Thanks to everyone who attended my Code Camp 16 presentation this morning in Waltham, MA. As promised, here is the slide deck (in PDF form) of my presentation.

Also – for those who wanted the complete sample application used to demonstrate during this session, please visit the “Get to Windows Phone 7.5 #7: Using Push Notifications with Secondary Tiles and Deep Toast” tutorial on the App Hub web site.

Microsoft is delivering two days of full of instruction on everything you will need to know on how to develop a Windows Phone application at the Marriott Boston in Cambridge on the October 12-13th.

Windows Phone 7.5 (codename: Mango) is here – and we want to give you the upper hand on this new release. Windows Phone Camps are free, hands-on events designed to deliver everything you need to develop and publish a Windows Phone application. The camps are ideal for students and seasoned developers alike, whether you create for Windows Phone, Android, Symbian, Web OS, or iPhone. Interested in making money? We'll lead discussions on how to earn money from your applications and generate buyers for your apps. We'll also be sharing recent innovations, inside tricks, and a wealth of Windows Phone know-how.

Don't miss the new Windows Phone 7.5 (codename "Mango") features as well - with detailed sessions in the afternoon around Fast Application Switching, Multitasking, Live Tiles, Push Notifications, and more.

The day will be capped with an open lab hands-on session and prizes for apps completed. This is the perfect opportunity to begin work on your dream application, or finish that app you've already started, with Windows Phone experts there to guide you every step of the way. Bring your own laptop to join in the fun and show off your killer app!

Day 1 Agenda: October 12^th

08:00 AM - Arrival and Registration                                         
09:00 AM - Windows Phone Overview  
09:45 AM - How to get started building Windows Phone Apps with Visual Studio
10:45 AM - Break

11:00 AM - Frameworks for fun and profit (part 1) – Building apps with Silverlight
12:00 PM - Lunch                                            

01:00 PM - Frameworks for fun and profit (part 2) – Building games with XNA
02:00 PM - Live Tiles and Push Notifications        
03:15 PM - Break                                            

03:30 PM - Windows Phone 7.5 Fast Application Switching, Tombstoning and Multitasking

04:30 PM - How to make money with your Windows Phone App              
05:00 PM - What’s Next/Resources                       

05:00 PM - Event Ends 

To register for Day 1 head here.

The second day will be capped with an open lab hands-on session and prizes for apps completed. This is the perfect opportunity to begin work on your dream application, or finish that app you've already started, with Windows Phone experts there to guide you every step of the way. Bring your own laptop to join in the fun and show off your killer app!  We will have lightning talks with noted industry experts, experts in migrating apps to Windows Phone, and cloud experts on hand to talk about scaling your apps through cloud solutions.

Day 2 Agenda: October 13^th

08:00 AM - Arrival and Registration                                         
09:00 AM - Open Lab Hands-on Sessions  
05:00 PM - Event Ends

To register for Day 2 head here.

We are happy to announce that we will one of 75 different websites giving away a 32GB WiFi iPad 2 as part of Vonage's Time to Call Promotion.

To read our review of Vonage's Time to Call app head here.

Contest Rules

You will have several ways to enter the contest at Boston Pocket PC each one will give you an entry into the contest with the winner to be chosen at random:

1. Tweet “ I entered the Vonage Time to Call contest to win a 32GB iPad2 from @BPPC and @vonage #BPPCiPad2 ” (If you don't already follow @BPPC, make sure you do so we can contact you if you win!)

2.  Like BostonPocketPC on Facebook and comment under the Contest post “I entered the Vonage Time to Call contest and want to win an iPad2 at BostonPocketPC  ”

3. For two additional entries download the Vonage's Time to Call app  and tell us what you like about the app or how you would use the app on your new iPad 2 (if you were to win) in the Boston Pocket PC discussion on Facebook entitled “Win a 32GB iPad 2 out of 75 in Vonage's Time to Call Promotion”

A maximum of 4 entries allowed per person any more and you will be disqualified.

This contest is considered open until 05:01 AM Eastern Standard Time on August 25th, 2011. All entries after this date and time will be considered invalid.

Contest Eligibility

This contest is only open to residents of the United States (sorry about this, folks). The winner of the contest will need to provide a valid US shipping address and email.

Note: The Grand Prize of the iPad 2 will be given in the form of an Apple giftcards for $700, so you could apply your gift card to any Apple purchase or upgrade to a different version Ipad2 if you prefer.

You can read more about the participating sites and their giveaways, by clicking here.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Giveaway begins August 21st, 2011 at 7:01 PM PST and ends at 5:01 AM EST on August 25th, 2011. Winner will be notified via email, and posted here when verified. Entries valid within the US. Winner has 48 hours to claim their prize or another winner will be drawn. Prize will be transferred via the sponsor, Vonage. Twitter, Facebook, and Vonage are not directly associated/endorsed with the administration of this contest and all information given is done voluntarily via entering this contest. All decisions on the winner in accordance to the rules will be made by the staff of Boston Pocket PC.

Each site will be giving away one (1) iTunes gift card for $15 for the readers to get for use with their device and one (1) Apple gift card for $700 for the Apple iPad 2, 32 GB. The prize will be distributed to each contest winner in the form of an Apple gift card. In total, there will be 75 participating sites, each one giving away a 32GB WiFi-enabled iPad2 and a $15 iTunes giftcard to use to place calls with Time to Call.

As required by the FTC: we have not received any monetary compensation for this post.We have only received product samples to facilitate the writing of articles on this site. All opinions expressed are ours and ours alone.

Here is a list of current sites participating:

19-Aug 23-Aug

• COEDmagazine.com
• http://collegeinfogeek.com/
• http://talknerdy2me.org/

20-Aug 24-Aug

• http://www.puntogeek.com/
• http://Dotpod.com.ar
• http://www.gottabemobile.com/

21-Aug 25-Aug

• http://www.ciberprensa.com
• http://www.absolutelywindows.com
• http://www.bostonpocketpc.com/

22-Aug 26-Aug

• http://thedigitallifestyle.com
• http://activewin.com
• http://experiencemobility.net

23-Aug 27-Aug

• http://business.gearlive.com/
• http://www.gearlive.com/
• http://bitchinwivesclub.blogspot.com/

24-Aug 28-Aug

• http://appstore.gearlive.com/
• http://kelleysbreakroom.com
• http://waitinthevan.com

25-Aug 29-Aug

• http://video.gearlive.com/
• http://sprocketink.com
• http://www.platformnation.com/

26-Aug 30-Aug

• http://Motherhoodinnyc.com
• http://mommyshorts.com
• http://vodkamom.com 

27-Aug 31-Aug

•  http://www.dustyearthmother.com
• http://www.mobilityminded.com/
• http://www.gamertagradio.com

28-Aug 01-Sep

• http://celebrities.gearlive.com/
• http://www.thebitbag.com
• http://www.bizziemommy.com/

29-Aug 02-Sep

• http://freshjess.com
• http://technorv.com
• http://www.blogsiswatching.com/

30-Aug 03-Sep 

• http://lockergnome.com
• http://www.geosnippits.com/
• http://www.osnn.net/
• http://sdrnews.com

At tonight’s meeting Mike Bluestein stopped by to tell us he will be kicking off a new user group in Cambridge at the NERD center focused on mobile development. If his name sounds familiar he has been involved with the community including speaking at the latest Code Camp at the Microsoft building in Waltham and is also the author of “Learning Monotouch”.

His meeting will take place on August 24th from 6:00PM-9:00PM at the Microsoft NERD Center. The group will focus on cross-platform .NET development,across all the major mobile platforms: Windows Phone, iOS, and Android.

For more information on the event and the group head here.

Coming May 9th to the Microsoft New England Research and Development Center (NERD).  Dani Diaz and Dave Isbitski will be presenting a free, full-day program focused on developing for Windows Phone 7. It’s a great way to get familiar with the current platform and learn about the upcoming features announced for “Mango” at MIX 11 just a couple of weeks ago. To the link to register for the Windows Phone Garage.

Agenda

9 – 10 a.m.  Introduction to Windows Phone Development

No experience with Windows Phone 7 development?  No problem.  During this optional session at the start of the day we will cover the fundamentals of Windows Phone Silverlight and XNA Development.  We'll explore the various core components and tools available and leave you with some resources to take you to the next level.

10 – 10:30 a.m.  What’s new for Windows Phone Developers

This session will highlight some of the new developer features coming for Windows Phone Developers. We’ll also take a look at AppMakr, a dynamic new tool that enables you to generate a simple Windows Phone application from one or more online data feeds.

10:45 – 12:30 p.m.  Windows Phone Application Jumpstart

To give you a jumpstart on application development, we’ll walk through in detail building an app, styling it, and adding advanced capabilities.  We’ll also cover submitting it to the marketplace and monetizing your app.

12:30 – 1:00 p.m.  Lunch

1:00 – 5:00 p.m.  Windows Phone Garage Open Lab

Bring your laptop fully loaded with Visual Studio 2010 and the latest version of the Windows Phone Tools. Get some help with an app you are working on or use the information from the Jumpstart to build an app around your favorite data feed. No ideas? No worries – we’ll have a few starter templates that you can build on.

This weekend (November 12th – 14th), there is a great event happening – Boston Startup Weekend! The event will focus on mobile application development and is focused on brainstorming and building mobile applications.

Startup Weekends bring about 100 people that are interested in starting companies together for the weekend – developers, designers, business people. On Friday night, people pitch their ideas and startups form around the best of the ideas pitched. On Saturday & Sunday people actually create their startups. For this upcoming weekend, the focus is on mobile startups – so all of the discussion, planning and development will be around mobile applications. For more information and to register, visit the Startup Weekend Boston web site.

The folks organizing Startup Weekend Boston are also looking for area developers with Windows Phone 7 experience. In addition to the great content you can learn from and the networking opportunities, you can help to share your Windows Phone 7 development knowledge and assist others interested in learning about and developing for the platform. If you are interested in participating, simply visit the link referenced above for more information.

Well, I sit at my keyboard typing on the eve of Microsoft’s “Big Event”. Tomorrow at 9:30am EDT in New York City, Steve Ballmer will unveil the long-awaited Windows Phone 7 platform (for those interested, the press conference will be live streaming here). For those who are involved with or follow the smartphone market closely, October 11th 2010 marks a day a long time in the making. I have had the great fortune to be quite close to all of the events of the last several years leading up to tomorrow, be they good or bad. There is a lot I would love to write about here, but cannot. Some things I will be able to write about in due time, while other things may never see the light of day. However, I thought I would take a few minutes to jot down some “safe” thoughts and observations this “Windows Phone 7 Launch Eve”.

• Whether you individually like it not, Windows Phone 7 marks a “company reset” for Microsoft when it comes to the role of a smartphone for the consumer market at large. Anyone who follows the industry (even casually) has read or heard from Microsoft executives about what Windows Phone 7 is all about and who the intended audience for Windows Phone 7 devices are intended. For diehard Windows Mobile users, this move will likely cause some pain; Windows Phone 7 introduces a number of new features and functionalities that are often at the expense of what Windows Mobile was or could do. Putting personal thoughts aside, I can only say one thing to those those who are upset by this change – Windows Mobile just wasn’t working.
  
  As much as there was (and likely will be) a very passionate and loyal Windows Mobile following, it was a VERY small passionate and loyal following. Such user segments are nice to have when market share is great, but when market share falls to single digits, it just isn’t enough. Even in the smartphone segment, there is history that backs this up. Simply look at failed attempts by Symbian/UIQ and the old Palm OS to build upon that small core of loyalty and the end result. In the end, it’s all about business folks – business was not good for the old Windows Mobile brand and change had to happen. For those upset by this change, the options *do* exist, but may not be what you want. Stick with what you have until you cannot any longer, or move on to another platform. For many Windows Mobile users, Android holds the greatest promise for now – Android frequently reminds me of Windows Mobile at its peak in both good ways and bad (good = control and customization, bad = platform fragmentation). I know this may all sound a bit harsh, but like I said – it’s just business and the reality we live with.
  
• Speaking of “company resets” in philosophy, for those that think that the moves made with regards to Windows Phone 7 are solely out of desperation and cannot succeed, a little historical “reality check” is in order. This is far from the first time Microsoft has had such a significant change of heart. Remember the Microsoft of the ‘90s, that didn’t think this “Internet-thingy” was worthy of much attention. How about more recently, when the company realized that companies *didn’t* all want everything contained within their corporate firewall and cloud computing was something that had to addressed?
  
  Microsoft has tackled company shifts that in many ways dwarf the shift being made in the mobile space and has been reasonably successful in doing so. Does this guarantee success with Windows Phone 7? – absolutely not. But to simply dismiss any chance of success because of the shift is foolish, to say the least. Microsoft has too many people, too much talent and too much money to ever be dismissed. The key will be to see how these resources have been and will continue to be utilized to increase the chances for success.
   
• While there are some things that have surfaced regarding Windows Phone 7 in the media that might sour some potential users (absence of “cut and paste” comes to mind ), there is something important to remember with regards to this technology segment – no one has ever gotten it all right in “Version 1”. Not Palm, not Microsoft, not Apple and not Google. The keys to success here (I believe both Apple and Google are doing this) are to “make a splash” up front and, more importantly, quickly evolve to meet demands of users and the industry at large. As someone who makes his livelihood working in this technology sector by dealing with potentially thousands of users and dozens (if not hundreds) of enterprises using all of these platforms, I can safely say that mobile platforms that evolve quickly to meet the demands and requirements of their target audience do gain acceptance.
  
  Windows Phone 7 will, by and large, will be found to have flaws in the minds of some users and businesses. However, there are enough compelling features at launch to get some to jump on board and others to pay close attention as Microsoft moves to meet their needs. Folks – most business users didn’t go within 10 feet of the iPhone in versions 1 and 2 of the OS. The same can be said for many in the early 1.x (and even early 2.x) features and limitations of Android. I can tell you from firsthand experience, however, that these platforms were never completely dismissed. Instead, the prevailing attitude was “let’s see what comes next.” Microsoft can put themselves in a good position to do the same with Windows Phone 7; personally, I believe they have done this based upon what I have seen. The key will be to adapt and evolve after October 11th, 2010. I also believe they will.
  
• I find it amusing when I hear commentary in the mobile segment about “[Fill in the blank] has won the smartphone wars”. Folks – there is no such thing as a “war” here; only an ongoing set of “battles” that will constantly change and evolve over time. If anything, the “war” is more like The Hundred Years War when it comes to mobile technology. If it were truly a war, Palm would have won in the early 2000’s, Microsoft would have won in 2005 and Apple would have won in 2008. Last time I checked, none of those platforms owned a monopoly on the smartphone space.
  
  In this battle for market share, the companies involved have to be willing to commit to being in the arena for at least a couple of years in order to see any true results. If Google had only committed to 12 months, they wouldn’t be where they are today. Same goes for Apple. This simple fact is important to remember when it comes to Windows Phone 7. If unit sales aren’t astronomical for the first three months and market share has not shot through the roof, this is by know means a sign of failure. If only a few hundred units move in that timeframe, then – well, you’ve got the KIN (BTW – The KIN is an entirely different story altogether; I believe we may never know all the details behind this failure unless someone writes a tell-all book).

In the end, I am extremely excited about what Windows Phone 7 brings to the mobile market and sincerely believe it will have an impact on the segment as a whole. I won’t be audacious or arrogant and try to predict the future here – I’ll leave that to the analysts I do believe, however, that Windows Phone 7 will “bring enough to the table” tomorrow to at least become a player in this technology-based Hundred Years War. It sure will be fun to watch it all play out, too.

Congratulations to Pamela Curry, she won the Boston Pocket PC RingCentral Giveaway one year of free service with RingCentral Mobile a $300 value! Pamela will also be entered into a chance to win one of the 5 Grand Prizes (out of 25 entries), an Ultimate Small Business Start-up Packages from Ivy Worldwide valued at over $1100!

The Ultimate Small BusinessStart-up Package includes:

• Virtual Phone System by RingCentral ($300)
• Company incorporation services by LegalZoom ($339)
• Logo Design services by Logoworks  ($339)
• 1000 premium business cards printed by Vistaprint  ($40)
• One year web hosting with BlueHost . ($84)

Again Congratulations Pamela and Good Luck!!!!

RingCentral Mobile is a cloud-based virtual PBX service that enables small businesses to enjoy the same level of PBX service that large companies do without the expense of purchasing and maintaining expensive hardware and software licenses. RingCentral furnishes you with a toll-free number at signup or you can forward your existing phone service to RingCentral that will handle and deliver phone calls to multiple numbers any way you wish. All incoming calls are re-routed as you choose, sending calls to the relevant receivers depending on parameters you have set for them, using its built-in auto attendant. This call routing can be done by groups or as a directory. It can be as simple as having a certain extension for sales call going to a person in your company that handles sales by ringing their office line first for a set number of rings, then their mobile, and then their home office line before going to voicemail or another person. You also have internet fax and voicemail capabilities from any PC you log onto as well as full management capabilities with an easy to use web interface.

