‘Gridlee’ appears to be just another retro-style arcade game with tacked-on touch controls. But look closer, and you’ll find an entire arcade emulator.

Photo from idownloadblog.com.

Apple doesn’t typically allow emulators on their closed iOS platform, with very few exceptions. Apple typically falls back on the defense that they’re protecting users from potentially malicious code that can be run through an emulated system, which is technically true, although some have debated this logic. The more likely rationale is that Apple doesn’t want to have to deal with DMCA enforcement problems and cease-and-desist orders from game companies when users start loading illegally downloaded ROM images of their games onto iDevices through their marketplace.

In order to get around Apple’s App Store regulations and play emulated games on their iDevices, users typically jailbreak them and load third-party apps. Back in 2011 a port of popular emulator MAME (Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator) had been released under the moniker ‘iMAME’, which was quickly removed by Apple. But now a new app has surfaced on the App Store, going by the name ‘Gridlee‘.

At first glance, the Gridlee app appears to be just another retro-style arcade game with tacked-on touch controls. But dig a bit deeper, and you’ll find an entire arcade emulator hidden in the app’s source files. Just plug in your iDevice, and use iExplorer to navigate to Gridlee’s ROMs folder, and upload as many ROM files as your device can handle. Not all games are supported, however, so quality may be hit or miss. Gridlee’s emulator even supports iCade’s physical controls.

At least one App Store customer has caught on based on their review, and I’m sure more will follow suit, which means Apple will likely catch on and pull the plug on Gridlee for good relatively soon. Until then, you can grab a fistful of ROMs and head on down to the App Store for some old-school arcade action.

If Congress has a reasonable frame of logic for why the Obama administration’s historic mercury poisoning safeguards need to be rolled back, and why they feel it’s necessary to include a provision preventing the EPA from ever taking this issue up again, I think it’s high time they let us in on it. More

 As a consumer, I’m outraged; yet as a designer/ developer, I’m tempted to stand up and slow clap. Aussie online retailer Kogan has imposed a 6.8% tax on all purchases by visitors who view their site on Internet Explorer 7. Customers who do choose to visit Kogan’s site via IE7 are greeted with a blatant, slightly snarky popup explaining that if they proceed to make a purchase they will incur an extra 6.8% fee on their goods.

It’s actually a fairly ingenious way to get around having to deal with the grueling process of cross-browser compatibility for those who insist on using outdated software (or are too computer-illiterate to know better). More importantly, if Kogan’s idea catches fire and other sites begin adopting similar policies, that could potentially accelerate the glacial rate of adoption for new browser versions across the web- and with the exciting features of HTML5, WebGL and other new web tech moving painfully slowly towards mainstream adoption, I for one am excited to see someone finally taking a real stab at browser standards enforcement.

Besides, every browser’s updates are free, and for those too inept to figure out how to do it themselves, the site’s popup contains handy links to the latest versions of the most popular browsers, so the tradeoff between disrupting customer satisfaction and working with outdated technology is pretty well balanced in this case. And doesn’t it make sense to encourage everyone to update who still runs a browser not capable of doing so itself? There’s virtually no way that those who update from IE7 would see any meaningful drawbacks from a newer browser, at least not in the long run, and doing so just once makes the entire web an easier place to build for.

After all, a rising tide raises all boats (except, ironically enough, for Netscape Navigator).

Kogan imposes world’s first Internet Explorer 7 tax.

It’s a long, hard road to democracy in Egypt- but the Egyptian people carry no illusions about the process. Sharon MartinThey know it will be a difficult road ahead, as parties, candidates and the military try to figure out how to come to the table together, and lead a country that’s already greatly struggling in the post-Arab Spring Middle East. There have already been signs of further uprising amongst the population, including several clashes between protestors and the military over the length and extent of their caretaker rule of the country. But this is an experience every modern democracy has shared in its infancy- and America is no exception. That’s why it’s so important to take note of the important moments and milestones which will come to define the new Egypt in the decades ahead. Moments like the first free Presidential election in the nation’s history.

I wish all Egyptians a safe, successful trip to the voting booth today- hopefully your enthusiasm for the process will inspire those of us overseas, who take such important milestones for granted.

Election Day: ‘Finally, Egypt is born’ – CNN.com

Egyptians began a historic vote for president Wednesday, even as many worried the army would stay in power if they don’t like the result.

Best news I’ve heard all month: Toonami returns May 26 on Adult Swim. I can only imagine the level of rabid enthusiasm on Williams St. right now, especially since someone who cut their teeth making Toonami programming just got a big promotion.

1997-2008, 2012-????