I can't count the number of hours I spent at the UT Music Library on a Performa or Quadra or Centris (I had a Centris 610 at the time) playing Daleks. Strangely addicting but incredibly simple, the game mechanic has been repeated often in the casual game universe, and Daleks was essentially a rip of Robots on UNIX. You try to get away from something, one step at a time, as those somethings inch ever closer, one step at a time. It's turn-based "tag." There's a terribly unsatisfying and buggy version called SuperDaleks for OS X here.

Zombies is a bit of an update for the venerable classic, although there's also a classic game called Zombies using the very same mechanic -- nothing new under the sun, eh? But intead of dusting off that old IIsi, you can play Zombies on your iPhone or iPod touch. The developer added spells, allowing you to do something out of the norm each round. So, for example, you could teleport (sometimes seen in variations of this game). You can also destroy zombies with a spell, handy when you're in a no-win position.

The preview you see here is the unfinished version, but it's shaping up to be a pleasant reimagining of a classic. We'll post on Twitter when it's available.

As if the waters surrounding the App Store approval process weren't murky enough, one developer has just hit an unprecedented wall. Apple rejected his app, iKaraoke, citing that it duplicated functionality of the iPod application. Of course, the "duplicate functionality" reason is nothing new, but Apple's next step is: just a few weeks after rejecting the application, they have filed a patent for including karaoke functionality into the iPod app.

A brief look at the demo iKaraoke's website will quickly tell you that, while the app does bear a light resemblance to some of the menus found in the iPod application, the actual interface that the user interacts with to select and download a song is far from duplicating the iPod's polished interface. Another key point is that the file format used by iKaraoke is known as the .kar format -- an unofficial extension of the MIDI specification that enables lyrics to appear in time with music. The lyrics are then displayed on the screen, and highlighted as the song is played. Does any of this sound like functionality found in the iPod app? We didn't think so.

So what exactly was duplicated then? According to apple, iKaraoke "duplicates the functionality of the built-in iPhone application, iPod, without providing sufficient differentiation or added functionality." But they didn't just stop there. The reviewer went on to say that the application "downloads media files that are not managed by the iTunes application, which also manages media files, we believe this would be confusing to the user." Now, hold on a minute here... it's fine for several other apps to stream and download media files that are supported by the iPod without being managed by iTunes, but it's not OK for an app to download media that isn't natively supported, and provide functionality that isn't natively provided by the iPod?

This wouldn't be much different from your typical app rejection if the story stopped there, but it doesn't. This morning, Apple filed a patent [application here] which details built-in Karaoke functionality being added as part of the iPod application, with some additional bells and whistles such as monitoring the pitch of the user's voice. So it seems the functionality that was duplicated is functionality that Apple has not yet released, and possibly not yet even begun to develop. Maybe the $99 iPhone Developer Program fee should include a crystal ball for testing apps before submitting them.

As with the many other patents Apple has filed, this feature may never see the light of day. But is it really acceptable to reject an application, based solely on what appears to be a duplication of a feature that may or may not even be released in the future? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

Update: As a few of you have pointed out in the comments, although the patent application was published today, it actually was originally filed back in April of 2008. While this does indicate that the patent was indeed filed long before the SDK was even released, questions still remain about whether or not Apple may choose to reject applications based on functionality found in unreleased features.

Similar rejections have occurred with apps that offered podcast downloads prior to the inclusion of podcasting functionality in iTunes, for example. Essentially, what needs to happen is that Apple needs to clear the air on what exactly is considered a duplication of functionality, and to be clear with the developer on exactly what aspects of their application are in violation of this requirement, rather than sending a vague form letter and ignoring inquiries for additional information from the developer.

Jokes are relative. What's hysterically funny for one person may not even crack a smile on another person's face. iLaugh [App Store], a database of over 50,000 jokes for the iPhone and iPod touch from developer Azure Talon, uses sheer volume of bon mots to ensure that you'll be able to find a funny story for just about every taste.

You can pick from a variety of genres from Animals to Yo Mama!, and turn on/off sex or rude jokes as well as important categories such as Chuck Norris Facts. Each joke or story can receive a thumbs up or down from you and other iLaugh users, and the app allows you to filter out jokes that don't meet a certain minimum score.

