Bitcoin wasn't really "launched" so much as it was rolled out.  There wasn't much fanfare when the first blocks started being mined out, and this was entirely due to lack of awareness of the project.  Both IXCoins and I0Coins suffered from their own set of issues which are discussed in other threads.  And however much I'd like for I0Coins to be valued at 1:1 to Bitcoins, I don't think anybody would want them more than Bitcoins since you can't really do anything with them except trade them in for Bitcoins.

Does anybody else find it weird that the term "Bitcoin" gets a red underline on this board?