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Dial back your iPhone 3G or 3GS to a previous iOS

As mentioned before, iOS 4.0 on the 3G iPhone is not awesome—it’s slow, over heated, quickly drains the battery and is generally unstable. And though Apple is apparently aware of the problems and is working on fixing the situation, the rest of us need to get stuff done in the meantime.

My friend, Mike Bjorndal ( @mbjorndal ) pointed me to this iHackintosh article that allowed me to put my iPhone in DFU mode, restore an older firmware and boot back out of DFU mode again. After restoring my apps and settings in iTunes, I was back in business with a faster 3G iPhone experience running an older firmware.

Keep in mind, many of the apps you may be running now might require iOS 4.x and will be inaccessible from an older version of the OS. I take no responsibility for any lost data. Backup and then backup again…and then reconsider doing this hack.

Awesome Mac-based video guestbook for your wedding

This is how fast I’d like to be able to bring you the awesomeness on my constant quest for it: I literally just saw this tweet by @LelaNewYork and I had to share this very cool idea with you.

LOVE: Awesome Wedding Video Guest book! Works on a MAC... http://bit.ly/bMqfwi””

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For $99 US, Thrilled For You sells software for a customized themed video guestbook. You install the application and run an iMac or similarly iSight equipped Mac in kiosk mode at your wedding or reception. Then, as the emotion moves them, your guests, your family, your friends, your former lovers will take turns standing in front of the camera and expressing just how happy they are for you… or how drunk they are.

It’s a brilliant idea and you can download a demo for free. [Via Lela New York Wedding Blog]

Star Wars Cantina HD… Diner Dash with blue milk

Mobile Photo Jul 4 2010 6 28 49 PM 225x300 Star Wars Cantina HD… Diner Dash with blue milkHave you ever wanted to run your own wretched hive of scum and villainy? Have you ever wanted to utter the words, “Hey! Your droids—we don’t serve their kind here.”? If you’re an iPhone or especially an iPad user, your dream has come true with Star Wars: Cantina HD.

Star Wars Cantina HD by THQ Wireless is a Star Wars themed Diner-Dash-style game where you play the beehive hairdo’d Nia Adea and do your best to keep the never ending rush of customers (jawas, moisture farmers… the occasional Hutt) happy. It’s all about speed, accuracy and meeting the daily quota.

As you progress through career mode, you’ll be given the opportunity to make upgrades to the cantina, bringing in more tables and customer-attracting decor.

As I write this, it occurs to me that the game is not particularly Star-Wars-like. Yes, it takes place in the Star Wars Universe and, if you like these kinds of games, it’s fun enough. But when I was running around in my backyard with my friends, beating each other up with brightly painted cardboard tubes from the cores of my Mom’s Christmas wrapping paper rolls, I was Darth Vader or Han Solo, maybe Luke Skywalker. None of us was calling dibs on getting to pretend to be the bartender. This is the kind of stuff that made Luke all whiny and long to join the rebellion.

I must admit, there is a struggle between the forces of good and of evil in the cutscenes of career mode where each day brings a new challenge. It’s just that it’s not the epic struggle that is the Star Wars trademark. I’m not hearing John Williams’ score playing as I imagine Nia Adea gazing whistfully at the twin suns of Tatooine. It’s just not there.

Fun, nice to look at, but not a blockbuster for me.

Still, at $4.99, it’s better than Phantom Menace.

Which Star Wars character did you always pretend to be? Were you the bartender? Leave me a comment below.