Competitions - Win With Us!
Want to win some prizes, then enter our competitions to win!
Get Reviewed By Me
Do you have a worthwhile product or website that needs some extra attention from our herd? Then you have come to the right place. Buy a Review on my blog to generate unprecedented buzz. Read some past reviews -
If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
I’m in the process of filtering through all the results of the free software survey I conducted as part of my HP HDX Dragon Giveaway. The most disturbing results I’ve found so far - 8% of respondents don’t back up their data! At least some of them were honest enough to fill in the blank with something like ‘I should probably do this.’ At least they’re all aware they have no backup plan. The 1% of respondents who consider the Windows System Restore feature their backup plan are even more worrisome, because they think they have a backup plan. System Restore only helps you recover operating system components and return the Windows Registry to a previous state. If your drive crashes, your data goes down with the ship! There’s a reason Microsoft includes a separate backup utility in the Accessories > System Utilities folder; you need it. I like online solutions like Roxio BackOnTrack Online (not free) or the free 1GB storage at Club Backup better than installed software, but there are plenty of free solution that will get you backed up in addition to using System Restore. Early analysis of the survey data show that SnapBackup and the freeware version of SyncBack will come in near the top of the list.
More chances to get an HP HDX Dragon are available. First up, BleepingComputer. You can enter the BleepingComputer.com giveaway by signing up for their forums and reading the rules. I couldn’t see the rules without signing up and don’t want yet another login so you’re on your own for that one. Next we have hardwareGeeks call for a photo or video of your current workspace. When you post the photo to their contest page, you’re supposed to let them know how the HP HDX Dragon will benefit you. If you want to hack this contest, here’s my tip:
1) Dig out your old Pentium II computer from the basement or go snag a crusty computer from Craigslist.
2) Boot the computer and connect to Internet visiting hardwaregeeks.com.
3) Take photo of this pathetic setup then write about how the HP HDX Dragon will bring you current.
A variation on this hack would be to find a working TRS-80 or Commodore 64, connect to television (B&W is better than color for this), submit photo. Anyway, you get the idea - a weak system will standout amongst all the hardware tweakers who will be too proud not to show off their liquid-cooled, backlit beasts. GeekNewsCentral is the final contest I’ll announce today - Todd’s kicking things off with a read/listener/viewer survey (I just gave you a clue to one of the survey answers). 5 more chances to enter the GeekNewsCentral giveaway are coming, so check in every day to make sure you improve your shot at winning. And if you do take my advice and go with the “retro” setup for the hardwaregeeks.com giveaway, be sure to put a link in the comments here - I’d love to see it.
These two giveaways get my award for best looking graphics promoting 31 Days of the Dragon, which does nothing for your chances at winning. :)
The Green button wants to know what you want to see in the next version of The Green Button. Suggested feedback you’re free to borrow from me: tell them they need to reduce the number of clicks it takes to get the information you want on The Green Button. I love their stuff, but finding it can be a chore at times. I clicked their fancy button, then clicked contest details, then clicked contest rules to find out what I had to do to enter. Another click to enter, followed by starting a new thread in the forum. That’s too many clicks. You can start the clicking process at their great looking contest graphic or you can dramatically reduce the clicking and read the rules here.
I Started Something has the best looking contest page, all so you can enter your name and email address, which are the only two requirements for entry. You get a second entry if you happen to have Vista and you are willing to install the Windows Customer Experience Improvement Program on your computer. Based on my own experiences with driver frustrations that still aren’t resolved in Vista (which is only partly Microsoft’s fault), installing the CEIP isn’t the solution - Microsoft knows what the problems are already, it’s getting hardware manufacturers up to speed in a sluggish Vista market that’s the problem. Rules of the contest are here.
As posted on the front page
">Oz Hull is the lucky recipient of the HP HDX Dragon giveaway from this site. If you’re names not Oz Hull, there are still other ways to get your hands on a Dragon.