Main Features:

Toll Free Numbers
Choose a toll free number that’s right for you: regular toll free (866, 877, etc.) , or a true 1-800 or vanity number (e.g., 866-MYPHONE).

Local Numbers
You can live and work in one city and get a local number in another. Choose the area codes(s) that makes sense for your business. Find out how you can save on inbound voice calls.

Voicemail
You get professional greetings, multiple delivery options and alerts. Pick up voicemail via email or in your online account and play over your computer speakers — or pick up by phone. Calls to local numbers to leave or listen to voicemail are FREE.

Internet Fax
Send and receive faxes by email and online in a snap — even from Microsoft Office and your phone. You’ll also get free fax software to electronically sign and edit faxes.

If you are interested in trying out RingCentral for yourself, you will get 50% off your first 3 months with RingCentral. If you would like to win a year of service to RingCentral Mobile read on. :)

We will be choosing at random 1 winner for 1 year of service at RingCentral Mobile for those that send an email to: ringcentral@bostonpocketpc.com with the subject Boston Pocket PC RingCentral Giveaway explaining why you would like to win 1 year of Virtual PBX service along with your full name and mailing address. It could be something simple, such as not missing that all important call from a loved one or that must-make-important business call. We will choose 1 (one) winner at random from all valid entries.

To gain additional entries be sure to Tweet the following via Twitter (be sure to email ringcentral@bostonpocketpc.com with your Twitter user account to be counted if you don’t have your name listed in your Twitter Profile):

I entered a contest to win 1-yr subscription to RingCentral Mobile by @fyiguy & @DPSJ at BostonPocketPC http://bit.ly/b0uSR4

AND/OR

“Like” BostonPocketPC on Facebook.com

Each additional entry, will gain one additional chance to be chosen at random (maximum of 3 entries per person) via Random.org. All entries must be in on May 1st by 5PM EST. The winner will be announced on May 2nd. If the winner doesn’t respond via email in 24 hours another winner will be drawn.

The prize that will be given away is a one year of free service with RingCentral Mobile a $300 value. Non US-Based winner will be compensated with a cash payment equal to the value of the prize package.  As one of the 25 winners of the RingCentral Giveaway you will be entered into a chance to win one of the 5 Grand Prizes, an Ultimate Small Business Start-up Packages from Ivy Worldwide valued at over $1100.

The Ultimate Small BusinessStart-up Package includes:

• Virtual Phone System by RingCentral ($300)
• Company incorporation services by LegalZoom ($339)
• Logo Design services by Logoworks  ($339)
• 1000 premium business cards printed by Vistaprint  ($40)
• One year web hosting with BlueHost . ($84)

If you want to increase your chances of winning head to the following websites that still have their contests running here:

We will be having our next Boston/New England Windows Mobile User and Developer Groups on Wednesday, March 17th beginning at 6:30 PM at the Microsoft offices (201 Jones Road, 6th Floor) in Waltham, MA.

Among the topics discussed -

• A wrap-up of MIX 2010. We will be talking about what was announced about Windows Phone 7 and the developer story

See you all there!

In case you haven’t heard, the first of the WinMoDevCamps is occurring tomorrow (8/19/2009) in Seattle. Just what is WinMoDevCamp, you ask?. Well, here is the answer, direct from the WinMoDevCamp web site -

“WinMoDevCamp is a series of upcoming not-for-profit gatherings to develop applications for the upcoming release of the Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.5 O/S. The event is currently being planned in 7 cities around the world. Our first Windows Mobile Developer Camp event has been scheduled for August 19 in Redmond, Washington at the Microsoft Campus. You can register now on the form below. Dates will soon be announced for the following additional cities: Austin, London, New York, San Francisco, Singapore, and Toronto. We will also encourage other mobile developers to host their own events on the same dates. This website will have facilities for local events to organize as well.”

The last sentence in this paragraph is the reason for this post. While a New York City event is planned, there is nothing set for Boston. This begs to ask the question -

If a WinMoDevCamp event was planned for the Boston area, would you attend?

If there is the interest in this event, we here at BostonPocketPC.com are willing to try and make it happen. However, no one likes having a party where no one shows up The best way to express your interest – send an email to winmodevcamp at bostonpocketpc dot com. Please don’t delay – the sooner we can gauge interest, the faster we can get the ball rolling!

So, you’re wondering what’s new in Windows Mobile 6.5. Maybe you haven’t had a chance to see some of the new features in action. And what about those new applications and services?

If you had the opportunity to get all of the latest Windows Mobile news and announcements in person, then you’re one of the fortunate ones. If not, there is still a way to get an overview of Windows Mobile 6.5 thanks to TechEd Online.

Friend, fellow MVP and co-worker Chris DeHerrera has teamed up with another old friend in Dale Coffing (longtime Pocket PC users may remember Dale from his Pocket PC Passion website) to talk about the new capabilities of Windows Mobile 6.5 in this 12-minute video. Be sure to check it out!

Wow, we had lots of entries in the Send ProFlowers Valentines Day Giveaway. The winners have been selected and sent an email with their gift code. For those of you that didn't win, we also have something for you. Click here and you will get 20% off your entire order at ProFlowers.com and a free glass vase. It's currently the best ProFlowers.com coupon on the internet (feel free to share it with your friends and family).

Again Congratulations to all our winners! Here are some of the interesting entries that were submitted:

-Two years ago I got my wife an MP3 play from iAudio that would work with her Mac.She had not used it; I was thinking she didn't like the ear buds.So, last year I got her an external portable speaker.She still has not used it.Flowers the past two years would have probably cost less, and been better appreciated.

-I gave my mom a key chain with an electric picture frame two Christmases ago.  Last year we asked her how she liked it.  She said, “Oh, it stores pictures.”  So, it did not go over at all as we expected.

-Ok, so I'm a neat freak and my wife is…well…she isn't.  So, I thought it would be great to get her these wire mesh organizational compartments to help her keep her office organized.  She has a bunch of mail/journals/pictures that she keeps near her computer and it was always such a mess.  They all matched and went really well with the color scheme of the computer and desk.  I thought I did really well picking them out.  She was super excited to see all seven items I wrapped for her….until she opened them!  Wow, she is not good at hiding her feelings.  I thought she was going to cry.  Flowers would have been better…I think rocks would have been better!  I was so bummed out!  I would have loved to get them as a gift!  Needless to say I put all her things in them as she moped around a little.  She was actually very gracious and told me she liked them, but I could tell she was disappointed.  I would like to do better this year!

-Being a mother of two boys and a wife to a very active husband, our house is a full-time fun place to laugh, play and wrestle.  We have many fun art days, play dough activities, pudding finger-painting days etc. Our floors are the most difficult thing to keep clean and I am constantly sweeping/mopping/vacuuming.  So naturally my husband had the perfect Valentine's gift picked out for me.  He was so sure that he was making my life better/easier and I was going to be so thrilled.  I took a bunch of time to pick out the perfect gift for my honey...a homemade coupon book filled with all the best redeemable coupons that I just KNEW he would LOVE!!  I LOVE surprises, LOVE homemade things and LOVE Hersheys Kisses.  So I was pretty excited for Valentine's Day.  When I saw the long pole with the bow on top I was quite disappointed that I got something for the HOUSE instead of something romantic.  Really I am not complaining about the thought that went in to the gift.  I know my honey had every great intention and I love him for that.  I'm so grateful he's my man and he learned a great deal on the Valentine's Day on what I really look forward to on Valentine's Days.

-The worst gift I ever gave my wife was a bag of frozen tortellini. In my defense, I really thought she'd like it, she talked about some tortellini dish she had at a baby shower, so I figured, what the heck, tortellini will be a cool Valentine's Day present. I even bought the "tri-colored" kind. Anyway, I really couldn't wrap it because it was frozen, so I just left it in the plastic yellow grocery bag, which I guess you can call Strike 2.Strike 3 was sort of cringe-worthy. My wife opened the plastic bag, and upon seeing the tortellini, mistook the pasta as a symbol of a larger gift, a longed-for trip to Italy. She started screaming "We're going to ITALY, we're going to ITALY", and I was shaking my head saying "No, we're definitely not going to Italy". It was then that she cocked her head to the side and stared at me and said "Well, then, what the heck is this about??"I tried to explain, but all was lost. I became the butt of jokes, crowned the Tortellini King, and lots of people had fun at my expense over my colossal lapse in gift-giving judgment!

-A few years ago for Mother's Day I gave my wife a weight bench. I thought it was great. She had been trying to work out more and we had talked about what she wanted to do more of at the gym. I really thought she would like having a weight bench at home.I was so excited to give it to her thinking I had chosen a perfect gift. My kids gave her the presents they had made a school, and then it was my turn. The size of the box was huge and she couldn't even lift it. She tore off the wrapping paper and stared at the box, she didn't say a word. I looked at my teenage daughter and she just rolled her eyes at me. I looked at my wife, she wasn't happy. The younger kids just left the room. My wife sat down on the couch, she didn't cry, but I could tell that I had chosen the wrong gift. She explained that giving a weight loss product as a gift made her feel fat. I tried to explain me reasoning. I explained that if it was me, this is something I would love. She said "good, you can keep it for Father's Day", and left the room.Later that same day I picked up a huge bouquet of flowers, a large box of chocolates, and a necklace. All was forgiven.But I still think it was a good gift.

-Ok I have been told  by  a hole in the wall- one was a power tool and nope not a vibrator- I got her a set of rechargeable tools and a rechargeable car battery..she said that was not very romantic and thru it thru the wall. Ok so the power tool was something I wanted and I also bought myself a bunch of stuff and did not realize it was Valentines Day until  She handed me the gift she got- duh I saw the hearts at the store- did not think..but did not think she would throw- but hey her throw was really great!

We are teaming up with ProFlowers.com to give the gift of giving during Valentine's Day with the Send ProFlowers Valentine’s Day Giveaway. We know that finding the "right gift" can be hard at times, but flowers always has the right way of sending the right message to loved ones. On of the best services on the web that I use frequently outside of tech is ProFlowers. This Holiday season when I asked my mother what she wanted for Christmas she said she had everything she needed, but would like some fresh flowers every so often like the ones I sent her on her birthday and Mother's Day. So I opted get her a subscription plan that would send flower and plant shipments to her every other month from a company that I have used in the past and is the company I always keep going back to because ProFlowers.com provides the usual fresh flowers delivered in a box - usually with a free vase (if there is no offer for a free one- just click on the microphone in the upper right hand corner and enter in Howard or Rich) , but also flowers that last for more than 7 days.

We all know that Valentine's Day is 12 days away and starting now you will have the opportunity to enter up until 11:59 PM EST on February 8th to make sure you can order and send your gift out on time! We will then choosing several random winners for a $70 gift certificate for whatever you would like to give to a friend, loved one, or treat yourself from ProFlowers.com and send each of the winners their coupon codes so they can place their orders in time for Valentine's Day - yeah we know several of you don't make up your minds until your ride home on 14th of February. Well we got you covered this year. The flowers and gifts can only be sent to any address within the United States – so only enter the contest if the person you would like to gift is from the United States.

To enter all you need to do is send us an email to failgift@bostonpocketpc.com with the Subject: Send ProFlowers Valentine’s Day Giveaway describing your worst gift to a loved one or a tech based gift that was given as a gift, but didn't go over as well as you expected and put you in the doghouse where flowers would have worked much better. ProFlowers has even done a survey that says 76% of women want flowers other than red roses on Valentine's Day so choose wisely if you do order flowers this year!!!

From all the eligible entrants we will choose the winners at random for a $70 gift certificate to ProFlowers.com. To be eligible for the drawing you will not only have to submit your story of 150 words or more you will also have to submit your name, valid email address, with the proper subject: Send ProFlowers Valentine’s Day Giveaway before 11:59 PM EST on February 8th.

If you are looking at giving the gift of flowers be sure to check out these following blogs that are partaking in their own Send ProFlowers Valentine’s Day Giveaway:

www.dad-blogs.com

chris.pirillo.com/

www.gearlive.com/

www.techronical.com/

Ploomy.com

artofmanliness.com/

mommydaddyblog.com

dadtalk.typepad.com

www.pkmeco.com/familyblog/index.html

joeprah.com

www.buildingcamelot.com/

dadomatic.com

www.patricksays.net/

poopandboogies.blogspot.com/

www.athomedad.org/

www.rudecactus.com/

www.noodad.com/wp/

agoodhusband.net/

www.dadcentric.com

www.disfordad.com

daddyforever.com/

www.youserved.com

emailourmilitary.blogspot.com/

Good Luck!!!!

Today there is only one new contest as part of the HP Magic Giveaway contest.

The Digital Lifestyle

The HP Magic giveaway is about spreading the magic and that is how we are going to do it. So with this in mind all the prizes are going to one winner but the winner must also spread the magic by passing on some of the prizes (and keeping something for your self)

So to win you need to email me magic@thedigitallifestyle.com and tell me who is getting the kit and most importantly why you think they deserve it.

Keep your submission to under 100 words and you can use video (please post to youtube or blip.tv) or pictures to highlight your story

I will then pick out the 10 most interesting entries and pick one at random

So the better the magic the better your chance of winning, it could be a local charity, school or someone else you feel deserves the prizes.

Here are a few conditions for entry of the competition:

1. Entries must be submitted by Thursday 19th December 5pm
2. By entering your agreeing to help me with a follow up story of how the recipients got on with their new kit  (possibly an interview on The Media Center Show)
3. No one associated with this site or families are eligible to win (but free free to enter the other sites competition)
4. The winner will be notified on Friday 20th December by email and must respond in 24 hours or another winner will be drawn
5. Only one entry per person is allowed (Lots of good entries for the Dragon competition got disqualified for this reason)
6. This competition is world wide and open to anyone
7. No complaining if you don't win and no youtube rants!
8. You don't have to be a member of TheDigitalLifestyle.com but if you are make sure you tell me your site user name in your entry

For the rest of the details and rules of Ian’s contest head over to The Digital Lifestyle here.

Today there are 2 additional contests of the HP Magic Giveaway contest.

Digital Inspiration

How do I participate?

This is simple. Just fill out a short survey and wait until next week to know if you are one among the seven lucky winners.

How can I win?

I am looking for your feedback, new ideas, suggestions or constructive criticism on how to improve Digital Inspiration. This will be a strong criteria while choosing the winners.

What are the rules?

You can enter the contest any time between December 14 and December 20. Multiple entries per person are allowed. There are no age or country restrictions.

For more information and rules on this contest head here.

GeekZone

Magic Giveaway
This is a "Magic Giveaway" so we would like the winner to share the luck - and happiness - with someone special. You are not required to do this, but if you want to send one of the prize items to someone else - a relative who would benefit from a new PC at school or university, a neighbour in need, a school or doctor - we can ship that on your behalf, with a card and all expenses paid.
How to enter
To enter our competition you have to just answer this question: "List the names of at least five people behind the blogs Sharing the Magic in this promotion". It's easy, you just need to visit the HP Magic Giveaway official site to find out more about the other participant websites.
Enter the answer in our online form and submit your entry.
We have a discussion about the HP Magic Giveaway going on here. You don't have to but it would be great if you posted a reply in that discussion telling us about you and if you are to share the prize with anyone tell us why. Posting will not increase your chances, and not posting won't reduce your chances.
Good luck!

For more information and the rules on Mauricio’s contest over at GeekZone head here.

Be sure to check out the other contests going on for more chances to win.

Today there is only one additional contest of the HP Magic Giveaway contest.

Student Hacks

The Official Rules

The rules for my contest are as follows:

• You have to be a current college or graduate student to enter.
  
• You have to e-mail me by midnight EST on Wednesday 12/17 with a proposal for how you would play Santa Claus at your school this season if you were to win. In other words, make a pitch for how you would distribute this equipment at your school if you were to win the contest. (Of course, I assume that you’ll keep one of the machines for yourself!) Is there a club that really needs it? Do you have an idea for a campus-wide contest? Do you have a plan to use the giveaway to drum up some media attention or raise money for a worthy cause?
• You don’t have to live in the United States to win.

To select the winner, I will start randomly selecting entries to read. The first proposal that I come across that I consider to be “really cool” will win the prize. The definition of “really cool” is left to my discretion, but my threshold will be really high. Please don’t bother entering if you’re a not a student or if you know me — in both cases you won’t win.

For more details and rules on the contest at Student Hacks  head here.

Today 3 more sites have brought their contest online to help spread the Magic as part of the HP Magic Giveaway contest.

Digital Home Thoughts

Here's the important part though: part of this contest is sharing the magic, so this contest is all about you giving away part of what you win. So here's the deal: I'm going to numerically pull one random post here as the winner, but when I review that entry, if it doesn't meet the qualifications, another random entry will be selected. So what are the qualifications? Telling me how you'd share this prize pack, with whom, and why. With this bundle consisting of four computers, three of them laptops, it's really more than one person needs - and in these troubled economic times, there are going to be people around you, charities, schools, etc. that could put some of this hardware and software to good use, right? So if you won this $6000 prize pack, who would you give some of the hardware to, and how would they use it? I'll be looking for a detailed explanation of how you'd share this, but the requirement is only that you give away at least one of the laptops or the desktop computers. As long as you meet the requirement of giving away one of the computers, your entry is valid.

