Mac OS X Innovators Contest Ready for Primetime
by Derrick Story
03/11/2003
Last Fall, when I decided that I wanted to do more on Mac DevCenter to
help independent developers bring their ideas to market, I got together
with our partners and developed a three-part plan. Today, I'm happy to
announce the fruition of this plan, including the launch of the Mac OS X Innovators
contest.
As anxious as I am to jump right to the contest, I want to give you
just a brief overview of the overall plan and how things are going to
proceed from here. Then I'll get into the meat of the contest.
Three Facets of the Plan
Job one was to create a section on Mac DevCenter that focused on
developer interviews and articles that addressed how to take those late
night brainstorms and turn them into real software that others would
download and, if appropriate, purchase. I titled that section Developing for Mac OS X, and added it to Mac
DevCenter's content box on the upper left side of the home page. So far
we've added more than a half dozen pieces to the developer area, and I
have lots more good stuff in the works.
The second facet is to upgrade our Mac Open Source Software Directory so
that it becomes a vibrant, useful tool for those who want to make their
software available to others via these listings. It's also intended to
serve as a tool to find out about interesting programs to download. I'm
happy to report that we've just made a deal with Steve Mallett to take
over the management of this directory.
For those of you who don't know Steve, he's the founder and managing
editor of Open Source Directory and a
regular weblog contributor to O'Reilly Network. If you've been reading his
blogs, you know that Steve has keen interest in Mac OS X; combining this
passion with his excellent open source background makes him a terrific
choice for taking over the reins of our Mac directory project.
I'll be announcing new developments in this area as they become
available. If you have specific suggestions for improving this directory,
please send them to me, and I'll
make sure your voice is heard.
Now for the crown jewel of this effort: the "Mac OS X Innovators"
contest. (My lord, I thought this day would never get here.) As you can
imagine, there are lots of details to putting together a contest like
this, but everyone now seems happy with its final design. That means it's time
for the fun part--you and I get to play.
I'm not going to try to contain my excitement about this. So
instead of blathering on about it and using far too many adjectives,
here's a list of what I consider to be the highlights of this
endeavor:
In general terms, this contest is open to just about anyone who has
created downloadable software for Mac OS X. If you have a great idea that
runs on Mac OS X, you can probably enter it.
The prizes are fantastic: A full pass to O'Reilly's Mac OS X
Conference and Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference, Safari Bookshelf
membership, developer discounts on Apple hardware, and much more.
Fame for your software. We're going to announce the winners at the
O'Reilly Emerging Technology Conference, have a reception in the Rendezvous Lounge
where we'll show off the winning software (and its creators), promote
everything on O'Reilly web sites, and more.
Fun for the rest of us. Those of us who don't win will actually get
to play with this stuff, learn from those who did win, and get ready for
the next round of competition.
What's that, did I say the next round of competition? Yes I
did. Entries for the first round will be accepted until Friday, March 28,
2003 5 p.m. PST. The winners will be announced at the O'Reilly Emerging
Technology Conference on Thursday, April 24th. Then on May 1st, the second
round of competition begins, culminating with the winners being announced
at the O'Reilly Open Source Conference in July in Portland, Oregon. Then
the final round begins with awards made at the O'Reilly Mac OS X
Conference in October. Three rounds in total, with first and second prizes being awarded for each round.
Personally, I think each round will be harder to win than the previous one because
developers will have had more time to get their software together and
enter. So, if you have something to enter now, I'd do it and try to scoop
the competition. You could steal the brass ring.
Those who don't win this first round will be able to enter again in
subsequent rounds. This will give you time to refine and polish your
entry. The winners from the previous rounds will not be able to enter
their winning entries again. But don't let your guard down because prior winners can enter a different piece of software.
The Mac OS X Innovators Site
The place to find the contest rules and entry form, as well as to
follow the development of these competitions, is the official Mac OS X Innovators
contest site. We'll be posting articles, contest news, judges profiles,
and lots more here. So make sure you check it out a couple times a week to
stay in the loop.
Let the games begin. Good luck to all of you, and get those entry forms
submitted.
Derrick Story
is the digital media evangelist for O'Reilly. His experience includes more than 20 years as a photojournalist, managing editor for O'Reilly Network, and a speaker for IDG, PMA, and Santa Fe Workshops. He is the author of Digital Photography Hacks, Digital Photography Pocket Guide, 3rd Ed., and his latest, The Digital Photography Companion.
Return to the Mac Innovator's Contest Page.
Return to the Mac DevCenter.