I think the majority should go to Friction, at least 20-25K IXC.  He came up with the client update, a new website and a forum, and has been promoting iXcoin for quite some time now.  He even did an iXcoin give away.  Friction pretty much met all the requirements you laid out.  Although I don't really consider the client complete until the merged mining is fully tested and the mining community has fully migrated to the new client.  Let's try to get that done soon before discussing too many future upgrades.

Does the 50,000 IXC include ColoredCoins (NUDC) and CounterParty?

This may be why the pools haven't upgraded.  They could cause an immediate fork if they did.

Website.  I'm not too worried about that.  I think we're well on our way to a nice website.  

Foundation.    I thought Luke was the foundation :-)   Actually, I think 'foundation' is just another way of saying dev team, but it's easy to add the word foundation to the website.

Marketing.  I think iXcoin has come along way from complete silence a year ago.   Now there is daily conversation here, there's a Reddit page, a forum and some twitter accounts.  But we still need to take it further.

Shops.  We need to work on that.

Wallet.  I think the wallet is the most urgent thing we should work on.  We are still using the one from years ago.

Funding.  How much do we need just for the wallet upgrade to 0.8.6, without any colored coins added.  I think we are 95% there already.  Adding the logo is just cosmetic and is an easy fix.  Has anyone asked pools if they have tried merged mining?  Getting the pools to accept the update is the key.

In this case, since there is such a big jump in the version it would cause a fork IF all features are added at once.  But the dev could also disable features which cause a fork until all the pools have upgraded.  Then another release could go out to add those final security features which will cause a fork.  It's safer to do it in phases so you don't introduce as many changes at once, but it also requires at least two releases.  I'm not sure which strategy Friction was planning.

A new client doesn't always create a fork.  It only happens if the new client changes the rules for adding new blocks.  Because then the new and old clients are each working by a different set of rules.  So when you get to a block that one client allows and the other rejects you get a fork. 

Do we know if anyone has tested the ixcoin version 0.8.6.0 client with merged mining?  Most or all miners appear to be still using the old client, version 0.3.24.3.

Does the "relaunch" refer to just the new website or does it also include the colored coins features added to ixcoin?

I downloaded the iXcoin v0.8.6.0-g1cda98a windows client.  I assume it's still in the test phase so here's some feedback.  My testing was on Windows 7.

What Works:
1.  Sending ixcoins
2.  Receiving ixcoins
3.  Downloading blockchain from scratch
4.  Reindexing blockchain created with version 0.3.24.30 client, which auto upgrades to version v0.8.6.0 database.
5.  Had 15 connections using addnode list on ixcoin.co website.  getpeerinfo shows 14 peers running version "32430" client, and one with "0.8.6".  Without addnodes I get 5 connections.  
6.  No major errors in debug.log.
7.  Setting gen=1 in config file appears to solo mine ok.  
   getmininginfo shows "hashespersec" = 6650241, and other info displays correctly.  Plus all cores on my PC went to
        100% usage.
   {
   "blocks" : 191019,
   "currentblocksize" : 1258,
   "currentblocktx" : 1,
   "difficulty" : 1844620759.83590007,
   "errors" : "",
   "generate" : true,
   "genproclimit" : -1,
   "hashespersec" : 6650241,
   "pooledtx" : 1,
   "testnet" : false
   }
-----------------------------

Not tested:
1.  Merged mining
2.  Pool mining

-----------------------------

Recommended fixes:
1.  Desktop icon is for i0coin.  It needs to be changed to iXcoin icon.
2.  On the main client screen lower right, mousing over 'network connection' displays
       "x active connection(s) to Bitcoin network"
           but should say
       "x active connection(s) to iXcoin network"
3.  Startup splash screen looks great but it's from i0coin with iXcoin edited in.  We should probably change this to use new ixcoin logo, but it isn't critical.

Luke's site is pretty impressive.  It's well thought out.  I would just caution not to focus too much on bitcoin.  I assume some of the bitcoin content will get pushed out by ixcoin content as we move forward.  If so it's not a bad plan, so we won't be lacking content at the beginning.  Of course, much of what happens to bitcoin is relavant to ixcoin, like laws, regulations, exchange failures, hacking, etc.  Friction still has a lot of good stats and other ixcoin info which could be ported to this new website.  Good work Luke.  Can't wait for the relaunch.