Some other basic rules: only one post per person is allowed, and if you don't see your post appear right away, give it up to 48 hours because if it's your first post, it's probably held in moderation. Anyone in the world can win this contest. All posts have to be submitted by midnight mountain time on the 17th of December. If you're selected as the winner, I'll be contacting you via email and private forum messaging. You'll have 24 hours to respond to claim your prize, or the next person will be selected. No whining allowed. The prizes will be shipped to you directly by HP, so if you're selected as the winner, you should provide me with your shipping address and the shipping address or addresses of the people you're going to share this prize with. If you live in the USA, you will be provided with funds to cover the taxes on this prize bundle. If you have any more questions, please ask them in the original thread.

And here's another important point: I'm going to be posting a YouTube video, likely on Sunday or Monday, and when you subscribe to our YouTube channel and also post your story to that video (you may need to shorten it to fit), you'll recieve a bonus entry. I apologize for not having it up yet, but I have a bad cold at the moment and I'm hoping in a couple of days it will go away enough for me to record the video. When the video is live, I'll update this post, and make a new post on the home page as well.

For more details and rules on Jason’s contest at Digital Home Thoughts head here.

OSNN.net

So what do you have to do?
The theme of this competition is a giveaway in the spirit of the holidays and my idea for a competition stems around awarding others for making great posts.
The regular members and the more astute among you will have noticed that I have been fiddling with the reputation system for the last few days. This system is something that came with vBulletin 3.x several years ago and we have never really had a serious use for it... until now.
The site has two numbers to do with reputation: reputation and power. The first is your total amount of reputation recieved and power is the amount of reputation that you can give others.
Reputation power is increased by post count, join date and reputation as detailed here:

Quote:

Default Reputation: 0
Registration post count factor: 1 power per 20 posts made
Reputation count factor: 1 power per 50 reputation
Minimum post count to give reputation to others: 21
Daily reputation click limit: 20
Reputation spread: 15

The last two are important for keeping things fair and will only allow a single person to give reputation 20 times a day while ensuring that 15 people must recieve reputation before the first can again from that particular person.
Of course existing long term members will have more reputation power but the competition is not about the amount of power you have but the reputation you obtain! Having high power in no way guarantees high reputation (I have clearly just spammed 17,000 posts for example)
How do you get reputation? By making great posts here on the forums. This can be funny posts, answering technical questions or posting anything interesting. What defines you receiving reputation is down to each member who will be giving it.
Sadly this doesn’t leave a winning path for getting an OSNN tattoo on your leg or at least not directly, although I suspect such a post would gain reputation for the novelty.
I also believe the best way of getting reputation is not begging for it so keep that in mind!
How do you give reputation? Simply click on the star to the left of each post and you can leave reputation (which is a total of your power at the time) as well as a little bit of feedback.
To enter the competition you obviously have to have agreed to the points made in this post, so to ensure you do I have created an additional step you must follow to say you want to be part of the competition.
You will need to access your user control panel here: http://forum.osnn.net/profile.php?do=editprofile

For more details and rules on the contest at OSSN.net head here.

SlashGear

We’re looking for a winner who’s generous and thoughtful in how they distribute the prize.  That doesn’t mean you have to give everything away - it comes down to who you choose to give to, and your reasons behind it.   To enter, register on the SlashGear forum and reply to this post confirming you’re taking part: that logs your IP, to make sure people only enter once.  Then email your entry to hpmagic@slashgear.com, making sure to give a link to your forum reply so we know who’s who.

Entries must be submitted by midnight central time on December 17th, and HP have agreed to pay for worldwide shipping so you don’t need to be in the US to take part.  Full rules are below, and remember the forum post to comment in is here.  Good luck!

For more details and rules on the contest over at SlashGear head here.

Next Wednesday we will not be having our monthly meeting at the Microsoft building in Waltham. Instead we will have a friendly get-together over some great food and drinks at Bison County BBQ Bar & Grill from 6PM-8:30PM on December 17, 2007 . Food and drinks will be each person’s own responsibility - so eat and drink as much as you can afford. Be sure to check out the menu before you get there.

Bison County is located here:

275 Moody Street
Waltham, MA 02453

Besides food and drink, there will be a lot of conversation, geeking out, sharing of tips, tricks, hacks, and a good time!  We will also give a few things away to make it fun. :)

Hope to see you there!!!

Today four more sites and blogs have started their contests in the the HP Magic Giveaway contest. Are you ready for some more chances to win and spread some magic?

Eliax

Here is their contest translated into English:

Here it is finally, the official list of which described to compete in the contest of the Magic of Christmas with HP and eliax.

They notice that the offerers whom they have but of a number in the list are because they completed an additional task, like this. They notice that no longer shipments of the Task are accepted but #1, nor to enter the contest.

If your name does not appear in the list it is because you did not send your request before the stipulated date, or because your request did not fill the necessary requirements, or because you did not follow the instructions well when to send the required information.

They notice that it is possible that arises another task but from now until when we publish the winners day 17 of this month, so they are kind. Also they are kind to but the news on the contest in the course of these days, including but engineering data of the prizes, as well as details on as the winners choose themselves.

Meanwhile the important thing that they know is that the number (or numbers) next to your name, is your number of lottery, and if it leaves that number you gain the prize of that drawing. As we mentioned previously, there will be 6 drawings, reason why the possibilities that you win are quite good (approximately one of each 300, or one of each 150 for which they completed the task #1).

Now, some peculiar data:

- 1.222 people are competing.
- 612 completed the first task successful.
- Therefore we have 1.834 numbers in game.
- The offerers represent 27 countries.
- There are offerers of until India and Indonesia!
- The countries with but offerers, from the major to minor are:
Dominican republic - 39,93%
Spain - 11,95%
Mexico - 10,72%
Argentina - 7,04%
Colombia - 6,63%
Venezuela - 6,46%
Costa Rica - 4,66%
Chile - 3,27%
Peru - 1,88%
The USA - 1,31%
- Peculiarly, in daily visits to eliax.com, Dominican Republic it is third party behind Spain and Mexico, and nevertheless in this contest they are those that but are participating!

Luck and we followed in contact!

For more details on their contest in its native form head here.

GeeksRoom

This is also loosely translated  into  English:

It is why the spirit of this contest has like final mission that the person who wins demonstrates her solidarity and shares with they need which it, or a friend, a aid organization, a hospital, in short, always we will find somebody to whom to help and is in you following the spirit of this promotion and contest.

We would like that the one that gains the contest shares some PC and all must be conscientious of which a person is not going to use all the computers and donating one or several of them they can help to whom they need if it.  As or I said in the previous paragraph, a aid organization, a hospital, a friend, a club, in short, all we have near which needs aid and the winner will have the gift to make happy to one or several people.  I clarify to them that they do not have any obligation to do it, but remember that the spirit of this promotion is to help others, to have the power that us dá a prize of this type to be able to make happy to others.  They remember, is not obligation! but it would be a good action from the winner!  In addition, they will see that the desición to donate a PC or several, will give more possibilities them of gaining the prize.

Next they can read the rules to participate in the contest.  They must work just a little bit but he is not nothing of the other world:

1) In order to participate in the contest they will have to send a digital photography in which you with the logo appear of GeeksRoom and the one of the Sponsors, along with the legend in Spanish” I want to share the Magic” or in English “I want to share the Magic”.   They are Creative, but they do not use Photoshop (only for some adjustment of color, brightness, it contrasts, but it does not stop to add other elements to him).  According to its creativity and according to my criterion, they are possible to be won up to 5 entrances (numbers) extra for the drawing!  The logos and the legend must be well visible! and the 150 photographies do not have to exceed Kb (they keep the original ones).

They can unload them to the logos following the connections (they follow the connection All Sizes and they will see the image in his original measurement there):

GeeksRoom logo

Logo HP

Logo Windows

2) Also they must answer 3 questions: A) In which country I was born (it begins with A and it finishes with A), B) in which alive country (if they do not know it to this height, says Cowboy to me) and C) that marks of laptop I have bought the past week.  The first two are easiest and third it is very obvious.

3) All that one that decides to donate one of the PCs, 2 entrances (numbers) to the drawing were assigned to him more

4) If they decide to donate 2 or but PC's receives 5 additional entrances, that is 6 possibilities of gaining the contest.

5) The photo, the questions and if they wish to donate some PC, the name of the person or organization will send, them to the email direction , with subject “GeeksRoom - HP Magic Giveaway”.   In the email, besides the previous thing I will need its complete name, city and country where they reside and email direction that it must agree with the one of the shipment.  The text of the email must contain the data with the following format:

Full name of the participant:

City and Country of Residence

Email:

Question a):

Question b):

It asks c):

In the case of donating part of the prize, the name of the person or organization, email, City and Country of residence.  Besides a small oration with the reason by which they will donate part of the prize! (they do not write a book to me! " src="http://geeksroom.com/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif" /> )

They remember to enclose the photo!

If receipt incompletos data or lacks data and/or requirements, will be disqualified and they will not participate in the drawing.

6) To each one of the entrances arrival of the email will be assigned to him to a number by order.  The same will be the one of the row that occupies in the Excel list which I will take with the object of organizing the contest.  The extra entrances, if to correspond, they were assigned in correlative form.

7) The winner will determine itself by means of the use of the procedure Sequence Generator of the Random.org site.

For the original language post about the details and rules of the contest head here

Living in theory

How?

Each contestant will post their stories on their own blogs or vlogs for all of us to go read or see. Use the Mr. Linky widget below to sign up. Fill out the fields as requested, using the url for your post, not your site. (This is very important... do not link to your blog, but the post specifically written for this giveaway within your blog!!! If you don't know how, please ask in the comments...)

It would be great if all the contestants would visit the other blogs in this contest to show some community spirit. Not saying that I care, but the judges might... Feel free to share your favorite posts back here in the comments section. If you have a Twitter account, follow me and the other contestants. Our hash tag will be #SugarMagic

What?

Tell us what you are doing to make an impact on the lives of others. It doesn’t have to be a Save-The-World kind of story. I just wrote about an ordinary refrigerator that helped me and many others. But saving the world is not off the table, either. Brian Carter will tell you all about One Day for Human Rights today… if you have a minute.

Tell us what you are planning to do with all this great hardware. I mean, there’s A LOT of hardware. More than one person could possibly ever need. How could all of these gadgets impact the lives of others that you know? How could these gadgets help you in personally inspiring or empowering others?

Who?

Winners will be chosen by a secret panel of ineligible (but still pretty nice) people. This group of wise and whacky women will read through all posts and follow the comment trails, so be nice out there…

For the rest of the rules and details on Sugar’s contest head here.

Stop, Drop and Blog

First and foremost, I need to tell you this: while our giveaway is based on a random chance, I want you guys to understand the reason our site decided to participate in such an amazing giveaway. I’ve been blogging all this week about the reasons we are so grateful this holiday season. I will continue to do so throughout the rest of this week. FireDad and I have recognized how truly blessed we have been in the past few years. We have two healthy, happy children. We have a house. We are having a Christmas of our own. We are in love with one another and with our family. We are so blessed. And as such, we want to share that feeling with your family. But we don’t want that feeling to stop there.

We know that we wouldn’t be as blessed as we are if people wouldn’t have taken time to share things with us along the way. The table my parents gave to us when we got our first apartment. The meals the ladies of the church brought to us after LittleBrother was born and I didn’t have enough time to shower let alone cook a healthy meal. The leads for freelancing jobs that others have shared with me because they felt that I would be best suited. The friendship others have extended to us over the years. Without those little bits of sharing, we wouldn’t quite be the family that we are today. And that’s why we believe so intently in the true meaning behind this contest: sharing the magic. While we can’t demand that our winner share the package with anyone, we’d really like to promote that idea. I won’t tell you who and how to share but I will delete all entries that say, “Gimme gimme.” I reserve the right to do so!

All that said: I’ll need you to visit the whole list of rules for the giveaway, of course, but here’s the rundown on how to enter!

1. Leave a comment on this post explaining what winning this package would mean to you and your family in these tough economic times and how your sharing of this package would contribute to the true meaning of the season. This counts as one entry. You may only leave one entry in this fashion. IP addresses are recorded. Obvious spoof IPs will be disqualified.

2. Tweet this contest with this tinyurl ( http://tinyurl.com/sdbgiveaway1 ) and the hashtag #SDBGiveaway. You may tweet up to twice per day. Come back to this post and paste the URL of each individual tweet you post. (I will check every single one at the end of the contest so do not delete.) Each tweet, up to two per day, will count as one entry. (How to get the URL of each individual tweet? Click on the “time” that your tweet was entered. It follows your actual tweet. “3 minutes ago” is an example.) And, not necessary, but feel free to add me on twitter. I’m FireMom!

3. Digg, Stumble or otherwise promote this contest via some form of social media (other than the twitter entry above). Come back to this post and paste the URL of each individual promotion along with your username in case things get confusing. Each promotion will count as one entry. One promotion per social media site.

4. Blog about this contest on your public blog telling your readers a longer version of the comment you left in entry option #1. Meaning: Blog about what this contest means to you and your family this year and how sharing it would impact friends and family. Include a link back to this post. Please come back this post to post the link to your permalinked post just in case my blog doesn’t pick up your track back. You are allowed to do this once and it will count as one entry.

For the rest of the rules and details on this contest head here.

Today there are three more ways to win and spread the magic of giving in the HP Magic Giveaway contest. Some people may consider 13 unlucky, but it will be lucky for 3 individuals.

Gadgetell

Still no information yet, but you can get a start by registering here.

Liliputing

So here’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to ask you to tell me what you would do with this prize package. And I’m going to encourage your to share at least some of the love by giving one or more of the computers to a friend, family member, or colleague who could really use it or by choosing a charity, non-profit, or other group that you think should receive one or more of the PCs. The contest is open to anyone in the world (fortunately the sponsors are picking up the tab for shipping costs), and we’ll ship the prize package both to the winner and to whatever second site that person choses.

You can find the complete rules for the contest after the break.
OK, so here’s how to enter.

1. Register for an account in the Liliputing Forums. (If you already have an account you can skip this step).
2. Write a post in the HP Magic Giveaway thread explaining what you would do with the prize package. Whether you have a sob story, a funny story, or just a story to tell, let us know why you want to win and how you’ll use the prize package. Make sure to let us know if yo uplan to give away a portion of the prize.

That’s it. Becoming an active participant in the forums will make me like you more, but I’m not going to assign a point value to the number of posts you leave, because I don’t want to encourage lots of mindless posts in the forums. there’s a great community of netbook and mobile computing enthusiasts hanging out at the forums though, and I’d encourage you to participate or at least read some of the interesting discussions thave have been taking place in the forums over the last few months.

Please read the instructions. Entries must be submitted in the Liliputing Forums. I will delete any entries posted in the comments. Please use the comments to ask questions, or, you know… leave comments.

For the rest of the details and rules head here.

SlashDot Review

The Contest
Only one entry per household is permitted.

1. Examine the Award Package carefully, and determine which of the hardware and software items you wish to keep for personal use or gift to a member of your immediate family.
2. Create an account at Seesmic.com
3. Record a Seesmic video, including the script provided by SDRNews, where you personally describe, with your face on camer. Insure that the scene is well lit and that you have good audio.
   1. Your first name, city, state and country.
   2. Which item you wish to keep for personal use or family gift
   3. For each remaining hardware item
      1. What person or organization you will give the item to this holiday season
      2. Why that person or organization is most deserving of that particular gift and support
4. Embed the Seesmic video on a public web site - such as your blog, MySpace or Facebook page
5. Fill out the application at SDRNews including your full name, contact information, embed posting date, and Seesmic embed code.

For the rest of the details and rules head here.

Goodluck in entering these contests

We all can use a little magic in our lives and when you have a little magic, it’s always good to spread it around. Well today you have another chance to do just that in the HP Magic Giveaway contest, but today there is only one site starting theirs.

Student Bloggers

This is finals season (I bet you thought it was the holiday season) so that’s what you’re going to tell me about. The first requirement:

• Tell me your best finals story. What’s the craziest, funniest, most poignant, most surprising, shocking or just plain interesting thing that happened to you during this week that we all look forward to with equal anticipation and dread? I will then share some the best ones (winner or no) on the site at the end of the contest. This can be the time the guy next to you fainted in the middle of an exam, you aced a test because of a fact you heard on Jeopardy, or the time your computer crashed while on the last paragraph of your paper. If you do write about some computer crash story it had better be good. We’ve all heard a ton of those. Keep it fairly short (2-3 paragraphs).

Second, I am not requiring that entrants be college student bloggers this time, but that doesn’t mean that I’m not looking after our community. The next requirement:

• You must make a meaningful comment on at least one blog in the directory. Maybe there’s one from your alma mater or your school’s rival. Maybe someone just has a cool title. This shouldn’t be hard, but it can’t just be “I agree” or “Cool story.” A substantial contribution to the conversation. You might just find a blog you want to keep following. Send me the link to the post(s) you commented on.

