Software targets the iPhone
One of the features of the Apple iPhone is that you can purchase and download low-cost programs for it from the Apple iStore, but we've yet to see the "killer app" that everyone must have.
Some of the more popular iPhone applications include a program that lets you send documents to fax machines, a program to let you compile your weekly shopping list, and for 99 pence you could download a program which makes pictures of boobs jiggle.
The first boob bouncer, iBoobs, used the motion sensor built into the iPhone to make a pair of cartoon breasts bobble up and down when the phone was shaken, but Apple rejected this application as "objectionable content". However, a second program, "Wobble", which adds a wobble to user-uploaded pictures of bosoms (or indeed, any other body part), was permitted by Apple provided the words "Boobs" and "Booty" were removed from the description. Sad to say, this has proved to be a big seller, and there are even instructional videos on YouTube on how to create a great wobble.
The strangest iPhone application though must be BulletFlight priced at £7. This turns your iPhone into a "ballistic computer" and performs the calculations used by marksmen to calculate the flight path of the bullet, taking into account factors such as distance to target, wind speed and angle of elevation. For wannabe snipers who don't even know the basics of their own rifle, BulletFlight comes pre-programmed with weapon characteristics and muzzle velocities for several rifles including the high-performance M110 favoured by the military, and a mounting kit is available to allow the iPhone to be mounted on the side of the M110 so that the shooter can have the information at his fingertips.
So what does it say about modern society when Apple objects to the use of the word "Boobs" in its iStore and yet sees nothing wrong with that same store selling an application designed to help someone become a better assassin?
21st February 2009
This article comes from the SKILLZONE email newsletter, published monthly since January 2008, and covering topics related to technology and the internet. All articles and artwork in the SKILLZONE newsletter are orignal content.