I’m not a fan of censorship, but there was something that was particularly bugging me about Apple’s decision to reject the apps "iFartz" and "Pull My Finger" based upon the argument that they are of “limited utility”.

 As TUAW points out Koi Pond (both an App Store and personal favorite) has little or no more “utility”. As they put it–

While "Pull My Finger" would probably not meet "Koi Pond" levels of user reach, it could have a solid audience. It’s a simple, stupid joke app but it’s the kind of simple, stupid joke app that a lot of people would download and use because people like simple, stupid joke apps.

So let’s agree that “limited utility” was just a convenient way of saying- “We don’t want fart apps in the App Store”.

Now I’m not particularly draw to that kind of stupid, sophomoric humor. I don’t find it funny and I would not buy either of those apps- not even to review for this site. Moreover, it is Apple’s right not to carry particular apps, I suppose. It is their store and they can choose to carry or not carry whatever apps they want.

Unlike a Public Library (where I have a huge issue when a small group tries to impose their standards of censorship on the entire populous) the App Store belongs to Apple and they can choose what they do with it. (It is why, in part, no one said "Boo" when Apple clearly stated right away that pornographic apps would not be allowed.)

So Apple rejecting certain apps doesn’t really bug me. There are things that bug me about the decision, though.

It is looking increasingly likely that Tuesday will be a big day with regard to what’s on our iPhones and iPod Touchs.

First up, it is looking like Tuesday is iTunes 8 Day. Among other goodies iTunes version 8 is said  bring a Pandora-like recommendation mode. As huge fans of Pandora’s "intelligent" stations we love the idea!

That’s nothing compared to the second improvement that is looking increasingly likely.

NOTE: Jim is the newest member of the WOiP team. New to the iPod Touch, these are some of Jim’s initial thoughts as he has started to get familiar with this incredible device.

Being a senior citizen doesn’t necessarily mean that you are technically challenged. Being a professional musician doesn’t mean you hate computers even though their presence has drastically altered the business of music forever. Apple computers and programs written for them have changed the face of how music has been produced.

The Apple iPhone stunned the world with the beauty of it’s design and innovative features. As the second generation of the iPhone has arrived and a new Touch is expected tomorrow. I have gotten my first opportunity to explore this communication phenomenon.

You always have to be skeptical of a post that starts with the words

"another little birdie told us…"

but a post over on ars technica (one of my favorite tech sites) certainly caught my eye today.

The posts reports that this Tuesday’s Apple event may be a bit more iPhone-esque than many of us expected. As they put it

"…it’s widely expected within some Apple circles that iPhone 2.1 will be released…" 

Good news… or at least good rumor.

But what… there’s more

This little tip may be obvious to many but I still think it’s worth mentioning, particularly since many of the applications available through the App Store with extensive documentation.

The tip– whenever you download a new program take a second to jump over to "settings" to see if the app added a new category for customization.

While this may be obvious for applications that require a login such as Pandora or reQall it may be less obvious for programs such as Save Benji’s. I know that it didn’t occur to me to look at the Settings area when I downloaded and tested the application (which happens to be amazing). The options available there, however, make the application far more powerful and user-friendly.

You can, for example, choose to set —