Finally, I want you to join the 50 sites doing this business in the giving spirit. This is $6,000 of stuff and not even the biggest nerd among you needs four new computers. No chance. So the last requirement:

• Tell me about the college student or high school senior who is about to go off to college who you would like to share at least one of these computers with. This can be someone who needs a newer computer to compete in their discipline, someone who can’t afford a computer at all and spends his days resuscitating puppies, someone with a physical addiction to World of Warcraft, whatever. Just make it thoughtful and meaningful. I don’t want to hear sob stories though. I sympathize with what your best friend is going through, but I’d rather hear about how they are a good person and would do good things than the string of tragedy following them. Besides, it’s easy to fake a sob story. No begging. Stay positive. Again, keep it relatively short.

Email your entry to studentblogs@gmail.com with the subject: HP Magic. You must get the subject right as I will be filtering these. Oh, and the final rule: no whiners.

I will then choose 10 or 20  great stories and great people (depending on the number of entries) and let random.org do the final selection. All decisions are final. I will not be listing the final group, only the one winner. I do realize that people could just make up stories and people, but I trust that you are aren’t huge turds who would do such a thing. Think of the children.

So three things: 1) Sweet finals story, 2) link to comment on student blogger’s post, and 3) who you want to share it with.

Entries must be in by Sunday, December 14th. As with the last contest, my friends and family may not enter, but they can certainly do so on the other 49 sites.

Good luck and I look foward to reading your great stories! Full details, including info on shipping and taxes, will be available on the HP Magic Giveaway page above.

For more details and all the nitty gritty details on this contest head here.

Again there are some contests ending today, so get your entries in now so be sure to check out all the 50 sites participating in the HP Magic Giveaway at HP's Magic Giveaway site.

Good luck entering the contests for today as well as entering the other contest from AbsoluteVista, DigitalMediaPhile, PlanetX64, InfoWester, Merlot Mom, Noticias Tech,TechMamas,Geek.com, Notebooks.com, TechieDiva One Day, One Job, Gear Diary, Geeks to go, Geeks!, Carlos Alberto,Down to Earth Momma, La Bitácora de Erwin Ried,and Moosh in Indy.

Today there are 3 sites participating in the HP Magic Giveaway contest, each site has their own rules so read them carefully and good luck!

AbsoluteVista

For this contest, I have a few very simple rules:

1. My contest is open to all inhabitants of this planet, known severally as Earth or Terra or Sol-3. Please be advised that we tend to favor sapient inhabitants. However, if a troglodyte’s entry is the best, then we have no choice….

2. Create a short animation describing the HP Magic Giveaway, and the good it will bring to you, and a few lucky persons/organizations you so decide to re-gift to this Christmas.

3. An acknowledgement of HP and Microsoft for this giveaway immediately attaches mondo points to your score.

4. Working in a group of more than one, letting us know that there will be more than one enjoyer of this giveaway is a boon.

5. Gratuitously praising me may or may not work.

6. Staying on points 1 & 2 matter more than anything else.

7. Be prepared to assign certain usage rights to me, and by proxy,  AbsoluteVista.com and all our related websites, including but not limited to SmallBizVista.com, and this website, SmallBizWindows.com. My statement of the assigned rights can be found here, and the assignment of these rights are non-revocable. Your submission  of your original content will be taken as agreeing with that assignment of rights statement.

8. If you are an immediate member of my extended family, sorry, you are immediately DQ’d. for you can certainly afford a system.

9. I am going to attempt to review as many of the giveaway items s possible. However, since I want the winner(s) to have their winnings by Christmas day, I will be mindful of the time constraints imposed on shipping, and make sure that the systems are shipped in time for enjoyment of that day.

10. The contest starts at 12.00 am on December 8, 2008.

11. I will receive submissions until 12.01 am on December 14, 2008, and I will make my decision on the winner before 11.59 pm on the same day.

12. Oh, my decision is final.

For the rest of John’s contest details head here, for an update of the rules head here.

DigitalMediaPhile

I’m holding my Magic Giveaway Contest as a WIN AND SHARE THE MAGIC CONTEST. You’ve probably heard the phrase “random act of kindness”. Well, during this holiday season, I’m hoping that some lucky winner will be able to perform “deliberate acts of kindness”.

My contest starts today, December 8^th. You have until Friday, December 12^th at 6pm Eastern Time US to submit your entry.

If you want to enter my contest, here’s the deal:

First, think about your less fortunate friends, parents on social security, local Boys and Girls Clubs, group homes, senior citizen housing with rec rooms and imagine the joy and surprise that gifting multiple people with a new, state of the art computer might bring to them. I guarantee that as you watch them light up, you’ll light up and that THAT feeling lasts a long time. (You can’t fix the economy, but you can sure help somewhat forget it for a while. My hopes are that you’d keep just one of these great state of the art leading edge machines for yourself, but SHARE THE MAGIC and gift the rest.)

Second, you need to post some images on FLICKR or a Video/slide show on YouTube. (And only on those sites) showing the places these new computers will go or a shot of the computers they are replacing (and if you replace a computer, please give THAT to someone who needs it).

Third, after you post your digital entry, send an email to magicgiveaway@gmail.com with a link to the location where you’ve posted this (full URL, no tiny URL or shortcuts allowed) and the subject: I want to share the magic. In addition to placing the link to your content as the first line of the message, please describe in 150 words or less who you want to gift and why. I don’t want to read sob stories. If you don’t use the correct subject or write a novel, you will be disqualified. Be sure to send your email from an address that you check often for incoming mail and add magicgiveaway@gmail.com to your safe/approved senders list so that if you win, you won’t miss the notification.

Fourth, by entering, the winner agrees to provide me, within two weeks of receipt of the prize, at least a 500 word postable story on what happened when they gifted computers. Pictures optional, but would be great to have along with permission to post. I won’t post names without permission or any other information. The winner agrees to allow me to use the content they provide in any manner I choose.

Fifth, winners must provide a bona fide shipping address and not a post office box.

Sixth, the winner agrees, by entering my contest, to allow me to contact their local newspaper/TV station, etc. and ask if they are interested in running a story on the winner and the magic sharing of the holiday season. You’ll get the admiration of your peers and some local recognition. It would be great if, after the winner is notified, that they provide any info they can on contacting local media in their home town.

Seventh , I will pick a 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd place entry. I will notify the 1^st place winner via email and they will have 12 hours to respond. If no response is received, I will notify the next in line, who will have 12 hours (etc.). I won’t post info until the winner has accepted. Here is a hint: if you enter my contest, you should check your email every few hours starting on Saturday December 13 so that you don’t miss THE BIG NOTIFICATION.

For more on Barb’s contest and rules head here.

PlanetX64

The PlanetX64/PlanetAMD64/Echenique dot com edition of the HP Magic Giveaway starts right now! Here's what you have to do:

1. Sign up to Animoto (free) and create a 30-second slideshow using your pictures and their holiday music showing the magic of giving - pictures of you and the other person(s) you would like to share the prize bounty with.
2. Post your video to YouTube (free too).
3. Go to PlanetAMD64 and post a link to your video in the "HP Magic Giveaway Begins Now" thread on the home page (requires free membership as well) and include your story (doesn't have to be a novel).

That's all there is to it.

The contest period runs from December 8, 2008 0000 EST to December 13, 2008 2359 EST. The winner will be announced on December 14, 2008 at 1500 EST over at Echenique dot com.

Remember, the HP Magic Giveaway Rules require that you share your prize with someone deserving. The Magic is in the Giving.

Read the rest of Carlos’ rules and enter his contest by clicking here.

Remember some contests are ending, so get your entries in now so be sure to check out all the 50 sites participating in the HP Magic Giveaway at HP's Magic Giveaway site.

Good luck entering the contests for today as well as entering the other contest from InfoWester, Merlot Mom, Noticias Tech,TechMamas,Geek.com, Notebooks.com, TechieDiva One Day, One Job, Gear Diary, Geeks to go, Geeks!, Carlos Alberto,Down to Earth Momma, La Bitácora de Erwin Ried,and Moosh in Indy.

Well we  have one happy winner on our hands and you can win too as part of the HP Magic Giveaway 4 more blogs and websites have launched their contests today. Here are the details of each:

InfoWester

To be announced.

Merlot Mom

HERE'S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

ELIGIBILITY:

• My blogger friends ARE eligible.  
• Regretfully family members and IRL friends (in real life for non-bloggers) are NOT eligible for MY contest.  BUT you ARE eligible to enter ALL the other HP Magic Giveaway contests.  See my HP posts or HP MAGIC GIVEAWAY's home page for participating sites.
• International entrants welcome.
• Winners of other HP Magic Giveaway contests are NOT eligible.
• You must have a legitimate shipping address.  P.O. Box addresses will NOT be accepted.  

HOW TO ENTER:

• Make your case!  Tell me why you deserve to win $6000 worth of HP and Microsoft products.  How will you put the equipment to good use?  Who will you share it with and why?  The contest is about the spirit of giving so I ask that you illustrate for me, either in words (250 words or less) OR on video (4 minutes or less) how you will make the most out of this charitable opportunity.  It can be for a friend in need, an organization such as a hospital, a residence home, a school.  Your choice.  Tell me what it will mean to you to have them share in your good fortune.  WOW ME.
• Include a link in your entry to HP Magic Giveaway's home page and to this post on www.merlotmom.com.
• Post your entry on your blog, on Facebook, on YouTube, or in my comment section.
• If you have posted your entry anywhere other than my comment section, please leave a comment with a link to the site of your entry, your name, and a valid email address so I can contact you.

For the rules and more details on this contest head over to Merlot Mom here.

Noticias Tech

To be announced.

TechMamas

When I found out that I was part of the 50 bloggers participating in the HP Magic Giveaway, I did not sleep too well for the next few nights. I had the chance to give away (US) $6,000 in amazing hardware, accessories and software that could really make a difference in someone's life (or a group ). I had so many ideas, so many people I want to share some magic with. Schools(teachers), charities, families and especially moms (parents) that all give so much on a daily basis. Then I saw the CNN Heroes show and was inspired. So I decided I wanted to award my prize package to a "MOM or DAD hero".
CONTEST DETAILS (COMMENTS ARE OPEN, contest has started!!!! Please go to the bottom of the post and comment your "mom hero" story/links):

• You need to be a mom  OR dad
• You can nominate yourself or someone else.
• I prefer that (like many of us) that you can't afford to buy all of this amazing equipment on your own.
• You need to have a powerful use for that technology, that will not only help yourself and your family but a school or charity as well. School and charity are used in loose terms. You can be a mom that works for an underprivileged afterschool program that wants to share some of the package with the program and some at her home to develop curriculum. You can be a mom  or dad that runs a charity that needs technology to take it to the next level or is trying to get their career back on track - and looking to help others as well.
• To enter, just comment on this post with links to as many different types of media  you want to use to tell you story, or just a text comment.
• Please be "for real",  there are people that really need this!
• I request (not require) that you "share" the magic by giving part of your package away to the school or charity that is part of your "story"
• The contest will run from December 7 - December 13. Winner announced on December 14.

For the rest of the details and rules on Beth’s contest head here.

Reminder some contests are ending, so get your entries in now so be sure to check out all the 50 sites participating in the HP Magic Giveaway at HP's Magic Giveaway site.

Good luck entering the contests for today as well as entering the other contest from Geek.com, Notebooks.com, TechieDiva One Day, One Job, Gear Diary, Geeks to go, Geeks!, Carlos Alberto,Down to Earth Momma, La Bitácora de Erwin Ried, Moosh in Indy, GottaBeMobile, I Started Something, The Gadgeteer.

Wow!!! All I can say is that we are really impressed by the open hearts and amount of giving people are willing to do especially in these tough economic times. Many entries were to give away the entire prize if they won. We at Boston Pocket PC feel really honored and privileged to be part of the 50 participating sites with the help from HP, Microsoft and Buzz Corps, looking to spread some magic to change people's lives for the better in the HP Magic Giveaway. We are also glad that we didn't have to pick a winner (because it would have been too hard) and chose to go with a random drawing from all the eligible winners.

This is how the drawing was done. All eligible entrants were entered into a spreadsheet, then sorted alphabetically to eliminate time of entry, then placed in a list randomizer , which assigned a random number, then a random number was chosen at random selecting our winner.  And the moment you are waiting for...

Our winner is Evan Brammer.

Here is his entry:

Let's start here:

I have the privilege of working for a fantastic education organization in Indonesia that builds high-quality international schools for the wealthier Indonesians and then uses that money to benefit the less fortunate. These are referred as "pelita" schools.  I teach at Sekolah Pelita Harapan in Lippo Cikarang.  My wife and two kids moved with me here half a year ago from the States to be a part of this great work. 

What is great about what the Foundation does is that they take the money they "make" from the higher level "pelita" schools to then build two other types of schools: "dian" schools for the middle class (these schools break even as far as funding goes) and then "lentara" schools (where all of there funding comes from outside sources because the students families are unable to pay for an education).

The mission of the Foundation is to build ten pelita schools, one hundred dian schools, and one thousand lentara village schools.  What is great about the lentara schools are they are completely free to the students, most of which would have no opportunity for an education.  They are in Indonesian villages and while they are staffed with high quality Indonesian teachers, they still have very limited access to quality resources.  That is where the magic begins.

What I would do with with the HP Magic Giveaway computers is to help every level of the schools that I mentioned to give them better opportunities at a world class education.

First, I would set up the Touchsmart in my classroom, giving my students (the future leaders of this burgeoning nation) a jumpstart into 21st century learning; helping them to not only be content consumers, but more importantly content producers.  We would use it to create dynamic kml tours for Google Earth for geography and blogging for English.  We could then use those and many more resources that the students and teachers create to pass down to both the dian and lentara village schools.

We (my class) would donate one of the laptops to a nearby (or faraway) lentara village school so that the teachers and students from both my school and the lentara school can exchange ideas, lessons, and friendships.  This would greatly benefit both parties as the lentara schools would have better access to content and the pelita students would be able to have a greater knowledge of a constituency here in Indonesia that all too often is forgotten: the village poor.

For the remaining computers (and Kung-Fu Panda), they would most likely be used as tools in one of the three levels of schools.  I can see the Mini 1000 being used as a field computer to gather data from the eco-garden that we are trying to build.  The other laptop could be used as a mobile training computer, used to train both dian and lentara staff in new methodology.  Truly, the opportunities in education would be endless.

Thank you for even giving us the opportunity to compete.

Congratulations Evan! We look forward to hearing howthose touched by your magic of winning made out.

Don’t forget to to check out all the 50 sites participating in the HP Magic Giveaway at HP's Magic Giveaway site and check back here for other chances from other sites when their contest goes live.

Again many contests have ended we are still going over all the entries that entered our contest and will be announcing the winner today after a random drawing of all valid entrants. The winners of the GearLive contest is actually giving the HP Mini 1000 notebook, Microsoft Office 2007, Kung Fu Panda on DVD, and Corel VideoStudio away in a contest at GearLive, so  be sure to enter for that. Today you have 3 more chances to win from the following sites:

Geek.com

Now is your turn to register for a chance to win all of that gear. Just fill out our survey and make sure to include your e-mail address at the end so we can contact you if you win.

You can enter any time between December 6th (today) and December 12th. Each person is allowed to enter the contest once.

For more details on Sal and Joel’s contest at Geek.com head here.

Notebooks.com

Today we’re kicking off our HP Magic Giveaway contest and hope you’ll help spread the Magic in the spirit of the holidays. As of right now you can enter the contest and win a prize package that includes $6,000 worth HP and Microsoft gear.

There are a variety of ways you may enter the contest, all of which are free and open to anyone in the world as long as participating in a giveaway like this is legal in your locale.

We thought a lot about how we would pick a winner and decided we wanted to leave it up to chance, but allow our readers to improve their chances by completing a variety of tasks. This means you may enter an unlimited number of times if you reallllllllyyyyyy want to win four computers and the rest of the gear for yourself, your family or your organization.

The more tasks you complete, the more entry points you earn. Think of it like raffle tickets, but instead of buying tickets you jut need to participate in the below tasks.

In the spirit of the holiday season you can earn a significant number of  points by sharing some or all of the prizes with the school(s)/non-profit(s) of your choice. You don’t HAVE to designate any of the prize package to go to school(s)/non-profits, but you certainly increase your chances of winning by doing so.

You can spend as little as 10 seconds entering this contest by subscribing to our email newsletter, or countless hours. It’s all up to you.

How to Earn Contest Entry Points:

A) Tasks to enter by spreading the magic to those in need:

You may only complete one of the following tasks. You’ll earn a significant amount of entries and get a chance to help those in need. This is the easiest/fastest way to earn a lot of entry points, but you have to be the giving type. If you want to keep the entire package for yourself you can skip this section and start at the next section of tasks.

