I've heard about cost increases as well, bummer! I am saving my pennies right now for the 70-200IS(L) right now...we are doing alot of skiing and snowmobile races this winter.
Maybe a good idea for a separate "area" for the creative geeks that still linger

Our latest photo, video, audio, whatever creations on our Macs?!
Seems like Apple is still catering to us! Aperature is an incredible program! I am slowly unlearning PS (although I still have to have it

), Final Cut Pro and Logic, definitely. FCP is phenomenal. Logic has taken the place of Pro Tools and soon Audition for me.
Even loading up computers with iMovie, Garage Band, QT, etc is exciting to me. My niece, 12 years old, built a nice website...6 pages deep, couple hundred photos, etc....all over a weekend with iWeb.
Those of you not familiar with photography...go grab a point a shoot and load some pics onto iPhoto. Do some stitching, add some cool effects and text, make a calendar for your team, whatever
The gear you can buy for less than a $200 bill with the software ALREADY included in everyone's Mac is darn near better than several thousand dollars worth of photo gear and a dedicated dark room not too many years back.
It's a cool hobby to pursue. With patience, some reading, and a lot of shooting (with tons of crappy shots), you, too, can become a decent photographer. It's cheap to shoot tons of shots and you can immediately see what changes take place with adjustments of shutter speed, ISO, etc. Instantly! Decent tripods are cheap...it's easy to get hooked quick.
Hopefully, with the world economy in the toilet, Canon will keep prices reasonable! They may not find too many buyers if they don't...
J