The Lockergnome giveaway is officially underway. Chris has three simple requirements: Be present in the chris.pirillo.com chatroom at the time of the giveway, subscribe to his YouTube channel, and make a comment somewhere on chris.pirillo.com. Official details here.
PlanetX64 is also giving away an HP HDX Dragon. You’ll need to do some treasure hunting to enter their giveaway. It starts with a subscription to the PlanetX64 newsletter. Good luck!
In my ongoing commitment to post about each of the HP HDX Dragon giveaways, here are three more just underway.
From the self-described pundit barely old enough to legally buy alcohol, Robert McLaws, comes the challenge of saying something nice about Windows Vista in 5 minutes or less. Apparently beating the Vista version of solitaire on video doesn’t count, but you do get points for Innovative uses of Windows Vista (one of my copies is currently a doorstop, does that count?), Presentation Creativity, Effort, and Making a Difference (I use Vista every day to send email to people who are having problems with Vista, but I don’t think that’s what Robert means). Full details are here.
WindowsConnected.com has a more complicated giveaway. Like the hybrid of the Ars Technica and Gadgeteer giveaways mentioned previously, you’ve got to make something or do something related to WindowsConnected and then provde them with proof you’ve done it. If you build a WindowsConnected-branded computer to monitor global warming via Windows Vista, you might get two entries in one with WIndowsConnected and WindowsNow. WindowsConnected giveaway details are here.
Geeks to Go has something much simpler - all you have to do is print the Geeks to Go logo. I’ll bet if you tattoo their logo on your person, you’re a guaranteed winner, although I have no influence in their giveaway so don’t consider that a recommended strategy. Official details are here.
Ian Dixon, author of Using Microsoft Windows Vista Media Center, writes some of the best stuff on home media center computing. He’s just annouced his 31 Days of the Dragon giveaway, but he’s being a bit sneaky. The computer and accessories pack is the same $5k+ bundle as each of the 30 other giveaways, you’ll just have to work a bit to find out how to get it.
Digital Home Thoughts makes their giveaway much more clear. Subscribe to their YouTube channel and comment on their YouTube video (embedded below), in order to enter. Even if you don’t win, it’s worth subscribing for some great content on numerous tech topics. Full details of the giveaway are here.
If you’re keeping score, AbsoluteVista announced their winner, who entered a great short story to win.
The Gadgeteer has my favorite contest so far in the 31 Days of the Dragon. To enter, you have to take a picture of something with the-gadgeteer.com plastered on it. No photoshopping allowed - you must do a real project. While Julie isn’t expecting anyone to break out the John Deere Green and paint the local water tower (although you never know), this is a fun way to get creative and have a real shot at getting your hands on one of the 31 HP HDX Dragon computers being given away. Read the full details of The Gadgeteer giveaway to make sure your entry qualifies.
BostonPocketPC is today’s HP HDX Dragon featured contest. To get entered into their giveaway, you just need to drop them an email telling about all the gear you carry regularly, along with a photo of your gear bag and stuff. I love when sites accept submissions of this type because there’s something interesting about comparing the junk in my bag to the stuff other people carry around on a daily basis. It frequently gives me ideas for paring down my own gear. The contest starts today, 2008 May 7 with all entries required by Saturday May 10th 2008 11:59PM Eastern Daylight Savings Time US.
Full details of the BostonPocketPC giveaway are here.
You’ll have to dig around on Barbara Bowman’s Digitalmediaphile blog in order to make a sucessful entry in her HP HDX Dragon giveaway. In addition to knowing a few details about the HDX Dragon being given away, you also need to dig up info on the type of digital SLR camera Barbara uses, locate a hidden blog post, find the model of the first HP Pavilion entertainment PC she blogged about, and locate details on a problem laptop she wrote about in a past post. Assuming you’re up to the challenge of a little surfing and searching, official details on the Digitalmediaphile HP HDX Dragon giveaway are here.
Recent Comments