After finding a line longer than my patience at AT&T Wall St:

I thought I'd save some time and get the next best thing: the iPhone2.0 update. After waiting about 20 minutes for it to install, I was greeted with this lovely unknown error "(-9838)":

I've tried two computers and no love. Looks like the servers can't handle the load.

Way to go. I mean, is it really surprising that a lot of people are hitting the iTunes store right now?.

A: No, it's not.

How about spending some of that cash from the AT&T lockdown on a few extra servers next time, eh? I just want to see the riots that ensue at the Apple and AT&T stores if the new phones stop activating as well. Maybe I should go wait in line after all.

UPDATE: No more error 9838, now just plain old stall:

And finally, this little mashup courtesy of Alex Bisceglie:

Who needs a phone, anyway?

UPDATE: I got a slice of iTunes store time long enough for the phone to at least wake from the dead. Still getting random unknown errors in iTunes, but at least I have a phone again. Others are not so lucky.