Yes, it is rather strange.

I think OpenEX is a new exchange, but it's 100 times easier to get on a new exchange than to wait until everyone else is trying to get on.  So it's worth it to get on a few small exchanges.  You never know which ones will become dominant exchanges some day.  Be sure to vote.

Yes, I see where you're going, but that would be better for our marketing/advertising phase rather than on the website home page.  We can still associate with Bitcoin on the website, but it shouldn't take up 50% of the real estate.  Describe the association in text, and keep the visuals focused on iXcoin.

Vlad's picture:  I don't think we should put another coin's logo (Bitcoin) on our home page.  It will only confuse newbies.  If and when we mention Bitcoin make sure the font is smaller than the word iXcoin.  Luke did ok on that, but I still like Friction's "The First Alternative to Bitcoin" too.

Overall I like Friction's website art and layout the most of the three (compared to yours and Luke's), but Luke has the right idea on presenting a Mission Statement, Philosophy and Principles to the reader in a clear and concise manner.  Friction's site is a bit repetative... Development Fundraising, FAQ, and Download don't ned to be explained on the lower part of the home page.  That's a better place for 1) Mission Statement, 2) Philosophy and Priciples, and our primary design feature 3) User Currencies and Smart Contracts.    

Also on Friction's site, I would leave "iXcoin" clearly spelled out in the upper left.  There's no longer any place on the home page where "iXcoin" is displayed.  It looks cool having the IXC logo's in the different colors below.  I would change how the menus are organized.  Combining Luke and Friction's menu item's, I'd suggest something like this.

Home                Social Hub           News             Services             Downloads           FAQ

Home - home page, name and logo, keep carousel to highlight features, change lower bullets to Mission Statement, Philosophy and Priciples, User Currencies and Smart Contracts

Social Hub - Forum, Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, etc.

News - for distilling and highlighting the most important information for iXcoin users who don't have time to read the social networking sites

Services - to list exchanges and stores.  This info shouldn't be buried in the FAQ's.  This would also be a good place to describe NUDC and Smart Contracts in more detail.

Download - for the latest client and source downloads

FAQ - for all the normal questions and technical info.  Also move Statistics here.

Designing websites and doing a video are very different.  You have the gift for gab.  That's good for videos.  Just do a bit of scripting first so you have a general idea of what to say.  The Jason Schaumleffel video was too spontaneous and it showed.  You don't need to be real technical.  It's probably better that you aren't so you can speak more in layman's terms. 

The Jason Schaumleffel video is not real inspiring.  I know you can do a better one.  Can't wait to see it.  I think Luke just put it there on the prototype website, not for the final.  If we use that video it would be best on a blog or news page just to show some third party investor interest.

"Little Brother" - probably not, because it will be hard to shake the "little" later.
"Twin Brother" - no because after we add colored coins iXcoin won't be the same as Bitcoin anymore.
How about...
"Bitcoin's Colorful Brother"
or just
"Bitcoin's Brother"

Please add iXcoin (IXC).

ixcoin.org is registered in Queensland, Australia.  It expires 2014-07-13, so it should be available by mid July if it is not renewed.

https://who.godaddy.com/WhoIs.aspx?domain=ixcoin.org&isc=cjcdplink

Domain Name:IXCOIN.ORG
Domain ID: D162776984-LROR
Creation Date: 2011-07-13T17:38:10Z
Updated Date: 2013-03-01T20:05:04Z
Registry Expiry Date: 2014-07-13T17:38:10Z
Sponsoring Registrar:Cloud Group Limited (R123-LROR)
Sponsoring Registrar IANA ID: 84
WHOIS Server:
Referral URL:
Domain Status: clientTransferProhibited
Registrant ID:PP-SP-001
Registrant Name:Domain Admin
Registrant Organization:Privacy Protection Service INC d/b/a PrivacyProtect.org
Registrant Street: C/O ID#10760, PO Box 16
Registrant City:Nobby Beach
Registrant State/Province:Queensland
Registrant Postal Code:QLD 4218
Registrant Country:AU
Registrant Phone:+45.36946676
Registrant Phone Ext:
Registrant Fax:
Registrant Fax Ext:
Registrant Email:contact@privacyprotect.org

+1

No premine.  It's about 95% mined as of today.