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iTunes account required for iPhone setup

In at&t's latest missive on the iPhone, they rehashed a bunch of well-known information about the device, just to make sure those who signed up for the "notify me" emails are well prepared for the June 29th launch -- though, of course, actual launch day info is nowhere to be found. At the bottom of the email, it's casually mentioned that you'll need an iTunes account to set up your iPhone. This should come as no surprise to those familiar with the practices of Apple, who regularly confines its users to fairly enclosed systems out of "ease of use" or "privacy" concerns, but anyone who was hoping to manage the iPhone and its contents with open and free (as in free speech) software should probably give up hope now and just bow to Big Brother. Or make friends with a really good group of hackers.

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