Panic's Coda looks like a nice environment to develop sites in (but perhaps a bit pricey).
Yes, a way to achieve soft clipping in Java is obviously available. I was struggling with this yesterday when I worked on creating rounded corners on a component containing other components. I don't know if it is worth the hussle with offscreen rendering, but perhaps I will need it when I try making drop shadows.
The only drawback with the iPhone... Nice illustration by John Hicks. I think it can be taken even further, by adding prints from the ear and cheeks too... I'm looking forward to reading the first reviews of it once it hits the market because it sure looks nice.
Javascript drag and drop tree structure is something I've tried to write myself without success. Haven't viewed the source yet, but it looks promising.
This is so cool, 20q.net is an AI project that plays 20 questions with you. It is kind of scary how good the AI has become. Last time I played it was 3 years ago and it was good then...