The Best Contest News, Reviews, Features, and Forums | MaximumPC - All of the Best Software and Hardware Reviews

NewsGoogle's Project 10 to the 100 Aims to Change the World

Posted 09/24/08 at 06:48:13 PM by Andy Salisbury

So you’ve got this great idea that will change the world, but you just don’t have the cash to get it off the ground. Well, luckily for you Google has your back! Google recently announced a new venture called Project 10 to the 100, a contest that allows anyone to submit a world-changing idea to Google, and they will potentially commit $10 million to implementing it.

These world-changing ideas will be submitted to Google in one of eight categories; community, opportunity, energy, environment, health, education, shelter and everything else. Once initial bulk of ideas have been sifted through, 100 ideas will be voted on publicly to determine 20 semi-finalists, and from there five ideas will be chosen for the $10 million prizes. But know that that $10 million isn’t going directly to you (should you win)! What you win is “the satisfaction of knowing that your idea might truly help a lot of people.” The deadline for submitting your idea is October 20th, and videos are allowed to supplement your proposal.

Google’s reason for offering the project is pretty noble, and I like it. On the project’s official site they say: “Never in history have so many people had so much information, so many tools at their disposal, so many ways of making good ideas come to life. Yet at the same time, so many people, of all walks of life, could use so much help, in both little ways and big. In the midst of this, new studies are reinforcing the simple wisdom that beyond a certain very basic level of material wealth, the only thing that increases individual happiness over time is helping other people.”

Comments: 4
TAGS: contest, Google, anniversary, Project, 10 to the 100, philanthropy

NewsLet Us Pick Your Brain for a Chance at $250

Posted 08/11/08 at 02:30:00 PM by Norman Chan

Reminder: The survey and raffle ends tomorrow, so if you haven't filled it out yet, get to it! Fame and glory await.

Hello, Maximumpc.com readers. Since we relaunched the site a little over a month ago, you've had the chance to hear a lot from us in our myriad web posts. We think it's time for us to get to know you a little better, and at the same time, give out some sweet prizes. We want your input so we can make the site better, and we just happen to have a few Newegg gift certificates sitting in the lab. All you need to do for a chance to claim one is fill out our simple 15-question survey. It'll just take 5 minutes, and the questions are all multiple choice! Just click here for the survey.

Official rules for the contest can be found here.

Comments: 6
TAGS: contest, survey, maximumpc.com, reader survey

NewsContest: Design the Maximum PC T-Shirt!

Posted 07/29/08 at 04:45:20 PM by Norman Chan

Reminder: The T-shirt design contest ends this Friday morning. Submit your entries as soon as possible!

Here is your chance to make a mark on Maximum PC! We need new t-shirts, and, quite frankly between the magazine re-design, the website revamp and actually making the magazine every month, we’re just tapped out. That’s where you come in. We're taking submissions for a new t-shirt design, and want you to try your hand at creating one. The design should include the Maximum PC logo, have a maximum of 4 colors, and be created as a vector graphic. Otherwise, we encourage you to be creative and geeky to capture the look and feel of the magazine.

Send us your design for the new Maximum PC t-shirt and you could win a $250 gift card and a few tees to show off your winning art!

Visit the full contest page for the official rules!

Comments: 17
TAGS: contest, design, t-shirt, maximum pc. logo

NewsMySpace Launches Pan-Asian Game Development Contest

Posted 07/18/08 at 04:00:23 PM by Pulkit Chandna

Social networking colossus MySpace has launched a Pan-Asian game development contest. Developers from China, India, Japan and Korea will square off against each other to develop the best social game. The contest stipulates that developers be legal residents of one of the four countries mentioned above and above the age of 18 years. And no development team should have more than three members. The contest will culminate at the Tokyo Game Show and the winning social game will be plastered all over MySpace after being translated into English, Korean, Chinese and Japanese, besides that, cash and other prizes will be up for grabs. Registrations are open right now.

Comments: 0
TAGS: Software, contest, mypsace, game development, asia, social game

NewsMicrosoft Giving Away 5,000 Gallons of Gas

Posted 07/07/08 at 05:39:45 PM by Paul Lilly

It's hard not to feel violated at the gas pump every time you fill you up your tank, and relief doesn't appear to be in sight. That is, unless you're a small business owner. As part of Microsoft's Bump the Slump sweepstakes, the multi-billion dollar corporation plans to give away 5,000 gallons of gas in order to promote its various software applications. Huh?

According to Eric Ligman, Microsoft US Senior Manager of Small Business Community Engagement (don't waste any space on that business card), the sweepstakes is about "saving money," and while that's hard, nay, impossible to do at the pump, Microsoft's Bump the Slump website claims that its bevy of software can add up to big savings. For example, "Windows Vista can save you as much as $70.77 in energy costs per PC per year compared to a typical PC not running Vista. It saves you money and lets you give Earth a little hug."

The promotion will cost Microsoft about $20,000, with the winner expected to be drawn on July 21, 2008. To be eligible, entrants must be 18+ years old and a legal resident of the 50 United States, own a small business in the U.S., and have between two and 100 employees. And when it's over, you can add Microsoft to a list which includes Mexican food, Celine Dion, baked beans, and other things known to give gas.

Comments: 3
TAGS: microsoft, Software, contest, Prize, gas, giveaway, promotion, sweepstakes, Bump the Slump

NewsDreamBuildPlay, Ready to Get Your Design On?

Posted 06/20/08 at 09:46:31 AM by Chris Moody

Microsoft has issued a challenge for developers and newbie developers worldwide to use Microsoft's XNA Game Studio 2.0 to build their game for the Xbox 360. This year they are accepting teams from 1 to 7 people to compete. First prize is $40,000, second is $20,000, third $10,000, and fourth is $5,000.

The deadline is September 23, 2008, after which the judges will be choosing the best entries on 3 main criteria: Fun Factor (40%), Innovation (30%), and Production Quality (30%).

Ready to get your Design On? Head over to dreambuildplay.com and sign up!

dreambuildplay