Open Season for Linux Contests

Contests, at their best, can highlight creative thinking and originality.Â¬â  In the Linux community, there seems to be an serious overabundance of both.Â¬â  Four different contests âÃî all starting this January âÃî are doing their best to crowdsource and give out significant prizes to the winners.Â¬â  Vote, participate, or just soak it all in, these contests are great ways to get involved. ¬â 

For one âÃî the Linux New Media Awards âÃî IâÃôm a judge and would love to have your input.Â¬â  See the categories below and if you have suggestions on who I should vote for, please email me at amanda (at) linux-foundation (dot) org.

The four contests all involve creativity, judges, and significant prizes including a trip to France for one, and a trip to Japan for another.Â¬â  So, whether you look at these contests as a chance to show off your video skills, go after real prize money, or just a fun way to participate in the big, online discussion that is Linux, thereâÃôs room for all.

So, donâÃôt sit on the sidelines.Â¬â  Get involved.Â¬â  Let the contests begin.

*** âÃúThink Inside the BoxâÃù Contest

CiscoâÃôs Application eXtension Platform (AXP) developer contest, termed the âÃúThink Inside the BoxâÃù contest, is offering Linux developers $100,000 in cash prizes.Â¬â  The AXP is a Linux blade server running Linux kernel 2.6 and is compatible with Fedora Linux.Â¬â  The skills and knowledge of Linux development used in the contest are the same skills used in general Linux application development on servers.Â¬â  Brian Proffitt of the Linux Developer Network blogged http://ldn.linuxfoundation.org/article/cisco-developer-contest-brodges-gap-between-networking-developmentâÃú>about the details and reasoning behind this contest being sponsored by Cisco.Â¬â  HereâÃôs the http://www.cisco.com/en/US/prod/collateral/routers/ps9701/white_paper_c11_459082.htmlâÃú>Cisco Application eXtension Platform Overview. And http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps9701/products_data_sheets_list.htmlâÃú>hereâÃôs a number of examples of how Linux can be used to run server applications from inside of the Cisco Integrated Services Router (ISR).Â¬â  There are over 5 million Cisco ISRs currently deployed.Â¬â  All of these routers can accept the Cisco AXP Linux blade server.

More information can be found on the Cisco Innovation blog http://blogs.cisco.com/innovationâÃú>here.

*** The âÃúIâÃôm LinuxâÃù Video Contest

The idea is simple.Â¬â  Create a video that explains why Linux is great.Â¬â  You can parody the âÃúIâÃôm a PC, IâÃôm a MacâÃù ads, you can go serious, you can go crazy.Â¬â  ItâÃôs up to you.Â¬â  The contest opens January 26 and will close at midnight Pacific Time on March 15, 2009.Â¬â  ItâÃôs judged by a panel of open source and advertising professionals.Â¬â  Judging criteria will be based on originality, clarity of message, and how much it inspires others to use Linux.Â¬â  The judges will also take into account community votes on The Linux Foundation video site such as number of favourites and starred voting.Â¬â  The winning video will be unveiled at The Linux FoundationâÃôs Collaboration Summit in San Francisco on April 8, 2009.Â¬â  The winner will receive a free trip to Tokyo, Japan, to participate in The Linux Foundation Japan Linux Symposium in October 2009. There are already some very cool entries.¬â 

Contest rules and guidelines are available here:Â¬â  http://video.linuxfoundation.org/category/video-category/-linux-foundation-video-contest

*** Linux New Media Awards

The Linux New Media Awards recognize the most significant products, projects, people, and organizations related to Linux during the calendar year, 2008.Â¬â  Instead of trying to cover all categories each year, they select a few specific topics that âÃúrepresent the major themes and trends of the past year.âÃÃ¹Â¬â  Only products, projects, people and organizations that have been prominent in 2008 will be nominated.Â¬â  The Linux New Media Awards will be presented during CeBIT Open Source in Hannover, Germany, on March 5, 2009.

As I mentioned above, IâÃôm a judge and would love your input for the categories below.Â¬â  Please drop me a line with your suggestions at amanda (at) linux-foundation (dot) org

Categories

– Outstanding Contribution to Open Source / Linux / Free Software

– Most Linux / Open Source-Friendly Hardware Vendor

– Most Innovative Open Source Project

– Best Open Source Contribution for Mobile Devices

– Best Open Source Programming Language

– Most Significant Contribution for Security in Open Source

*** Trophâ©es du Libre 2009 (The Free Software Development Awards 2009 or âÃúTL09âÃâ¥)

Trophâ©es du Libre looks for the âÃúbest existing free softwareâÃù in seven project categories.Â¬â  Registration is now open through February 15.Â¬â  This is the fifth year of the competition, and last year there were over 149 projects from 29 different countries.Â¬â  The panel of judges is composed of about 30 experts in the open source field including developers, researchers, journalists, business managers, and company owners.Â¬â  The winner of each category will be presented with $3800 to be put towards funding their project.¬â Â¬â 

The Trophâ©es du Libre 2009 award ceremony will take place in May in France.Â¬â  For more information: http://www.trophees-du-libre.org