1. Designate one of the PCs to a school or non-profit of your choice. Click here to complete this task. (5 points)
2. Designate two of the PCs to the school(s) and/or non-profit(s) of your choice. Click here to complete this task. (10 points)
3. Designate three of the PCs to the school(s) and/or non-profit(s) of your choice. (Click here to complete this tasks) (15 points)
4. Designate all four of the PCs to the school(s) and/or non-profit(s) of your choice. (20 points)
5. Designate the entire prize package to the school(s) and/or non-profit(s) of your choice. (25 points)
6. BONUS-Designate at least one of the PCs in any of the above tasks to Children’s Hospital and Research Center Oakland. This is my charity of choice because its staff and volunteers provide patients with Leukimia excellent and compassionate care. (15 points)

B) Ways to enter by spreading the word about Notebooks.com’s contest or contributing to the site:

You can earn points ONCE from completing each of the following
tasks. Please don’t complete any of this tasks more than once or you’ll
be removed form the contest:

1. Comment on this post and tell us what your favorite HP product or Microsoft software/service is and why. (1 point)
2. Become a fan of Notebooks.com on Facebook. (1 point)
3. Follow me on Twitter: www.twitter.com/xavierlanier (1 entry point)
4. Subscribe to Notebooks.com’s Newsletter so you can receive updates about the site and alerts to future giveaways. (2 entry points)
5. Subscribe to Notebooks.com’s YouTube Channel. (1 point)
6. Post a video to YouTube or another video sharing site and tell us why you (or your chosen school/non-profit) deserves the HP Magic prize package. Cut and paste a link to your video here (2 points)
7. Register for the Notebooks.com forums and introduce yourself. Tell us what kind of tech gear you use. (1 entry point)
8. Write an article about this giveaway on your own blog, or appropriate web site and include the phrase “Notebooks.com’s Magic Giveaway with HP and Microsoft” so we can find it easily. Link back to this post and to http://www.hp.com/united-states/campaigns/blogger-magic/ . You’ll have to post a link to the article in our forums. (2 entry points).
9. Tweet the following phrase: “I entered Notebooks.com’s HP Magic Giveaway: $6,000 worth of HP computers and Microsoft software! http://tinyurl.com/5t2z5s” (2 entry points).
10. Tell us who you’ll share the prize package with, what you’ll give them and why in the forums. (1 entry point).
11. Tell us about your dream notebook. Which one would pick if you could have any notebook in the world for free? Click here to complete this task. (1 entry point)

C. You may earn an UNLIMITED number of entries by completing the following tasks as many times as you wish.

1. Help build the brand spanking new Notebooks.com Wiki.

• Write a brief Wiki entry here. Each wiki entry must be related to notebook computers factual, substantial and original. If you need some inspiration or to get an idea of what makes a great wiki visit Wikipedia.org
• It must be at least 100 words in length and contain one reliable source. (2 points)
• Write substantial Wiki entry that’s at least 500 words long, link to at least one other Notebooks.com Wiki page and cite 3 sources. (12 points)

2. Write a “how-to” or “top-10″ article that’s related to notebooks or technology and submit it to the forum here. All articles must be original and those that are off-topic, plagarized or are otherwise unsuitable for publishing on Notebooks.com will be disqualified. (5 points)

• BONUS: If we really like your article and feature it on the home page of Notebooks.com you will earn additional entries. (5 points)

For more and Xavier’s contest and rules head to Notebooks.com.

TechieDiva

HOW TO ENTER

It’s all about sharing the magic this holiday season, so we highly encourage you to enter this contest with the intent of sharing your prize with someone you care about, be it a relative, a friend, or a charity. We’d love for you to help us spread the word about this contest on your personal blog or social network to let others know how they too can enter this amazing contest. For this reason, we ask that you write a short paragraph or bulletin on your personal blog, social profile, microblog, or favorite forum telling us what you would do with all those computers if you won the contest. We don’t want you to spam anyone though, so make sure you only post your entry on your own blog/social profile.

In your blog post, make sure you include the following:

1. A link back to Techie Diva and a link back to the HP Magic Giveaway page.

2. A short paragraph, telling us why you deserve to win this prize and what you plan to do with it. Would you be selling it on eBay? Sharing it with your family? Start a business? Donate part of it to a charity? Or keeping it all to yourself? We will be choosing the winner at random so there is no wrong or right answer; BUT the best stories reflecting the spirit of giving this holiday season will be published on Techie Diva and receive an additional entry. This means your name is entered in the contest twice!

BONUS ENTRIES (in addition to entry above)

This is your opportunity to increase your chances of winning this package. Do any of the following, and get THREE additional entries. We ask that you send bonus entries to hpbonus@techiediva.com and include your name, phone number, and email address. Make sure you write in the subject line the type of bonus entry you’re submitting (Charity, YouTube, Bake Off, Video Review). You still have to submit a blog post entry to enter. Make sure you use the same email address since we will verify both entries this way.

1. Encourage a charity, school, or church to enter this contest. Have them send us your name and email address in a separate email to hpbonus@techiediva.com.Your entries depend on it.

2. Create a YouTube video or a Web Cam comment below telling us how you would share the magic if you won this package. We highly encourage charities/schools/ministries do this.

3. Bake a cake/cupcake with the Techie Diva avatar/logo.

4. Create a one to two minute video review of your favorite gadget or HP product for Techie Diva.

5. Link back to this post on five or more social networks (ex: Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Flickr, Bebo). Send all links in one email to the address above. These all have to be your own accounts. Links in comments section don’t qualify. Please include a blurb of the contest in your post.

SUBMITTING YOUR ENTRY

Send your blog post entry to hpcontest@techiediva.com with the following:

1. Short paragraph mentioned above along with a link to your blog post entry.

2 Your email address, full name, phone number, and shipping address. (We will not spam you or share your information with anyone)

For more details on this contest and rules head to TechieDiva here.

Again as before, today some contests are ending so get your entries in now so be sure to check out all the 50 sites participating in the HP Magic Giveaway at HP's Magic Giveaway site.

Good luck entering the contests for today as well as entering the other contest from One Day, One Job, Gear Diary, Geeks to go, Geeks!, Carlos Alberto,Down to Earth Momma, La Bitácora de Erwin Ried, Moosh in Indy, GottaBeMobile, I Started Something, The Gadgeteer,  Hack College.

Some contests ended yesterday (remember you have until midnight EST tonight to enter ours) of the HP Magic Giveaway Contest where you have a chance from 50 different websites and blogs to win over $6000 in gear and some are ending today. There are still many open so be sure to enter and not only win, but share what you have won with others!

Today you have another chance to win and share over $6000 in gear.

One Day, One Job:

Last week, my business partner, Jason Seiden, and I were talking about the job search training course that we’re working on. I had told him that I recently received “thank you tweets” from two One Day, One Job readers who had landed jobs at companies that I wrote about. We both agreed that there’s nothing more rewarding than helping someone find and land a job. This sparked an idea. Since the HP Magic Giveaway is all about “paying it forward,” we should build a contest where the winner is rewarded for paying it forward (even if it’s with the end goal of winning a prize).

The challenge is simple.

Help a friend with his or her job search. Leave a comment on this post telling us your friend’s first name and exactly how you helped him or her.

Your entry can be as simple as telling us that you e-mailed someone a link to One Day, One Job, or as involved as telling us how you edited and improved a friend’s resume. We’re looking for creativity and a genuine willingness to help (and ideas that we can use in the course that we’re developing), so we’re going to reward those of you who try harder. Entries will be graded on a scale of 0 (so unhelpful that you don’t even get an entry) to 10 (bending over backwards to get your friend a job), and each point will be equal to one entry in the contest.

We don’t expect you to land someone a job in just a few days’ time - that’s nearly impossible (but if you can do it, go for it). We just want you to lend a helping hand to someone who can use it, whether you already have a job or you’re also looking. The average score will be a 1 or 2, so there will be a huge premium for in-depth/creative/bend over backwards entries.

At the end of the contest, we’ll assign numbers to each entry and use Microsoft Excel’s random number generator to select a winner.

Oh yeah, one more thing. Since you’ve already found a friend in need, you’ll be expected to give part of your prize package to the friend whom you helped, since without him or her, you wouldn’t have won.

For the rest of the rules, check out the One Day, One Job site.

Remember today some contests are ending so get your entries in now so be sure to check out all the 50 sites participating in the HP Magic Giveaway at HP's Magic Giveaway site.

Good luck entering the contests for today as well as entering the other contest from Gear Diary, Geeks to go, Geeks!, Carlos Alberto,Down to Earth Momma, La Bitácora de Erwin Ried, Moosh in Indy, GottaBeMobile, I Started Something, The Gadgeteer,  Hack College, here, Mediablab, Neowin, Morningside Mom, Thoughts on poetics & tech.

Today is the last day to enter of some contests that started the HP Magic Giveaway Contest a little under a week ago, where you have a chance from 50 different websites and blogs to win over $6000 in gear. Today 3 more sites have started theirs.

Gear Diary

To enter Gear Diary’s Give-Away

Now gather ’round and listen up: We want everyone who would like to enter to have a true shot at winning, so our contest will involve answering a series of questions and performing a few tasks. If you can follow directions, then you can win.

Your reply in this thread’s comments section will be your entry, and the winner will be chosen at random from entrants who have answered the questions and fulfilled the tasks we set forth. For the sake of simplicity when judging, please put all of the requirements together in ONE entry / comment.

Ready? Let’s get started.

First, you must register so that you can leave a comment on this site. If this is the first comment you have ever left, it will be moderated. Don’t freak out if it doesn’t post right away, and don’t leave a second comment; I will approve your entry / comment ASAP.

In ONE comment, you must answer these three questions, and post links to prove that you have fulfilled the two required tasks:

1. What is the best gift you have ever received from someone else.

2. What made the gift special?

3. Who would you share a portion of this prize package with, if you were to win?

Next, complete the following tasks and include a link to the completion’s proof in your comment / entry.

- Twitter the following and include a link proving that you did it:

“I promise that I will make a difference in someone’s life if I win: http://tinyurl.com/6j2yml”

- Post a picture of your current desktop or laptop on Flickr (or your personal blog), and include a link back to that picture in your comment / entry. You do not need to be in the photo, but I’ll be even more impressed with your entry if you are.

That’s all there is to it.

*****

The not-so-small-print, AKA “the RULES”:

1. We will be awarding everything to one person.

2. The winner is encouraged to spread the magic by sharing their prize. I am not going to tell you how to do it or with whom, but if you would like me to ship one or two of the prize items to someone anywhere in the world, I will be happy to do so…and HP’s covering it!

3. Anyone, anywhere in the world, is welcome to enter. HP will cover worldwide shipping and any associated US income taxes.

4. If you have already won one of the HP Magic Giveaways on another site, you are not eligible to win again on Gear Diary.

4. Winner will be chosen at random, by me; there will be no whining. If you don’t win here, keep trying on the other sites!

5. We will announce that there is a winner by Midnight PST on December 10th. I will actually be choosing three - read on to see why…

6. Put judie @ geardiary .com in your address book NOW. I will email the winner shortly after choosing one, and if I have not heard from him or her within 24 hours (I will post the time when the first email is sent), I will email the next person on my list. Don’t suffer remorse for the rest of the holidays and all of 2009 because your SPAM filter ate my email!!!

7. Winner agrees to send us a short follow-up post (300 words or less) with a picture within 30 days, so that we can post on how the hardware was distributed. If you don’t want your real name to be used, then it is quite all right. This is mainly so that people can see that a real person won, but sharing lovely stories about giving portions of the package to deserving people or organizations will definitely earn you some “awwww”s and kudos in the comments. We love happy endings; please be willing to share yours!!

8. The Gear Diary Team and past contributors are not eligible to win, neither are members of their families. Sorry guys and gals, it just wouldn’t look right.

To find out more about Judie’s contest head here.

Geeks to Go!

How?

At Geeks to Go we share the magic. Our tech experts provide free tech help in our forums. We share our technical knowledge with others in need. We get a magical feeling whenever we get a heartfelt thanks from someone we’ve been able to help.

This prize package contains an embarrassment of riches. We’re going to ask our contest winner to share the feeling that comes from giving magic. To enter our contest, simply reply in the comments with what part of the prize package you’d share, and with whom you’d share it (no full names please). The winner will be drawn at random from the qualified entries. So, while there’s no need for a long entry, I and others may enjoy reading them.

The holidays are a time for giving. Many organizations and individuals are in need. We recommend a donation to an organization, not an individual or relative, but the final decision is yours. If requested, we can mail your donation anywhere in the world. We also want to hear your story! If possible, take videos or photos of your recipient, along with a story of the donation. We’d like to publish it, and share your experience of giving magic.

When?

The winner will be drawn from qualified comments posted between December 04, 2008, and December 10, 2008 12PM (noon) CST. Our announcement will be posted shortly after noon (CST) on December 10, 2008 (subscribe to our RSS feed). The winner will also be notified via the email address they used to comment. If 24 hours goes by without a reply, a new winner will be chosen.

Who?

This is an international competition. We will ship the prize package, including any donated portion to anyone worldwide (as permitted by US law). Staff members of this site (including GeekU), previous winners from other sites participating in this contest, and employees of HP, Microsoft, and BuzzCorps are not allowed to enter — bummer.

The Rules

1. Entries accepted as comments in this post only. Entries in any other areas of the site will not be counted.
2. ONE entry per person. Those entering more than once will be disqualified (it’s easy to catch).
3. Contest dates and times. Only comments submitted between 12:01am CDT Dec 04, 2008 and 12:00pm (noon) Dec 10, 2008.
4. Geeks to Go is a family friendly site. Any submissions that break this rule will be disqualified, and removed.
5. This is an international competition. As allowed by US law, everyone is allowed to enter. Not allowed to enter are Geeks to Go staff members, and GeekU members. Nor, employees of HP, Microsoft and Buzzcorps. Previous winners of other HP Magic contests can not win again.
6. You must provide a valid email address with your comment. The winner will be notified using the email address provided. If no response to the notification email is received within 24 hours, a new winner will be chosen.
7. A US winner will receive payment from HP, Microsoft and Buzzcorps to offset the tax liability.
8. Geeks to Go reserves the right to change the rules of this contest as needed.

For more details on Blair’s contest head here.

Geeks!

Yes, ONE winner from each site will win this amazing package. I have to thank the people at HP and Microsoft for putting together such an amazing contest. Here are the rules for our contest:

1. Be registered on Geeks.
2. Submit a how-to, what-is, or top-five article on ANY subject.
3. The article must be at least 500 words long, with proper punctuation, grammar, usage, spelling. Remember your PUGS.
4. Articles will not be accepted if they require editing, so have someone you trust proofread for you!
5. Entries will be posted on my blog.
6. Whichever post gets the most comments by December 10th at 10pm CST is the winner.
7. Insipid, short, pointless comments will be deleted.
8. Get people to comment on your article, but spamming will not be tolerated.
9. Your article will be cross-linked with your Geeks account.
10. Email the article to me: chris@pirillo.com

For more details on Chris’ contest head here.

Remember today some contests are ending so get your entries in now so be sure to check out all the 50 sites participating in the HP Magic Giveaway at HP's Magic Giveaway site.

Good luck entering the contests for today as well as entering the other contest from Carlos Alberto,Down to Earth Momma, La Bitácora de Erwin Ried, Moosh in Indy, GottaBeMobile, I Started Something, The Gadgeteer,  Hack College, here, Mediablab, Neowin, Morningside Mom, Thoughts on poetics & tech, Bleeping Computer, Gear Live, and Windows Connected.

Today you even have more chances to win over $6000+ in prizes not only for you, but share with ones you may find in need as part of the HP Magic Giveaway Contest.

Carlos Alberto

Note this is translated from Portuguese so it may not be exact for the full original contest head here.

First everything I would like to be thankful the HP for supplying to these hardwares incredible. This type of equipment in U.S.A. already is expensive, here in Brazil then nor if it speaks. In according to place, he would like to be thankful Microsoft for the offered products and the aid in the campaign. E clearly, the organizadores of the event! They are of congratulations. searching blogs in Brazil to reach a different public.