Want to share a laugh with friends? iLaugh has Facebook and Twitter buttons that send the joke on to the rest of the world, and you can also use cut & paste on iPhone OS 3.0 devices to email the offending lines to your friends.

All of the chuckles are available for US$0.99, and iLaugh would be a smart purchase to make before those 4th of July picnics.

Remember that time you were on tour with The B-52's and had a great idea for a song, but there was no recording equipment to be found? Oh wait, that was The 88. Well anyway, The 88 recently recorded their latest single with nothing but an iPhone and the Sonoma Wire Works Four Track application, according to The Loop.

The 88 recorded the song, Love is the Thing, with a few tricks: to make sure the drums didn't overpower the iPhone speaker, they covered the drums with a sheet and uses brushes instead of drumsticks to deaden the sound. Four Track records at 16 bits and 44.1 kHz and can make unlimited-length tracks. The band recorded 14 separate tracks, including various guitars, vocals, and effects, and combined them on a Mac for the final mix.

The band documented the process in more detail on their website. The song sounds great quality-wise and is now available in the iTunes Store for $0.99, and Four Track is in the App Store for $9.99.

Pix Remix isn't yet on the App Store, but I'm hoping it lands soon. If you've ever tried the Ken Burns effect in iPhoto to move photos around during a slideshow, you know how frustrating it is when the effect chops off the faces or other important parts of your photo while moving. Pix Remix does this better, plus more, all on your iPhone with your photos.

With Pix Remix you choose the photos you want (on your iPhone or iPod touch), put them in order, then create a slideshow using a path for the camera. You control the zoom as well, so instead of cutting off faces you can zoom into them instead. As you can see in the video, it's quite simple. This is the "pan and zoom" type of slideshow.

Pix Remix features a collage mode that reminds me of Microsoft's Surface technology -- a set of photos sit on a virtual table, and you can zoom, move and rotate them with your fingers. It looks like someone placing photos on a flat surface, except you can animate them.

Those are a couple of the slideshow options, and there's the option to add captions as well, or you can create a simple slideshow with nothing but transitions and captions. The final piece of the puzzle: export. You can send your slideshows to Twitter or Facebook or via email. I noticed the other day there were inactive links for a "reader" app, presumably to watch Remix slideshows on another iPhone without the full app, but that has been removed.

We'll keep an eye out for when Pix Remix hits the store, so check our Twitter feed for the latest updates.

When it comes to adventure and travel, who could possibly know more than National Geographic Adventure magazine?

The magazine's website has regular features about techie toys and tools, so it was no surprise that blogger Steve Casimiro would write a post featuring his choices for the top twenty travel apps for iPhone. Some of his choices, such as HearPlanet, FlightTrack Pro, the Lonely Planet Phrasebooks, and World Customs [clicks open iTunes] aren't surprising, while others (Packing, Room) are interesting apps I wouldn't have even thought to try.

Of course, all of us have our own favorite travel apps. I couldn't imagine going on a trip anywhere in the world without Geocaching, and I like the free TripIt app better than the one that comes with FlightTrack Pro. I now have Brushes with me everywhere I go to capture quick sketches, and what's travel photography without being able to take panorama shots with Pano or 3D pictures with 3D Camera?

What are some of the apps that you can't live without when you're traveling? Leave your comment below.

Some people like to have unique avatars for forums and instant messaging clients. I don't. My avatars usually end up being silly pictures of myself because I'm a shallow narcissist...and a bit lazy.

However, for those more creative than I, Persona [iTunes link] is a nice iPhone app in which to invest the price of a quarter-pounder. It allows the user to create a cartoon face by choosing from a variety of facial features. Hair style, eyes, nose, beard, and more are all up for grabs.

When you're done creating a mini-you (remember my personality issue described above), you can set it as the contact picture for any of your iPhone's contacts. You can also save your creation to the Camera Roll where you'll be able to export it via email or MMS (assuming you have the new 3.0 firmware and don't have AT&T), publish it to MobileMe, or use it as your wallpaper if you did a particularly good job. Once on your computer, you'll be able to use it as the avatar for that cute-cat-picture forum you visit eight times each day.

Persona is simple enough; in fact, perhaps too simple. The faces tend to look very similar as the options are quite limited for a dedicated app such as this. Also, what's going on behind my left shoulder? Every avatar I create is staring in that same direction!

