Alt coins are and will remain a play thing. These are decided by the people who matter, and the people who matter aren't either the derps vying for the spotlight "doing" altcoins nor the derps vying for the spotlight "doing" foundations, conferences, articles and assorted bullshit.
Ripple is the best alt-coin right now since it's based on other assets than itself (the users add the intrinsic value).
No it's not...