Now we go for what you are interested in, the rules of the competition:

1. The prize will be delivers only for a winner.
   I will select only one to winner.
2. This winner, following the spirit of magic of the Christmas, must share one or more products of the package with another person. This another person can be a friend, familiar, institution, etc. This does not matter, the important one is to share the package. We of the promotion cannot force the winner to make this, but we desire that this spirit of magic is kept.
   To winner will share the package with others like family, friends, charity. We can't forces to winner you of that but strongly encourage you of only. It's Xmas and we want you spread the Magic!
3. The winner can be of any place of the world and he is not restricted only for Brazil. The organization of the event will go to sponsor the sending of the products and the winner will go to receive the prize in the door from its house!
   The contest it's open worldwide.
4. Each participant must send an email for myspacemagicgiveaway@live.com with the heading “Wants to participate of the HP Magic Giveaway” answering two questions:
   - As mine blog is come back toward Microsoft technologies, you answer must me how many times I wrote the Microsoft word in mine blog, since my first post until post previous to the announcement of the promotion. That is, valley to count the words of post Nokia Connect USP until my first post that wears was the Devil prada. and you donate Unified Comms.
   It found that this was alone? Nãooo, senão went to be very easy! Not valley: Images (type soon of Microsoft or any product), link URL (www.microsoft.com not valley), heading of the topic or Tag of blog. Valley: command line (C:\Microsoft\test can), address web without link (microsoft.com valley), register entrance (HKLM \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft… can), name of the product (Microsoft Exchange Server can), copied text of another place (Microsoft is trying you.).
   - Next question, which the name of the product of the Microsoft Research that is being vendido in the store online of the Microsoft, that for signal I already spoke on it. A tip, the product works with images! :)
   You enter the contest you have you click on the link below (It uses this form.) and send me the email with only two lines. In the first line you have you tell me how many teamses I wrote the word Microsoft in my blog, from the post Nokia until Connect USP my first post The Devil wears prada. and you donate Unified Comms. And gets to better! (it's you think easy you win this hole package) You have you count only the valid words. Valid: command line (like C:\Microsoft\test), web page address with in link (like www.microsoft.com), windows registry entrys (like HKLM \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft), product names (like Microsoft Exchange Server), text in italic (Microsoft is trying you). Invalid words: images, links URL (like www.microsoft.com), title of the blog post, tag of the blog post, links you embed video (of course, it's link). In the second line you have you tell me what is the name of the Microsoft Research product that is on sale at the Microsoft web store. Tip: image publisher program;)
5. Please, he follows the instructions correctly. An email that will come with the field missed subject, will not enter in the election filter. Example of email:
   Of: xx@yyy.com
   It stops: myspacemagicgiveaway@live.com
   Subject: I want to participate of the HP Magic Giveaway
   Body of the email:
   1024 Microsoft words
   Microsoft Like Image 2003
   It uses this form to send the email correctly!
   Any email with lives than two lines with the answares will not be valid. Only please follow the rules.
6. Each participant will go to receive a number from the email as soon as I to export the Box of Entrance to an Excel (that it will be the number of the line of Excel). Later I will go to select the winner of fortuitous form, using some site in the Internet that generates random numbers. After to select the winner I will go to select more two people, case the winner I do not answer my email.
   Each email will have to number when I export the Inbox you Excel sheet (to number will be the line to number of the Excel). Then I will select to winner at random using adds website like random.org. I will select three numbers.
7. As soon as selected the winner, I will go to send an email for it requesting some personal datas, therefore they are intent to the email as soon as the promotion to finish. In case that the winner does not answer my email in 24 hours, I will go to send a placed email to as, and so on.
   I'll send the email you to winner. If he/she doesn't reply in 24 hours I'll moves on you the next to number I selected to earlier.
8. The winner will have to send me an email counting on who it divided the prize and for which reasons. This is not obligator, but it would be very legal to publish here in the site this email. If to come with photos, better still!
   To winner will be asked you submit follow up email about how he/she split the package with others. Personal Pictures and experiences will be highly encouraged.
9. The requested personal datas are Complete Nome, Complete Address (cannot be alone P.O. Boxes) and Telephone (therefore it is necessary for delivery confirmation). Its data will be safe with me, I will only go to postar in blog nick of the winner.
   I'll ask to winner about personal information you send the package. Real address ploughs required, in p.o boxes.
10. People who already had gained this competition in the others 49 sites automatically will be disqualified. (she goes to have luck thus back in….)
    Who have won this prize at one of to other 49 blogger's websites involved in the HP Magic Giveaway will be disqualified.
11. If you are my friend you forgive, me. Familiar friends and my cannot enter in this promotion. But they are the will to particiar of the others 49 promotions in the participant sites.
    If you're my friend I'm alone sorry but you cannot entry in my contest. But fell free you visit to other 49 blogger's site.
12. The packages that the winner will go to receive can have been open (for me), therefore are part of the promotion I to analyze and to write one review of the product. I am tranquilo, I did not break nothing!
    Or adds boxes bags may have been opened you the write my review. Original Everything has of course been put back into its packaging.
13. My decision will be final and it does not have to be contested.
    Final I will be the sole judge and my decision is.
14. They will only be accepted e-mails until day 9 of December (09/12/2008).
    The deadline is Dec 9.
15. Important OBS: not yet I received some boxes that estao stops in the Federal Prescription. The winner tera that to wait this release. We are making the possible one to speed the process. E after the arrival of the boxes I still will have that to make review of the product and alone then to send to the winner.
    PS: I don't have all the boxes yet but I'm working with BuzzCorp you find solution. This can causes adds delay you to winner. But HP, Buzzcorp and I can guarantee that to winner will receive all the package.

Down to Earth Momma

Many of you know from reading this blog, I am all about making this world a better place.  So, I will make a reader’s world a better place by passing on this entire prize to one of you.  I am asking you to do the same with others.  The ONLY thing I get from this giveaway is the EXCITING THRILL to give it all away (and trust me when I say that I HONESTLY AM BESIDE MYSELF EXCITED TO DO THIS). I want you to feel that same thrill of “paying it forward.”

How do you enter? I am so glad you asked.  Please read carefully.  I will be STRICT about these rules and your entry.  I wouldn’t want you to be disqualified.

• Send an email with the subject “Share the Magic” to hpmagic@dtemama.com answering the following questions.  You may have to do some digging, but hopefully you will find some content you enjoy.  Please organize these in your email to make it easy to read.  (Feel free to comment to other posts as you read as well.  I like comments!  Just remember, your answers must be sent to me via email.)  DO NOT comment to this post with the answers. They will be deleted.
  • 1.)  What was the name of the preying mantis that made my birthday one to remember?
  • 2.)  What did the Wise Guy say when attempting to say “cauliflower? “
  • 3.)  Tell me one thing I consider myself good at.
  • 4.)  Where else do I write?
  • 5.)  How did I teach Sweetie not to throw sand?
• Below the answers to these five questions I want you to write in 100 words or less why you want this prize, with whom you plan to share it, and why.   In other words, the answers to these questions and these 100 words or less must be in the same email.
• You must write this first email before you can enter a bonus entry.
• Bonus entries: Write on a message board or your blog a post about how you have or plan to make the world a bit better.  Have you volunteered?  Are you planning to?   The goal is to inspire those reading it to action.  Paste the link to the blog or message board in an email headed “My Magic Bonus Entry” and send it to hpmagic@dtemama.com.  This email must be sent this from the same email address as your initial entry.

RULES:

• This contest runs from midnight EST December 3, 2008 to 11:59 pm EST December 9th 2008.  All entries MUST be received during this time frame.
• The winner will be chosen at random using random.org from all QUALIFIED entries.  My decision is final.
• My friends and family are ineligible from entering, but are welcome to enter the other 49 HP Magic Giveaways that are running.
• The winner will receive an email upon winning the prize.  That person will have 18 hours to respond to the email with a valid address (international readers are encouraged to enter) and phone number (needed for shipping purposes only…. I will not be calling you).  I can not ship to a P.O. Box.
• If the person has not responded in 18 hours, I will move onto the next winner per list generated by random.org.  I will repeat this as necessary.
• If you have won this prize per another HP Magic Giveaway site, you are ineligible from this giveaway.

Considerations

• I am asking that the winner consider emailing me or blogging a story, photos (you know I LOVE photos), and/ or a video when you receive the goods.  I want to share in your excitement.
• I am also asking the winner consider emailing me or blogging a story, photos, and/or video of the people whom you decided to share your winnings.  I would LOVE to be a fly on the wall for that!
• If you would like assistance in setting up a news story on your gift, I can certainly assist with that.  Good news and happy stories this time of year are always great for the news outlets.  Consider sharing this one!

There you have it!  Go forth and enter.  Share this with others so that they may enter too!  I can’t wait to award this to one of you!  Good luck!

La Bitácora de Erwin Ried

The text below is also translated, the original contest can be found here.

To participate, you must answer the questions related to my site and write a sentence that links HP, Microsoft and my site.  While this is a better phrase, you'll have even more chances of winning the lottery of Dec. 9.

The questions will be true to filter to my readers less fanatical. Anyway I wish you good luck!.  The best sentence would have a score that will be useful to further the draw.

To receive the prize will be necessary to send a short video in which the sentence or say something entertaining.

Click here to participate.

Moosh in Indy

HOW TO ENTER (these are my rules, and they only apply and qualify you for the giveaway here, at mooshinindy.com):

I want to know. Who would you share all this magic with and how would you do it?

1. Compose a post on your own blog, telling me what you would do with $6,000 worth of the latest HP technology. Who would you share with and why? Creativity counts, but it’s not everything. I’m going to be awarding this prize package to whomever captures the magic of sharing the most. Don’t have a blog? Go ahead and compose your entry in 200 words or less and post it here in my comments section, leaving a valid email in the email field. Video entries on YouTube, posts on MySpace and Facebook will also be accepted.
2. Somewhere in your post mention and link to HP’s Magic Giveaway along with a mention and link to this post on moosh in indy. When your post is published, leave a link to your entry, wherever it may be, with your name and valid email address in the comments section below.
3. Contest is open NOW! and will run through 10 p.m. EST December 9th, 2008. Comments will close at 10 p.m. EST on December 9th, 2008. So get to it.
4. That’s it.

THE NOT SO FINE PRINT:

• My family, friends and people I know in real life are not eligible. Sorry dudes. It’s just not fair. But you are more than welcome to enter any or all of the other 49 giveaways. (Although you can only win one.)

• Anyone who doesn’t fall into the above category, in any part of the world, is eligible to enter.

• All taxes will be taken care of by HP.

• You must SHARE part of the prize package with someone who isn’t you, preferably someone who doesn’t even live in your house. While I have no way to police you once the prizes leave my doorstep, I can assure you that if you don’t share, bad juju’s will follow you all the days of your life. Okay, so I can’t even promise that, just don’t be a selfish jerk okay? You’re a lucky fool if you win all this stuff. PAY IT FORWARD.

• The winner must provide me with a real street shipping address, P.O. Boxes will not be accepted. Items you choose to share can be shipped to the person directly at no cost to you (and is actually preferred. Who doesn’t love getting magic surprises in the mail?)

• By entering, the winner agrees to provide me, within two weeks of receipt of the prize,  a 250 word story (at least) on what happened when they shared one or more of the products. Their story will be posted on moosh in indy. at a later date. Stories from those who were surprised with the magic would also be fantastic. Pictures optional, but strongly encouraged. I won’t post any personal information without permission.

• I have been using (reviewing, coveting, checking out) the hardware (dude, I don’t get to keep any of this stuff) but they will all be restored to factory/like new condition before I ship them.

• I will pick and announce a winner December 9th, 2008 at 12 a.m. EST.

I will be the sole judge and my decision is final. I cannot be bought with promises of cookies, lavish riches, goods, products or services. So don’t even try. Okay, so you can try, but just know it won’t work.

For more details on Casey’s contest head here.

Remember tomorrow some contests are ending so get your entries in now so be sure to check out all the 50 sites participating in the HP Magic Giveaway at HP's Magic Giveaway site.

Good luck entering the contests for today as well as entering the other contest from GottaBeMobile, I Started Something, The Gadgeteer,  Hack College, here, Mediablab, Neowin, Morningside Mom, Thoughts on poetics & tech, Bleeping Computer, Gear Live, and Windows Connected.

Today on Day 5 of the HP Magic Giveaway Contest we again have 3 sites starting their contests today so you now have 3 more chances to win over $6000 worth of prizes for you and others you feel are in need of some new technology!

GottaBeMobile

GottaBeMobile.com, we believe that the true blessing in receiving is found in giving. With so many people and organizations facing such a financially challenging time right now, the opportunity to help someone couldn’t be greater and we are thankful to HP and Microsoft for giving us this opportunity.

For our $6,000  HP Magic Giveaway contest, we are accepting entries from people who are nominating others in need or those they want to recognize – people they would like to bless as a result of winning such a huge prize. They win as a result of your winning. How cool is that? It could be a person who is unemployed, a financially challenged family without the means to buy products like these, multiple people with various issues, multiple families in need, an organization in need of mobile computers, a disconnected person that would value from being connected to the mobile social world, a person / organization donating their own time / money / energies to help others in need, a children’s hospital, a church, a soldier, a pastor, a nurse, a hero you want to recognize, etc. You get the idea. You tell us why you are nominating them and, if you win, what portion of the prize package you will give to them. Video submissions are also accepted, and highly encouraged. We don’t expect you to give the entire prize package away, but we are pretty sure you can find someone to help out or recognize. For a complete description of the prize package being sponsored by HP and Microsoft, visit the HP Magic Giveaway site.

Here are the two steps for entering our contest for your chance to win over $6000 in computers, software, and accessories. In addition, be sure to read below for how to earn “bonus points”.

Steps

1) Submit your nomination entry

2) Subscribe to our email news update.

Bonus Points

There are several ways of adding bonus points to your entry. These are completely optional, and the lack of bonus points will not hurt a truly outstanding entry. Who knows, though, it just might be enough to put you over the edge! Conversely, bonus points will not help an absolutely lousy entry, so make sure your entry is up to snuff. Now on to the details about how to earn bonus points.

Entrants who followed steps 1 and 2 above will receive bonus points on their entry for forum participation. Reply to or create at least one topic in either our HP or Vista forum categories. The more participation, the more points.  If you are not already a member of our forums, register here. We think you’ll like our community….

In addition, if you create a video to go along with your entry, that will be looked upon very favorably. It must be unique to GottaBeMobile’s HP Magic Giveaway contest, and mention GottaBeMobile, HP, and Microsoft somewhere in the video. There is a place in the entry form for you to put a link to your hosted video from YouTube, Blip.tv, etc.

Rules

1) Staff and customers of GottaBeMobile.com and Zoe Technologies, Inc. are not eligible to enter GottaBeMobile.com’s HP Magic Giveaway contest. Entrants who have won this prize package at one of the other 49 blogger’s websites involved in the HP Magic Giveaway will be disqualified.

2) The winner agrees to submit a 500+ word article, with pictures, by December 31, 2008, describing how you presented your gift, their reactions, etc. This article will be published on GottaBeMobile.com. News media in your local area may be notified.

3) This contest is open internationally

4) Entries will be accepted through midnight MST, December 7. The winner will be chosen subjectively by various writers at GottaBeMobile.com. Bonus points will be distributed at the sole discretion of GottaBeMobile.com, but will be based upon the criteria laid out above. The winner will be announced on December 8th and notified via email. The winner has 48 hours to respond from the time the email is sent. If no response is received within 48 hours, another winner will be chosen. One entry per person. A qualified entrant must complete steps 1 and 2. A valid email subscription is one that has been verified through the email validation that FeedBurner sends.

5) All taxes and duties, as the result of winning this prize package, will be covered by HP, Microsoft, and Buzz Corps

6) Portions of the prize package will have been previously opened and reviewed on GottaBeMobile.com

For more info on their contest and to fill out their entry form head directly to their contest here.

I Started Something

Today, the HP Magic Giveaway is coming to this very corner of the web. Your chance to win $6000 of the best (sealed and unsmudged) geek toys for this holiday seasons from HP and Microsoft in just a couple of keystrokes and mouse clicks away. For Tablet PC users it’s just a few pen strokes and taps away.

Head over to the istartedsomething.com HP Magic Giveaway contest minisite for the prize package and entry information.

In keeping with the holiday spirit, where no one really has time or effort to do anything, it can’t get any easier than a simple sweepstake. Just register your name and email. But there’s a twist. Users of the Windows Vista (and newer) operating system are given the opportunity to claim a bonus entry. If you don’t use Vista (or tried Vista), might be a good time to head over to a friend’s house and check it out.

The competition runs for 7 days until Tuesday, 9th of December 2008. If the technology works, a winner will be drawn later that day. Good luck.

The Gadgeteer

How to enter - Read carefully

1. Create a completely original piece of gadget inspired techie artwork that includes the word gadgeteer somewhere in it. The artwork can be a painting, a drawing, a sculpture, a carving, whatever you might consider to be art. The sky is the limit, but please be as creative as possible.

2. Take one digital picture of your artwork. Make sure the image is at least 1024x768 resolution. Images smaller than 1024x768 will be disqualified.

3. Email your image to contest@the-gadgeteer.com

4. In the subject line of the email type: HP Magic Giveaway

5. In the body of the email type a short description of your artwork. By short, I mean 10 sentences or less.

6. I will be putting these images up on my flickr stream, so you'll all be able to enjoy them.

Rules and Restrictions

1. This contest is open to anyone on the planet except for family and friends of myself and regular contributors to this site.

2. Enter as often as you like, but each entry must be a completely different piece of artwork.

3. Email your entries to me by 12/08/08 Noon EST.

4. A winner will be chosen by me and announced sometime later in the day on 12/08/08.

Contest Tips

1. Be creative!

2. Be really creative!

3. Impress me with your creativity!

For more on Julie’s contest head here.

Also don’t forget you do have other chances to win as well so be sure to check out all the 50 sites participating in the HP Magic Giveaway at HP's Magic Giveaway site.

