Earlier this week we announced the iAnnoyance Challenge, a series of challenges in which we give you the weekend to code up a fix to something annoying in OS X. Oh yeah, there's cash involved too. While we initially said we'd give $100 to the winner (plus all donations sent in by others), we decided that, to kick things off, we wanted something special. That means that before donations, the prize money stands at an awesome...

$500

And now, introducing the world's first iAnnoyance challenge... (drumroll)


How many times have you thought the red "Close" button was going to quit your application when it was actually still running? Ever looked at your dock to find all of your applications still open? How many times have you clicked the green "zoom" button in anxious anticipation, having no idea whether the window would get a little bigger or go full screen? Ever shaken a fist at a developer who didn't read the Human Interface Guidelines? It's happened to us all. But no longer.

We're looking for an app we're calling Red means Stop, Green means Go that will allow any Mac user to...

- Make the red x always quit an app
- Make the red x always hide an app (as in, close all windows but keep the app open)
- Make the green Zoom button always go full screen.
- Change these setting on a per application basis, so that the features can be disabled or enabled for specific apps. There should also be a universal setting.
- Use one or all features

There are several obvious benefits that this app presents. First, it'll mean one UI action where there are currently thousands, making the OS easier for children and seniors to understand. Secondly, it will save RAM, processor usage, battery life by closing unused apps in one click. Finally, if you're a stickler for Apple's HIG rules, you can tweak to your heart's delight.

You have until Sunday night (Midnight CST, 6 am GMT) to email me (mashugly [at] gmail.com), PM me, or IM me your solution. It should be in good enough shape to release at that point, but if it's still in a beta stage (as in, still has a few bugs) that's fine too. Since we'll be open sourcing this app, the cleaner the code, the better.

Best of luck!

Rules:
1. All applications must be universal.
2. All applications must have a cool name (we'll stick with ours, unless you have a cooler one).
3. Every application must be easy and fun to use.
4. If a solution is not found within the 3 day challenge, the prize money drops to $300 for the week after the challenge and $400 for the weeks after that. Just a little extra incentive to beat everyone to a solution. Donated funds will stay the same. (Props to DiegoMax for ideas on the prizes)

Donation List (Click here to donate) :
None so far.

To share this contest with the world (which will result in a better pool of applicants), digg it!