Choosing from the available options isn't very intuitive. You choose the "parts" category and then pick the individual attribute, but no moving or resizing of the facial features is allowed. And very few accessories are presented, other than odd inclusion of a plethora of choices for nicotine deployment. (Note to self: see if the folks at Persona are sponsored in any way by Philip Morris.)

Overall, it's a nice idea for an app that will have moderate appeal to the forum crowds. I doubt you'll be using it again and again, though, because the app just doesn't offer much depth. But it's the user interface and lack of extensive options that tend to make the $2.99 $.99 a bit hard to swallow.

[NOTE: Thanks to those readers that pointed out the incorrect price. The developer's web site showed $2.99 when I wrote this, however the iTunes store had it at $.99. I have talked with Alfonso Bozzelli, the app's author, and he is changing the site to reflect the correct price -- $.99.]

3D photo apps are not new to the iPhone platform, but a new app from Juicy Bits looks promising in terms of making those pictures with depth a lot easier to take and view.

3D Camera 1.1 [US$1.99, click opens iTunes] is now available for iPhone OS 2.2 and 3.0 devices, and it lets you take photos that use one of three methods to create the illusion of 3D: red/cyan anaglyphs that require those funky 3D glasses, stereograms that create 3D images when your eyes look at them a certain way, and wiggle stereograms (or wiggle-grams) that use animated GIF images to provide the "depth". If you need a place to buy the goofy glasses, Juicy Bits lists several sources on their website

To take the photos, you use one of two methods. If you're planning on taking an anaglyph or sterogram, you take one picture, move the iPhone camera slightly to the right, and take another photo. To make a wiggle stereogram, you point directly at the same object from two slightly different vantage points. The app provides instructions on exactly how to take the two photos each time you launch it.

How are the results? Well, I haven't tried a red/cyan anaglyph yet, but if you use "crossviewing" (crossing the eyes slightly so that the two images overlap and form a third 3D image) you should be able to see depth in the test image seen below. If you use 3D Camera or any of the other 3D photo apps for iPhone, be sure to send some of your best pics to our Flickr pool: http://www.flickr.com/groups/tuawrigs/pool/

I shot some video of a preview build for Harbor Master back at WWDC, and I'll upload that to our Facebook page later, but I also shot a quick video of Harbor Master's gameplay (on the next page). If you play Flight Control -- and those who do find it hard to put down -- you will absolutely love Harbor Master (iTunes link). The mechanism for control is the same: use your finger to draw a path to direct vehicles to their destination.

In this case you are controlling boats in a harbor. However, instead of merely docking them, you must juggle unloading their cargo (automated, but larger boats take longer) and sending them on their merry way. This pleasant twist on Flight Control's mechanics allows players of Harbor Master to steer clear of boredom.

Later levels add further twists, literally. One of the developers, Natalia, demonstrated a tiny hurricane, which will spin your boat around no matter what intended path you draw. Harbor Master also includes the requisite leaderboard, so if you like the high scores, you're covered (although you'll need to provide an email address and username).

The folks behind Harbor Master, Imangi Studios, have partnered with some other iPhone developers to provide some in-app promotion for each other in a service called App Treasures. Imagni also demoed another clever app, PhotoMarkr, at WWDC. It quickly and easily adds watermarks to photos on your iPhone. Check it out on the App Store here.

Update: fixed the Harbor Master link.

We noted the introduction of the DailyFinance app in April, so without rehashing old business... It's time to move Stocks off of your main apps page. The multifaceted DailyFinance app from AOL has been updated to version 1.2 and AOL has made a great app even better.

DailyFinance provides real time price information from the BATS Exchange, the third largest trading exchange in the country. A broker can choose to trade on the NYSE, NASDAQ, AMEX or BATS which covers over 6,000 stocks. The correlation between exchange prices isn't perfect but can be very close in highly liquid stocks. If a stock is listed on BATS and NASDAQ for example, both quotes are displayed in DailyFinance, with a notation that the NASDAQ quote is delayed by 15 minutes. Being a trader I can tell you that those 15 minutes are often critical and buying real time quotes can be expensive.

DailyFinance automatically syncs your Portfolios and Watchlists with the AOL Money and Finance web site.

