With a shocking and awesome $70+ million in weekend box office, the film adaptation of Frank Miller's graphic novel 300 has shot (and hacked, and stabbed) its way to the 3rd best R-rated opening and the all-time best March opening in US film history. Way to go, Spartans.

As noted on ballergoods.com and also at IMDB, the Mac played a big role in bringing 300 to the screen, with chunks of editing done in Final Cut and 2D graphics created in Shake. In fact, the IMDB article notes that while much of the production was on Avid systems (platform unspecified) and Linux workstations (presumably for Maya and other tools), "the filmmakers prefer Macintosh." Like we always say, there is no substitute.

If the iPhone's prices of $500 and $600 with contract were a little too much for your wallet to stomach, you might take solace in some new info allegedly leaked from a Cingular AT&T consumer survey (Wait: do wallets really have stomachs?). Engadget has the details on the possibility of the iPhone actually costing a full $200 less, putting the price points at $300 and $400 (for the 4GB and 8GB models, respectively) with a contract, meaning that the $500 and $600 prices could ultimately be for out-of-contract purchases.

Now take this all with a grain of salt; this info and the accompanying image would be easy to fake, and the designer in me says it could be exactly that. Nevertheless, a romp through iPhone dreamland couldn't hurt, and more realistic prices of $300 and $400 would put a lot of smiles on the faces of iPhone hopefuls. Heck, at the least, it would mean Steve Ballmer has a little less to say about Apple's first mobile phone.