Good luck entering the contests for today as well as entering the other contest from Hack College, here, Mediablab, Neowin, Morningside Mom, Thoughts on poetics & tech, Bleeping Computer, Gear Live, and Windows Connected.

On the fourth day of the contest for the HP Magic Giveaway Contest there will only be one site launching their contest.

Hack College

Here are their contest rules:

The Giveaway

Our new favorite PC manufacturer is giving us more than $6000 worth of gear to make one lucky group of friends' Christmas spectacular. 49 other blogs are also participating in the HP Blogger Magic Giveaway. We are more than excited to be giving away 3 laptops, a desktop and a few other things.

Our Rules

Watch episode 8 for a complete overview:

We want to give our package to a group of 4 friends. Whether you are roommates, housemates or can only tolerate eachother long enough to enter the contest, we encourage everyone to enter. To enter, we're asking each of your 4 team members to join our Facebook page and then report back here.

We will be randomly selecting a fan of the Facebook page on December 8 and announcing the winner on our Facebook page. If the randomly selected winners do not respond to us within 12 hours, we will select new winners.

Enter Your Team

First, head over to our Facebook page with your 3 friends and become fans. Then enter your name, your email and your 3 friends' names in the form here.

Also don’t forget you do have other chances to win as well so be sure to check out the other 50 sites participating at HP's Magic Giveaway site.

Good luck entering the contests for today and from the other contest from here, Mediablab, Neowin, Morningside Mom, Thoughts on poetics & tech, Bleeping Computer, Gear Live, and Windows Connected.

If you haven’t noticed on our site we have launched our contest for the HP Magic Giveaway Contest, but there are two other websites who have also started their contests today so you can further increase your chances in winning!

Here are the two new contests for the third day of the HP Magic Giveaway Contest:

MediaBlab 

In case you missed the original announcement about this giveaway, each of 50 sites are giving away a $6000 hardware package that includes 4 HP computers and a bunch of other great peripherals. The package also includes a number of software offerings from Microsoft and their Windows Live team. You can see complete details of the hardware and software included on the official HP Magic Giveaway site.

One common thread among the HP Magic Giveaway contests is the idea that this huge prize deserves to be shared. Most of us don’t really need 4 computers at home, but we all know a person or an organization who could really use some help. For my giveaway, I’m asking you to tell me about who you would share some of this great hardware and software with and why. The winner will be selected randomly because it’s too difficult to judge the merit of one person’s reasons for sharing against another. As long as it’s feasible, I’ll be delivering the hardware to the selected winner in person. As a bonus, I’m donating an hour of my time to either help you set up this new gear or solving some existing computer frustration.

Contest rules:

1) You must be subscribed to Jake Ludington’s Digital Lifestyle newsletter on 6 December 2008 when the winner is announced. If you’re not already subscribed, you can subscribe here.

2) You must post a comment to the official contest announcement (this page) about who (person or organization) you would share the prize with and why. Include city, state, and country in the body of your comment. Your real name and the same email address you subscribe to the newsletter with must be used in the comment entry form so that you can be contacted if you are selected.

3) You may receive up to two additional entries by doing the following:
Additional entry #1: Follow me on Twitter, link to the contest page in a tweet by using this link: http://bit.ly/JLHPMagic and #JLHPMagic somewhere in your tweet. Send me an email from your subscribed email address notifying me of your Twitter username.
Additional entry #2: The second way to get an additional entry is to link to this contest page from your blog, Myspace, Facebook, site, or other online presence using the code below. Send me an email from your subscribed email address notifying me of the location of your link.

The winner will be selected at random from those people who meet the entry requirements. The winner will be announced on 6 December 2008. If the winner is from the United States, I will deliver the prize to your door and provide an hour of free computer help barring any unforeseen circumstances. If the winner lives outside the United States, the prize will be shipped to your doorstep minus me and the computer help. I’m footing the bill for the travel (not HP or Microsoft), and while I’d love to roundtrip to somewhere more exotic than 100 miles outside Albuquerque, it’s just not feasible this month.

Go forth and share the magic.

For more information on Jake’s contest head here.

Neowin

Neowin's giveaway begins on the 30th November. We will be asking members to make the Neowin logo out of real life elements and make it look as magical as possible. You could make the logo out of bananas, chairs or anything you can get your hands on. Be as creative as possible and take a picture of the finished product. On Sunday we will publish exact details on how to enter but until then you have an extra couple of days to consider what you will make your Neowin logo out of. Here's an example of a magical Neowin logo from the real world we are looking for:

Everyone who is registered at Neowin.net is free to enter and the prize list can be found below:

• 1st Place - HP HDX 18 series Premium Notebook PC
• 2nd Place - HP Pavilion dv4 series Entertainment Notebook PC
• 3rd Place - HP Mini 1000
• 4th Place - HP MediaSmart Connect
• 5th Place - HP Photosmart C6380 Wireless AIO multifunction and a HP 564 Photo Value Pack
• 6th Place - Microsoft Office 2007 Home and Student Edition
• 7th Place - Corel VideoStudio X2
• 8th Place - Kung Fu Panda DVD and a Neowin Mug!

You may have noticed that the HP TouchSmart is absent in our giveaway, we have a reason for this. We plan to donate this system to a children's hospice in the spirit of giving and sharing during this holiday giveaway. We have not chosen the exact charity yet but we are in discussions with several charities in the UK who provide care and comfort to children with terminal illnesses and incurable conditions. Our aim is to present the PC to the charity and document its use. We will provide the system with a test version of Windows 7 for the charity to use temporarily and will interview the children and workers to see what the potential benefits of touch based computing, with Windows 7 and HP's TouchSmart system, could bring. Further details of the Charity and our coverage of this will be forthcoming. Please note if you are a Children's charity based in the UK or have a suggestion for a Charity please contact us.
The competition rules will be:

• Entries will open on Sunday November 30th 2008 at 00:00 GMT and close on Saturday 6th December at 23:59 GMT. Any entries after the closing time and date will not be counted.
• One entry per member
• Entries will be judged by the collective Neowin staff
• Neowin staff and veterans are inelligible to enter - sorry guys!
• The winners will be announced during the week of the closing date; they will be contacted separately with details of claiming their prize
• This is an international competition and members from all territories are welcome to participate
• Creativity and originality is favoured, so entries must be your own work
• Neowin reserves the right to alter the terms of this competition at will

You can also check out the other 50 sites participating at HP's Magic Giveaway site.

Good luck entering the contests for today here, Mediablab, and Neowin as well as the ones at Morningside Mom, Thoughts on poetics & tech, Bleeping Computer, Gear Live, and Windows Connected.

This is the time for giving for many and this year will be even harder for some people to give than they have in the past. Boston Pocket PC wants to help by giving you a really cool prize, the ability to give to those you find are need of some cool new technology from HP and Microsoft with some help from Buzz Corps.

The HP Magic Giveaway Contest is also about the magic of giving. We are all going through rough economic times and could use a little help to make the world a brighter and better place. The magic to help bring a little magic into the lives of others will be the following items:

• HP TouchSmart IQ816 PC

• HP HDX 18 series Premium Notebook PC

• HP MediaSmart Connect

• HP Pavilion dv4 series Entertainment Notebook PC with Windows Live

• HP Mini 1000 with XP

• HP Photosmart C6380 Wireless AIO multifunction printer

• HP 564 Photo Value Pak

• Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate/Home Premium or Microsoft Windows XP pre-installed on all units (Mini 1000 runs XP)

• Microsoft Office 2007 Home and Student Edition (Student-Teacher Edition) – 1 DVD with 3 licenses

• Corel VideoStudio X2

• Kung Fu Panda (DVD & Blu-ray)

The total value of this prize package is over $6000 in prizes!

Our contest is part of a group of 50 blogs and websites that are taking part to make this holiday season a special one as part of the HP Magic Giveaway contest. Our contest is going to be a simple one, but you must meet all the requirements to be eligible to win:

1. We all want new technology for the Holiday season and I am sure there are few people you know, that would like or are in desperate need for some new gear as well.  All we ask is that you email a picture of your current desktop/setup and (if possible sneak a picture of the person/place/charity you want to hook up with gear) as well as write a minimum 100 word description of how it will be used, what it is replacing, how it will benefit the recipient, etc.

2. Email your story and picture(s) to magic@bostonpocketpc.com with the subject “HP Magic Giveaway”.

3. We will conduct a random drawing from all those who submitted a valid entry and post the winner as well as some of the more interesting entries received.

4. Follow the directions. We would hate for you not to be entered to win on a technicality. So read them carefully!

5. You will have only one entry per person so make it a good one!  The contest starts 12:00AM Eastern Daylight Savings Time US  on November 30^th, 2008. All entries must be in by 11:59PM Eastern Daylight Savings Time US December 5th. All entries received after that will not be accepted.

6. No one associated with this site or families are eligible to win, (but are free to enter the other 49 contests) nor are winners of other HP Magic Giveaway Contest contests.

7. This contest is a world-wide contest and open to all that meet the above contest requirements.

8. The winner will then be notified by email and posted here on Boston Pocket PC with their name and winning entry on December 6th 2008.

9. The winner will then choose which item or items they wish to keep and which of the items they want to “gift” and we will wrap it up and send it out for you. There must be a minimum of two other recipients of the prize besides the winner, divided up how ever the winner sees fit and there can be more than two recipients. All shipments must be to valid shipping addresses, no PO Boxes.

10. We request that the winner will submit a minimum 500 word write-up with pictures on how they are using the prize, what they did with the prize, as well as who and how their “gift” recipients are using it which to be posted on Boston Pocket PC within four weeks of receiving their items and distributing their “magic gifts” to others. (If you wish to keep the identity of the recipients and yours confidential you don’t have to include pictures of yourselves.)

11. HP and Microsoft requested that each site also review the items for giveaway so some items may be opened from their original packaging and used for reviews on this site and returned to their original shipping condition. We still have not received our items for giveaway so we may not be able to review any of the items within the time span of the contest, but we will try to review a few - as many have already written in and requested.

Good Luck to all that Enter and don’t forget to stop by the other 49 sites participating in the HP Magic Giveaway Contest to increase your chances of winning this fabulous prize:

Gotta Be Mobile
Barb’s Connected World
Geek.com
Gear Live
Neowin
Small Biz Vista
JK On the Run
Notebooks.com
Geekzone
I Started Something
Bleeping Computer
The Gadgeteer
Planet x64
Digital Home Thoughts
Digital Inspiration
Geeks!
MediaBlab
Geek News Central
The Digital Lifestyle
GearDiary
Last 100
Geeks To Go!
Liliputing
OSNN
Slashdot Review
SlashGear
Gadgetell
Windows Connected
Techie Diva
One Day, One Job
Student Bloggers
Study Hacks - Demystifying College Success
HackCollege
Noticias Tech
Eliax
La Bitácora de Erwin Ried
Carlos Alberto
InfoWester
GeeksRoom
CíberPrensa
Unión de Bloggers Hispanos
Living - In Theory
Moosh in Indy
Morningside Mom
Thoughts on poetics & tech
Techmamas
Stop, Drop & Blog
Down-to-Earth Mama
merlot mom

On the second day of the HP Magic Giveaway Contest, you now have another 2 chances to enter at three different sites. Each site will be conducting their own contest and you have until December 5th to enter each of them when they announce the winner of their respective contests.

Here are the two new contests for the  second day of the HP Magic Giveaway Contest:

Morningside Mom

Hp and Microsoft has delivered the prize package to me - and as of today, Saturday November 29th - the contest has begun. Now it is my turn to explain the rules to you. Here they are:

1) This entire prize package will be awarded to one person.

2) However, this winner will be chosen based on how they plan to use this prize. To be more specific, I will be awarding this prize to a winner who will put the package to positive change or towards a charitable cause. For example, this person might work at an underprivileged school, the winner might know someone working at an underfunded health clinic, or maybe they’ve heard about a Boys and Girls club that might need a donation. Regardless, this person should plan to have these computers affect lives positively.

3) The winner has the option of sharing this prize, it is their choice. In other words, I can mail part or all of the package to the winner or could mail part or all of the package directly to a cause, charity, etc.

4) Each entrant MUST explain to me in 250 words or less why their cause should be chosen. This explanation must be mailed to morningsidemomgiveaway@gmail.com with the subject heading “My Entry to the HP/Microsoft Magic Giveaway”.

5) The entrant is encouraged to be creative with their submission. You could include a link to a blog post, a Youtube clip or FLIKR images. (Please do not send large files or jpegs attached to the email itself.) Through your submission, show me you are an honest individual who truly cares about the cause or person you support. The more you can show me that your cause is real (and not something made up so you can sell it all on e-bay which I strongly strongly discourage), the better your chances are to win. Please remember: this is about giving and supporting a worthwile cause. Please think hard about what kind of good you can do with this prize.

6) I will not hold it against the winner if they would like to keep a portion of the prize themselves. There is certainly enough to go around and it is up to the winner to decide how to spread the wealth. Just remember, charitable individuals will be rewarded in this contest.

7) Real addresses are required, no p.o. boxes.

8 ) International entrants are welcome.

9) While your address and full name will be protected and kept private, I will be posting about the winner and the cause they represent on the Morningside Mom blog.

10) Additionally, the winner will be asked to submit a follow up post about how the gift package was put to good use. Pictures and personal experiences will be highly encouraged. This follow up will be expected within 2-4 weeks after you received the package.

11) While unlikely, press or media could potentially by involved. If they are, obviously, the winner’s full name or address will not be made public or ever shared with anyone.

12) Winners will be chosen solely at my discretion.

13) Entrants who have won this prize at one of the other 49 blogger’s websites involved in the HP give away will be disqualified.

14) A winner will be announced on December 5th.

15) If you consider yourself a friend of mine - I love ya but sorry, don’t bother entering. However, think about entering at one of the other 49 blogger’s sites! (See above.) But tell a friend about my contest (one I don’t know) to come on over and enter.

16) HP has encouraged me to look over the hardware and review it. Some boxes or bags may have been opened. Everything has of course been put back into its original packaging.

Any questions? Please comment below and I will respond as quickly as I am able to. Check back here on December 5th to for the winning announcement. Good luck to all entrants!

For more details on Caroline’s contest head here and good luck to all those entering!

Thoughts on poetics & tech

This week, I'll be running a promotion and giveaway for $6000 worth of HP computers and other software and hardware. I'll give away the entire package to one person who enters my contest.
I love, love, love the idea of being a Magic Internet Fairy, pouring out an amazing abundance of computers, more than anyone could ever need! It's a gift that, by being too big, inspires generosity.
I want YOU.... my creative, intelligent, beautiful reader... to have a shiny new computer or laptop of your own, for the holidays!
And I want YOU to overflow with computers, like a geektastic goddess, making other people happy, people who also dream of having the Internet at their fingertips!
Keep one of these sleek, fast, powerful beasts for yourself... and then share the magic. Give the rest away!
I thought about "magic" and what my computer means to me. It lets me express all the million layers of my ideas and creativity, and helps me put that into the world directly. Because I do that, I can connect directly with other people and their ideas. The magic for me in this contest is in spreading that empowerment and connection. Who could I make the happiest? Who would put something unique and interesting into the world, given the right tools?
50 sites, listed here on http://hp.com/go/winhpmagic, are EACH offering a chance to win a complete package consisting of three HP computers plus a mini notebook, an HP MediaSmart Media Center extender, a Photosmart printer (and a huge pack of photo paper) plus a ton of software, and a BluRay DVD. There will be some U.S. IRS tax offset compensation, where applicable.
The winner of each site’s contest gets it all. Each site will have their own contest with different rules and you CAN enter all of them.
To enter the HP Magic Giveaway on my blog, Composite: Thoughts on Poetics and Tech, please do these three things:
1) Comment intelligently on any post on this blog!
A) Respond to a post. Pick something that interests you: feminism? disability rights? programming? Gadgets? Maybe a specific poet, one of the poems from my Anthology?
Tell me what you think of what I wrote.
I'm impressed if you are smart, engaged, un-boring, and being real! Make me laugh! Make me think!
B) Tell me briefly, in 3 sentences or less, how you would "Share the Magic" - what would you do with the prize? Who will you give the extra computers to? Please use links if applicable.
C) In your comment, include a link back to your own blog, or some other place on the net.
2) Post a link to that post and your comment, somewhere public on the Internet; on your blog, your MySpace or Facebook, your Twitter account, a bulletin board; anywhere you hang out.
3) Email me at compositehpmagic@gmail.com. Tell me:
* the link to your comment in #1
* the link to your post in #2
I won't include anyone as a finalist who I know in real life, and obviously, not my co-workers or family members.
I will be the sole judge and my decision is final.
By entering, the winner agrees to provide me, within two weeks of receipt of the prize, at least a 500 word postable story on what happened when they gifted the extra computers. Pictures optional, but would be great to have along with permission to post. I won’t post names or any other information without your permission.
For me, the "Magic" in this contest will be the list of finalists; the people who I think are especially interesting and creative! Someone will get a bunch of computers -- and maybe I'll get a new blogroll!

For more details Liz’s contest head here and good luck on those entering her contest as well!

You can also check out the other 50 sites participating at HP's Magic Giveaway site.

