issues with iTunes store server.

I personally felt like Apple was mocking me as periodically through the day iTunes would tell me that a new software version 2.0 was available to upgrade. But, as soon as I clicked upgrade it opened a window to tell me that 1.1.4 was the latest version.

Fortunately everything seems to be working again this morning. I’ve been able to update my iPod touch to the latest software version 2.0 and even sign up for a free 60 day trial of MobileMe.

Check back here soon for a review of both.

Although I have still yet to purchase an iPhone (I’m waiting until after the mass hesteria that will ensue Friday morning at Apple stores and AT&T outlines around the country) I thought it was interesting that the folks over at macrumors.com have discovered the location of the iPhone 2.0 firmware.

Yes, it is true, that you can download the iPhone 2.0 Firmware here:

iPhone1,2_2.0_5A347_Restore.ipsw (download link).
According to the article at macrumors, the firmware is slightly higher than previous builds they’ve seen and will require a bit of attention while installing.  It appears, that for the install to function properly that all media on the iPhone will be erased.   Luckily, iTunes will allow you to back up all your media onto your Mac or PC before the installation.

Additionally, to install this firmware you must hold the Option key while pressing the “Check For Updates” in iTunes.

Head over to macrumors.com for more details.

While PC game manufactures with available services from Valve Software’s Steam and Direct2Drive.com have allowed customers to purchase and download games directly to their hard drive for some time now, no one has offered the same capabilities for the Mac.

Despite having the number 1 online Music store and a solid media download service offered through iTunes with Music, Movies, TV Shows, and Games for your iPod, Apple has not yet worked out any deals with gaming studios that would allow them to sale direct downloads for Mac games.

But, it appears that instead of waiting to see if Apple will negotiate a deal with the larger gaming studios that sell games for the Mac (ID, EA, etc.), gametreeonline.com has reached a deal to offer direct downloads of Spore Creature Creator to Mac users. The site is currently accepting pre-orders for the game.

Gametreeonline.com currently offers 3 other games for Direct Download. These include:

1. Puzzle Quest
2. The Tuttles: Madcap Misadventures
3. The Lost Cases of Sherlock Holmes

While none of these are blockbuster Mac games like Command & Conquer 3, the fact that they’ve included Spore means that more EA games may soon follow.

Purchasing from the site is quick and easy and accepts credit cards or allows you to pay through paypal.

So, if you’re interested in some new Mac games and don’t want to head to the store to get them, give Gametreeonline.com a try.