Santa Clara, CA--October 26, 2004--From around the world they came: entries in the second annual Mac OS X Innovators Contest, submitted by both hobbyists and professional developers hoping their project would get the nod as one of the top applications created for the Mac OS X platform this year. After careful vetting by a committee chaired by Mac DevCenter managing editor Derrick Story, this year's winners were announced today at the O'Reilly Mac OS X Conference. And the winners are...
First Place, U.S.:
"Delicious Library" from Delicious Monster Software,
submitted by William Jon Shipley and Mike Matas
http://www.delicious-monster.com
Delicious Library lets users create a home or office lending library of
books, movies, music, and video games. Scan any barcode using iSight or a
USB scanner to import an item's details from the Internet. Users can then
browse though digital shelves, check stuff out to friends from via Address
Book and mark the due dates in iCal, and get smart recommendations of new
items to read, watch, and play based on the items already in the library.
Delicious Library will be released on November 8, 2004.
First Place, International:
"FotoMagico" from Boinx Software, submitted by
Oliver Breidenbach
http://www.fotomagico.com/
With just a few mouse clicks, FotoMagico allows users to create live
presentations and complex slideshows with pictures from an iPhoto Library.
It provides better control over the timing and the pace of slideshows--
users can pause the show at any time, control the volume, skip slides,
and more. FotoMagico allows users to scale, move, and rotate pictures,
and even create animations. And because it has excellent integration with
iLife, users can also incorporate music from iTunes.
Second Place, U.S.:
"Curio" from Zengobi, submitted by George Browning
http://www.zengobi.com/
Curio is the ultimate notebook for researching and exploring ideas using
flexible, freeform idea spaces that can be filled with a collage of text,
images, links to other documents, web site bookmarks, outlines, to-do
lists, QuickTime media, and even freehand sketches. Curio's dossiers
define and remain focused on the project's goals; and Sleuth, Curio's
customizable research assistant, ferrets out needed inspiration or
information.
Second Place, International:
"iDive" from Aquafadas Software, submitted by
Matthieu Kopp
http://www.aquafadas.com/
iDive, the "digital video shoebox," is a media management application that
can turn any assortment of disorganized tapes into an instantly accessible
library of digital videos. iDive's powerful and innovative viewing,
tagging, and navigation capabilities use intuitive concepts such as
people, places, events, and capture dates. Designed to sit alongside DV
editing applications and to integrate seamlessly with a digital hub, iDive
promises to eliminate the frustration and time-wasting in locating and
viewing clips hidden amongst hours of footage, by simplifying
visualization, tagging, storage, organization, and retrieval of digital
video clips and photos.
Honorable Mention, U.S.:
"Nicecast" from Rogue Amoeba, submitted by Paul
Kafasis
http://www.rogueamoeba.com/
Nicecast is a radio downloadable station-in-a-box: it broadcasts music to
the world, or to a device like the SLIMP3, from Mac OS X by sending any
application's audio out to be received. Nicecast can help users create an
internet radio station, listen to songs from an iTunes Music Library from
anywhere in the world, and even help send non-iTunes audio to an AirPort
Express.
Honorable Mention, International:
"Process" from Jumsoft, submitted by
Saulius Dailide
http://www.jumsoft.com/
Process 1.0, Jumsoft's fresh face in the tired throng of outlining
applications, is destined to draw a crowd all of its own. Its sublime,
user-friendly Aqua interface makes outlining with Mac OS X a treat. But
that's only the start of this all-around wonderful experience. The end
result is more remarkable still: Process 1.0 doesn't just make it
simpler to organize your ideas and projects; it has a favorable effect on
the outcome of all your planning that is nothing short of amazing.
First and second place winners in the U.S. category received ADC Premier and Select memberships.
Many of the award winners participated in the Mac OS X Innovators panel discussion at the O'Reilly Mac OS X Conference, and were honored at an Apple Developer Connection reception on Tuesday evening. O'Reilly Media will publish interviews and reviews of the winning software on its Mac sites over the coming weeks.
"Innovation on the Mac platform is as much a grassroots phenomenon as it is a product of Apple engineering," noted Story. "On one hand, Apple Computer continues to refine its operating system and the applications for it. But at the same time, I'm seeing independent developers creating software that rivals, and sometimes surpasses, the programs created by the mother ship. This year's Mac OS X Innovators Contest is one example that independent software development is thriving for Mac OS X."
Additional Resources:
- Details about the 2004 Mac Innovators Award
- More information about all things Mac-related at the O'Reilly MacDevCenter
- Information about the O'Reilly Mac OS X Conference
About O’Reilly
O’Reilly Media spreads the knowledge of innovators through its books, online services, magazines, and conferences. Since 1978, O’Reilly Media has been a chronicler and catalyst of cutting-edge development, homing in on the technology trends that really matter and spurring their adoption by amplifying “faint signals” from the alpha geeks who are creating the future. An active participant in the technology community, the company has a long history of advocacy, meme-making, and evangelism.