Yep. This is a one year old baby using the iPhone. Very cute, and reason enough for me to buy some more Apple stock.

And on a related note, for all of you happy iPhone users out there, check out SeeqPod via your phone. The first potential killer app for the iPhone, and an utter pleasure to use on wi-fi networks. This app alone makes the iPhone a better music player than the iPod.

Update: Found a Business 2.0 blog entry with this video along with a couple of others of babies using the iPhone. But the best part about the blog entry is probably a link to a hilarious Fake Steve Jobs post. (Excerpt: " Check out this video showing a two-year-old figuring out how to use an iPhone. I wept when I watched this. It was like seeing the future.") And Dugg!

One of the more common idea submissions for my ongoing software contest, My Dream App, was a "Quicken Killer" and ideas in a similar category. We had literally dozens submitted, and even a minor ruckus once people realized none had made it as a finalist. Why didn't we? Well, to be frank, it was decided that it would be difficult for a small development team to do properly in a relatively quick development cycle. Color me wrong, because Cha-Ching has done just that.

Currently in public beta as version 0.2, the first thing you'll notice when you download and launch this app is its impeccable presentation. Kudos to developer Juan Alvarez (this guy is hilarious, watch this video we shot at WWDC. And I swear if you watch the Keynote video, you'll hear him laughing in the background at points), and UI designer Krzysztof Wrosnki. This is a very pretty, very "OS X" app, and it's clear the team drew inspiration from Delicious Library's three-paned, custom control laden interface. And that's a good thing, because it works. (Delicious Library topped my Top Ten Beautiful OS X Apps list.) Continue reading...

Just over a month ago (and shortly after being featured in my Top Ten list of Most Beautiful OS X Apps), the awesome Cocoa Tetris client, Quinn, was pulled from Simon Haertel's site due to legal threats from The Tetris Company. (You can view the actual threat here. As readers pointed out, the whole thing seemed rather fishy (and The Tetris Company's past actions extremely sketchy). However, Simon had to make sure everything was A-OK before feeling comfortable distributing Quinn again.

Today brings good news, in the form of an email in my inbox from Simon.

"After investigating the legal situation thoroughly with the help of several people, including the EFF, I am now sure that Quinn doesn't violate any copyrights or trademarks. All this stuff has dragged on _far_ longer than I expected, but now I really hope I can concentrate on programming again "

Awesome to hear Simon! Go grab the latest version of Quinn, slap on the awesome replacement icon (as pictured) by Susumu, and start hosting some games. I hereby declare today to be Quinn day... or something. Actually, disregard that comment, and just go play some Tetris. Woohoo!

Recently featured in my Top Ten list of Most Beautiful OS X Apps, the wonderful freeware Tetris clone, Quinn, has recently been pulled from Simon Haertel's website. The reason? The Tetris Company has sent a legal threat, viewable here. According to the developer's post, "I do not know of any clear legal precedent on this matter and The Tetris Company has never actually taken anyone to court over the issue while numerous Tetris-like games continue to be distributed today. In fact, this is not the first time Simon has been bullied by this company and it seems the mere fact that I live in the United States represents a much clearer path for The Tetris Company to push us around."

 

This is truly a disappointing event, and hopefully it wasn't my list that brought the game on to the Tetris Company's radar. My sincere condolences to the developer, and I hope that the story will not end here. If you liked the game, maybe this is a good time to shoot off an email to the developer and offer support.