Boston Pocket PC will be announcing our contest shortly so be sure to check back soon and again good luck entering the contests for today at Morningside Mom and Thoughts on poetics & tech the ones from yesterday at Bleeping Computer, Gear Live, and Windows Connected.

There are three different websites launching the HP Magic Giveaway Contest, so you now have 3 chances to enter at three different sites. Each site will be conducting their own contest and you have until December 4th to enter each of them. Here are the first three contests:

Bleeping Computer

As of today, BleepingComputer.com and two other sites, kick off the HP Magic Giveaway promotion. As of November 28th, 2008 at Midnight, Bleeping Computer is now accepting entries into the HP Magic Giveaway.
From now until December 4th, we will be accepting entries into our contest. The winner of our contest will be selected randomly and announced on December 4th 2008. Our contest is easy to enter, but does have a slight twist. Due to the size of the package, the harsh economic times, and it being the holidays we want our winner to share the magic through the spirit of giving. What that entails is that our winner will be required to share some of their prize package with another person or organization.

In a year when the holidays look more gloomy than magical, HP, Microsoft, and BuzzCorps have partnered with 50 sites to help spread the holiday cheer. Starting today, 50 sites will be giving away a prize of holiday goodies that are more than any one person could need. We are not talking about winning one computer, but 4 computers, and some great great software and accessories to use with them. Unfortunately, we cant give too much detail right now on the contests, but rest assured we will be providing that information soon. As there are 50 sites, there will also be 50 different contests, so be sure to get to know and learn the rules of each site when they announce their contests. To stay on top of all the information and updates it is suggested that you subscribe to this topic.
Bleeping Computer Contest Information:
As of today, November 28th 2008, BleepingComputer.com's HP Magic Giveaway contest is officially underway. The purpose of this contest is to celebrate generosity and the spirit of giving. This incredible prize package was designed to be shared with other people or organizations who could benefit from a new computer. With such a harsh global economy, people losing their jobs, and having the holiday season upon us, we have decided that the winner must share a portion of their prize. Whether it be to an out of work friend who needs a new computer, a local charity, or a school, we felt that that with a prize package this large paying it forward would be the right thing to do.
The rules are fairly simple, and we have gone into more details below. In summary, our winner will be chosen at random and announced on December 4th 2008. That winner must share the prize with at least one other recipient. They must then post to this thread the story of how they shared their prize. Hopefully this will continue to inspire the magic of sharing. Please note, depending on available time, we may use the equipment in order to review it. This equipment will be in pristine shape and at factory defaults before it is sent to any winner.
Good luck and have fun with the contest!
Terms and Conditions and Rules:

1. The sole winner of the Prize package will be awarded at random.
2. The purpose of this contest is to spread a little magic into people's lives during the holidays. With that said, the prize package must be shared with at least one worthy recipient or cause. It is up to you how much of the package you wish to share, and we hope you share more than one item, but at least one computer must be given to another person or organization.
3. After receiving the award, the winner must send the story describing how they shared the gift. Photos are not required, but will enhance your story, so feel free to send them. With the story, you give us your express permission to post the story and any accompanying material. If you would not like us to post your real names, please let us know, or do not include them in the story.
4. The recipient of the prize, and the people you intend to share the magic with, must provide a complete name, shipping address, and phone number that can be used to ship the award. We will ship the prize package to yourself and to the other recipients. PO Boxes will not be permitted.
5. Do not enter the contest with multiple accounts. Anyone who is caught doing so will have all of their entries removed.
6. If you won a prize package from one of the other sites involved in this promotion, you will become ineligible.
7. Depending on the value of the prize, you may be required to fill out a W-9 form. This form will be sent directly to the sponsor of the contest.
8. You must be a member of the site in order to enter the contest. Membership is free and you can create your account here.
9. Staff are ineligible for this contest.
10. The winner will have 72 hours from notification to claim their prize. If the winner does not claim the prize, we will award it to a 2nd place finisher.

Official BleepingComputer.com HP Magic Giveaway Thread

To enter the contest simply go here and click on the HP Magic Giveaway contest link:

Click here to start your HP Magic Giveaway Entry

Gear Live

Yes, you do see four computers listed, as well as a Media Center Extender. No, you aren’t dreaming. Yes, we (and HP) are awesome. You want the goods? Here’s how to enter to win - we are making this super-simple:

1. If you don’t have one already, sign up for a Gear Live account
2. If you don’t have one already, sign up for a Twitter account
3. Add the Gear Live Twitter account to your follow list
4. On Twitter, post a tweet about our contest and link to this page. In the tweet, include the phrase “#glmagic”.
5. Once that is done, leave a comment here in this post with a direct link back to your Tweet. Be sure you are signed in to your Gear Live account before you leave the comment.

Here’s an example of an appropriate Twitter entry:
“Entering to win a ton of HP gear! http://jk9.qlnk.net/ #glmagic”

BONUS ENTRIES: Want more chances to win? Share the link to our contests on the following sites, and leave us a comment linking to those as well:

• Facebook: Shared Link
• Del.icio.us bookmark
• FriendFeed: Use Post a Link
• Your blog: Have a site? Link to our contest on it!

Remember: The bonus entries are just that - bonus. In order to be eligible to win, you must complete the core Twitter requirements.

Now, as to the actual contest dates. The contest starts today, November 28th. You have until 11:59 PM PST on December 4 to enter your comments here on this post. We will then announce our winner, chosen randomly out of all valid entrants and bonus points, on December 5th. We are also going to encourage (but not require) you to think about donating a portion of the prize package to someone else. It can be a charity, a relative, friend, a fellow contest entrant - anyone. We can even handle the shipping to that third party for you. It’s all in the spirit of giving, and we will let you play Secret Santa, if you so choose.

The contest is open to anyone in the world, which is a rarity. If you are in the US, you’ll even have your tax burden taken care of. What more could you ask for? Now, good luck to all - comments are open!

Windows Connected

Today we are officially kicking off our HP Magic Giveaway.  We are one of three sites selected to kick off this wonderful event. In the spirit of the event and the season we will be giving this exceptional prize package away to the individual that we think can do the most good with it. Entry will be open from today (Nov 28th) until Thursday Dec 4th at 6am.

How to enter:

To enter you must submit a written entry of less than 150 words to hpmagic@windowsconnected.com with details on how you will put all this wonderful hardware to good use.  We won’t be awarding this to anyone who we think we just turn around an sell it.  We want it to go to a place where it can do the most good, so impacting a number of peoples lives with the hardware will get you the best chance to win. Winner will be selected by the bloggers from the site and an announcement will be made on Dec. 4th of the winner.

Rules:

• WindowsConnected's active bloggers and family are not eligible
• If you have won one of the other HP Magic contest you are ineligible
• Winners of the 31 Days of the Dragon contest are ineligible
• Winner agrees to not sell the hardware, yes Zane we are looking at you..how's that tattoo?
• Winner will have 48 hours from time of selection to claim prize or we will move to the 2nd place finisher
• Winner agrees to send us a follow up to post on how the hardware has been used within 30 days of receiving it.
• We are the sole judge and all decision are final

Prize Package Details

Picture of Prize Package

WindowsConnected HP Magic Giveaway Begins

You can also check out the other 50 sites participating at HP's Magic Giveaway site.

Boston Pocket PC will be announcing our contest shortly so be sure to check back often and good luck entering the contests at Bleeping Computer, Gear Live, and Windows Connected.

Smartphone & Pocket PC magazine Annual Awards concluded a few weeks ago and the Winners, Finalists and Nominees are now available for viewing online.  Again I was a Judge this year and as always its a very intensive and exhaustive process testing many different titles in several categories making sure I used and evaluated each title thoroughly and fairly. Eighty members of the Smartphone & Pocket PC magazine Board of Experts judged 936 Windows Mobile products in 194 Pocket PC and Smartphone categories. Winners are also listed in the Smartphone & Pocket PC magazine 2009 Resource Guide first seen late November.

This year there for some reason took longer than some previous years to judge due to the high quality of nominees across both Windows Mobile platforms.  The nominees and winners are broken down into Pocket PC Apps — touchscreen devices, Pocket PC Games — touchscreen devices and Smartphone software– non-touchscreen devices. 

I just want to give very special thanks to Hal Goldstein, Nate Adcock, and Noah Ouellette from Smartphone & Pocket PC magazine and Kerry Baker and the folks from Handango for working very hard on conducting these awards each year. It’s alot of work.  Also note that you get a 15% discount on all Windows Mobile software through their exclusive VIP site until Decmeber 31, 2008, when you purchase their Knowledge Bundle, which contains the 2009 Resource Guide (last issue) with Awards Winners & Finalists, GPS, How-tos and Accessories sections, 100-page How-to Guide, Back-Issues of Smartphone & Pocket PC magazine.

One of the many things that I have been working on outside of my day job and this site, is an event called CntrStg - pronounced “CenterStage”. CntrStg is a concept that a group of bloggers and online community leaders came up with while attending CES last year. In the past, every Community Leader, Blogger, and Podcaster would be racing up and down the Las Vegas strip rushing to meet with various companies and listen to them talk one-on-one about their plans for the coming year and showing off their latest and greatest. More often than not, we found ourselves crossing paths with one another as we entered and exited these meetings getting the same information and wasting an hour up and an hour back traversing the crowded Las Vegas strip limiting the number of companies you could meet with while at CES. Wouldn’t it make more sense for us to stay in one location and have the companies come talk to all of us in one shot?

CntrStg does just that. We have already signed up companies to present, as well as community leaders from some of the top tech and gadget sites around the Internet to attend. CntrStg will be the place to be during CES 2009! The primary goal of CntrStg is to get more time to write and record stories rather than spending time traveling up and down the strip getting to meetings as well as a place to hang out and relax.

You can read all about CntrStg, including our press release that should be going live on the wire as you read this post, over at the CntrStg website - http://www.cntrstg.com.

Hopefully we will see you there in Las Vegas - CntrStg - the place to be @ CES!

Thanks to everyone who attended my two sessions this past weekend at Code Camp 9 in Waltham, MA. As always, it was great meeting new folks and connecting with friends.

I have now posted the presentations for download -

• Leveraging the .NET Compact Framework 3.5 Developer Tools
• Windows Communication Foundation ("WCF") for Windows Mobile 

Well we have arrived in Las Vegas for the 2008 Consumer Electronics Show aka CES, which makes this eight years in a row for me of attending the technology preview of things to come in the future of CE. Technology sure has changed over the years and so has the size of the show. This year I was just planning on hitting several events at CES and just leisurely walking the floor, but for some insane reason I am going to be meeting with some companies to show us their latest and greatest and I will be sure to take lots of pictures and share our findings here at BPPC. The we being Johan van Mierlo and Eric Hicks will be joining myself in Vegas and we will be sharing our finds and info with you here. If there is anything of interest you would like to see or hear about give us a shout and will see if we can make it happen like shots of the next largest television at CES, which is supposed to be a good sized bigger than last years winner from Sharp at 108" from Panasonic.

We will also be meeting up with some friends and colleagues as well at several events and will share those as well. Our next meeting I will do another annual slide show and presentation like have done from previous years. So stay tuned.

Due to an unforseen work emergency I will be working late and won't be able to conduct the meeting tonight and Don is off in Toronto on business. We will make it up next month with a pretty good agenda with a mix of Developer and Enthusiast/Enterprise focus for the next meeting. We will nail out an agenda to fit both and post it up well in advance.

Again I am sorry for not being able to do this at the last minute, but we will make it up to next month! :)

Thanks to everyone who attended my two sessions at this weekend's Code Camp 7: Deer In The Headlights event. I really enjoyed the interaction, questions and comments during both sessions!

As promised, my two presentations are now available for download. The ZIP files contain both the Powerpoint slides and any sample code shown during the session.

• Windows Mobile Application Performance Best Practices (592 KB)
• Leveraging Speech in .NET Applications and Windows Vista (211 KB)

As an "added bonus", I have put up the C# project I wrote to test out Ink and Speech with Vista and the Tablet PC. It is the little spelling application I wrote for my son to do his homework, and domenstrates speech synthesis and the Tablet PC ink APIs. Even if you don't have a Tablet PC, you can fill in the fields using your keyboard. The download also includes a setup installer for the compiled version of the application, allowing you to just install it and play around with it if you'd like.

• Vista Spelling Practice Application (3.75 MB)

Enjoy!

Our good friend and Mobility Guys associate Chris Leckness was fortunate enough to make it down to Orlando, FL this week for the CTIA Wireless 2007 Conference. It has been a while since I have had the opportunity to attend this conference, but I can tell you it is a must-see for anyone interested in the cellular industry.

Chris was good enough to post some great "First Look" videos while he was there and post them MobilitySite, including:

• HTC Advantage Hands-On
• Toshiba G900 Video First Look
• Asus Aries Smartphone Video First Look
• HP iPAQ 500 Video First Look
• HTC VOX Video First Look

If you want to check out the "latest and greatest", this is a great chance to do so.

Great work, Chris!

For all you New England-area .NET developers - Code Camp 7: Deer In The Headlights is coming to the Microsoft offices in Waltham, MA on Saturday, March 31st and Sunday, April 1st. As always, this community-oriented event (organized, run and presented by community members) is a fantastic, fun and FREE way to learn about a variety of .NET development topics.

If you take a moment to view the current presentation list,  you will see that I am slated for two sessions:

"Leveraging Speech in .NET Applications and Windows Vista"
One of the more overlooked features provided in the .NET Framework 3.0 is the new Speech namespace. When combined with Windows Vista, this new functionality opens the door to a number of developer possbilities around speech-enabling desktop applications.
In this presentation, you will learn about the new Speech API, and see how you can implement both text-to-speech and voice recognition for applications.

"Windows Mobile Application Performance Best Practices"
While the Windows Mobile platform has evolved greatly since its inception, developers are still challenged by the limitations in mobile devices. Limited in screen size, reduced memory and and power-efficient CPUs make Windows Mobile development performance-oriented development even more essential when compared to traditional computing platforms.
In this presentation, you will learn a variety of programming techniques to make your Windows Mobile applications perform common development tasks in efficient and user-friendly ways.

There are still spaces available for this event, so don't hesitate to register today!

DEMO is a paid to present conference for 68 companies in 6 minutes present their new companies, products and technologies. The presenters are picked by hand picked by Chris Shipley and a board of experts and they do a pretty good job of bringing all this technology in nice simple to understand forum. All the presentation are available online for viewing and are pretty impressive. I really like Apollo from Adobe , BlingSoftware, TeleFlip and Zink.

As with CES most of the products are now geared toward the Web and Mobility. If you have the time it is definitely worth checking out.

An alternative "free conference" is in the works by Mike Arrington of TechCrunch and Jason Calcanis here are the details so far a few other members of the board are showing up like Robert Scoble:

1. It will be in the San Francisco area.
2. We will have around 250 people at the event.
3. 20 companies will present over two days.
4. The event will take place in the fall.
5. We are looking for a location that can fit 250-500 people. We arehoping we can find a a University that would host the event, or an affordable conference center. Any ideas please let me know.
6. We hope to put together an advisory board of people we really respect to suggest companies.

I would love to see more Unconferences like this spring up in multiple locations like Boston, NewYork, Chicago,Austin,etc, but no so many that it dilutes the content. More like an East and West like VON does.

If you are unfortunately bogged down with work in the office and regrettably are not able to attend the launch event in New York City’s Time Square today you can still view the video here.

If that isn't enough for you and are looking to get down and really celebrate, there are some local events worth checking out that have some NFL football superstars doing some signing and picture taking in association with FOX Sports new addition to Media Center. For the Boston area at the Framingham,MA Circuit City the infamous 'Master of Hail Mary' - Doug Floutie will be signing autographs and you have the chance to win some cool stuff. To find out what is in your local area head here.

Also if you haven't noticed Microsoft has updated the Windows Vista page for the Launch!

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/default.mspx

It is always interesting to see how quiet things can become in the world of vendors, PR, marketing and the likes just before a major event. Such seems to be the case with the 2007 edition of the Consumer Electronics Show. CES 2007 begins next Monday, January 8th.

Expect lots of news surrounding the world of mobility to start this weekend, with lots more to follow. In addition, our own Steve "fyiguy" Hughes will be at CES, so watch for the "latest and greatest" news and information next week.

While we are attempting to get things back to nornal, I do want to take a moment and put out the early word for the next Club Pocket PC - Boston meeting.

The next meeting will be held on Wednesday, January 17th starting at 6:30 PM at the Microsoft offices in Waltham, MA (201 Jones Road, 6th Floor).

Our next meeting will include:

• CES 2007 Roundup. Steve Hughes will be attending the 2007 edition of the Consumer Electronics Show ("CES") in Las Vegas. Steve will provide us with some of the highlights from the show.
• Windows Vista for Mobile Users. A few months back, Steve Hughes and I covered various pieces of information regarding Microsoft Windows Vista in relation to mobile users. Well, the code has shipped and we will be days away from the official launch. What better time to cover things in greater depth? 

We look forward to seeing you there!