This is the first time Apple has officially announced a specific date for an iPhone firmware download. All 1.x updates were sprung upon us with little warning. 2.0 was rumored for July 11th, but Apple never came out and said it. 2.0.1 and 2.0.2 were also largely unannounced.
2.1 is also one of the most anticpated updates yet. Some may argue it's even more so than 2.0 was.
Add to this the fact that with each firmware update, exponentially more people are in posession of an iPhone.
Come this Friday, and who knows exactly when, there could be literally hundreds of thousands of people hammering Apple's servers for 2.1, the likes of which haven't been seen since 7/11/08, when the iPhone crush flatlined both Apple and AT&T activation servers for several hours. How many more people have iPhones today compared to 7/11? A LOT more.
Announcing the exact date of the release was a big mistake IMO.
/prediction
2.1 is also one of the most anticpated updates yet. Some may argue it's even more so than 2.0 was.
Add to this the fact that with each firmware update, exponentially more people are in posession of an iPhone.
Come this Friday, and who knows exactly when, there could be literally hundreds of thousands of people hammering Apple's servers for 2.1, the likes of which haven't been seen since 7/11/08, when the iPhone crush flatlined both Apple and AT&T activation servers for several hours. How many more people have iPhones today compared to 7/11? A LOT more.
Announcing the exact date of the release was a big mistake IMO.
/prediction