New features of this already solid app include:

• The ability to set your default screen from your settings app
• Re-ordering of your Watchlists in the same manner as re-ordering Contacts
• Alphabetical sorting of Portfolio symbols
• Re-ordering, or deleting news categories
• Horizontal views of news stories.

The power of landscape mode is nicely put to use. When viewing a chart, tap compare to bring up a list of overlays including comparisons of your chart with markets, industry peers, seasonality, events (such as estimated earnings versus actual earnings), and other stock symbols. Tapping a chart while viewing a Watchlist brings up a CoverFlow view of all the charts in the Watchlist.

The app is elegantly executed, and serves as a one-stop portal for financial information. Market data is provided in a logical, easy to follow format that packs a huge amount of information on a small number of screens.

Download a free copy from the App Store and check it out for yourself. If you trade stocks, I think you'll be quite happy.

Note: AOL is the parent company of TUAW and Weblogs, Inc.

WorldVoice Radio [iTunes link] is a cool little iPhone app that may help do for podcasting what Twitter did for web publishing -- make it easy to send out short, frequent messages. Of course, there's a difference, since WorldVoice Radio does this by letting you publish short podcasts from your iPhone. If you've used Utterli or Audioboo, you have the general idea.

The app, which was created by Kai Cherry and RnSK Softronics, has just arrived in the App Store. Kai is an occasional guest on the TUAW Talkcast, and he asked a few of the TUAW bloggers to join his beta testing team for WorldVoice Radio. (In the unlikely case that you're not familiar with the concept of beta testing, it's about getting a group of users together to make sure that an app is bug-free and functional prior to going to market.) Follow along as I give you a first look at this intriguing app, and as I beta-test WorldVoice Radio.

iTreadmill (App Store link) is a pedometer app for your iPhone or iPod touch. I spoke with the developer, who demoed the app for us at WWDC. It looks nice, appears to perform well, and features a respectable number of ways to customize and tune the readings. Pedometer apps may not save the world, but if you're looking for something much less expensive than the Nike+iPod device, this will do in a pinch. There's also a Lite version (App Store link) if you want to try it yourself.

You'll probably see these as soon as you try to update an app or make a new purchase (along with a "This content may not be appropriate for children under 17" warning for some apps). We haven't gone through all the new terms with a fine-tooth comb yet, but it is important to note the following:

items purchased IN an app (like new levels, dresses for virtual dogs, map packs, etc.) may not transfer among devices; our developer friends tell us they are absolutely supposed to transfer, but the effort to make that work is on the individual developer and Apple is simply doing a CYA here in the terms. If you have 2 iPhones with the same iTunes account, you can have the same app on both devices -- but you won't be able to reuse anything purchased in one instance of the app onto the other iPhone, nor are you guaranteed to be able to get all your In App content back if you replace your iPhone.

Also, note that "The Application Provider is solely responsible for In App Purchases." So if Stinky the chihuahua's sweater never makes it into your device, you'll need to hit up the guys who wrote the app for some refund or re-download or... something. It's not 100% clear on how all that will work, since we have yet to get our grubby, unwashed masses' mitts on the system, but Apple is reportedly leaning hard on developers to make sure In App purchasing works as advertised -- while making sure we all acknowledge who's responsible if something goes awry.

If you notice other changes in the T&C, leave 'em in the comments.

As someone who is pretty addicted to downloading tons of apps on my now-antiquated iPhone, there are a lot of apps I just download, try, and forget. Like the 30+ fart apps I tried for a video, none of which I deleted. I have a thing about throwing stuff away, OK? Anyway, after all the OS 3.0 bruhaha died down, I decided to see what updates were available for the apps I keep. Two hundred. I have two hundred apps, many of them lite versions, itching to wiggle up into my download queue in iTunes.

Compounding my rather large and embarrassingly out-of-date queue of apps, I got a "mature content" warning for an app, although Apple never tells you which app might have the inappropriate content. Just a warning that some crazy crap is in that list of 200, so don't go giving your iPhone to the kids -- or something. Worse yet is I'm still getting the -4 error many, many users are complaining about (note: it basically means Apple's servers are getting hammered). So, for now, all my updates are belong to Apple's servers.

What apps are you updating?