Leo announces video downloads at Blogworld

Here's the video from last Friday's keynote where Leo announced that TWiT will be doing video downloads. Thanks to MyContent, who shot and streamed the video.

UGM contest finalists. Vote now!

Out of several hundred submissions to win the UGM, I have narrowed it down to our 10 finalists.

You may vote on army.twit.tv for who you think should win. To place a vote, sign into your army account, and say "@ugm vote 1" or "@ugm vote 2" and so on, to place a vote for your favorite. For more detailed directions on voting, see the post below with the rules.

These are the 10 finalists, in no particular order.

The schedule for when voting ends, when the winner will be announced, and other important dates is posted in the rules below.

Happy voting!

- Colleen

1. Syd from Brantford Canada - written

1. I own over 5,000 console video games and want to explore PC gaming again
2. I run large gaming parties three times a year, and this would be great for visitors to try out (gamenight.ca)
3. I want to feel like the Ultimate Gamer on the Ultimate Gaming Machine
4. I live in Canada and its cooler up here, meaning the machine has a better chance of living longer
5. As curator of the Personal Computer Museum, I have access to a large library of vintage software. I want to see how this machine chews up a poorly written DOS program so quickly that the game ends before it begins.
6. I want to put it on a scale to verify that indeed, it’s still lighter than the original XBOX
7. I want to take a picture of this machine alongside 300 or 400 computers in my collection and explain in the caption how this one machine can still run circles around all 400 machines combined. It would be visually stunning I think.
8. I love to share – any member of the TWIT Army can come look, touch and play.
9. The last PC game I thought was a 10 out of 10 was on the Commodore 64. I need first-hand proof we’ve evolved.
10. I want to find out if this machine draws as much power as I need to light my home!

2. Meghan, age 15 from Katy Texas USA - written

1. I will donate my unused cpu cycles to the folding@home project for the Leoville/TWIT team.  What better way to help humanity than with any unused potential power going towards curing cancer?
2. My new class next year is DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY and I don’t have the computer at home to support it.
3. I am into soccer and will use it to analyze my team’s strategies in Pro Evolution 2008 soccer game and enhance our victory chances.
4. My mother wants a new job and needs help marketing her talents to find a good job. (resume’ etc.)
5.  I am into all types of games – quite a few of the surreal type that don’t run well or at all on my old P4 computer.  My PS2 doesn’t work well anymore either.
6. My school choices for college require a decent computer to function.  I am not equipped at this time to compete in this competitive arena.
7. I am a fan of twit.tv and all the “computer geek” news that you boil down for us – would like to contribute to future episodes regarding digital photography.
8. I wish to learn more about the nuts and bolts of a home built machine that I can get started with but don’t have resources to get the parts
9. Cali Lewis and Amber Macarthur are geek type girls that have been successful in the field of technology (it isn’t just for guys) and I aspire to be that informed in the area of digital photography and gaming.
10. I want to be the first girl at my high school to have the ultimate gaming machine and put that type of power to use for my future.

3. Nmerichi from Tokyo Japan - video

TWIT UGM 11 Entry #3 (Tokyo) from tokyogodfather on Vimeo.

4. Ryan from Houston Texas - Video

Superheroes Need Ultimate Gaming Machines Too from Ryan Anderson on Vimeo.

5. Alana Asheville North Carolina USA - Video

Video Entry

6. Cameron - iPhone application

7. Gabe McG USA- website, video, and political campaign

ugm.gabemcg.com

8. Jared Dania Beach Florida USA - image of hand written list

List image

9. Ken USA

1. I was there when the UGM broke 30K, were you?
2. UGM would make a perfect younger brother sitting next to the MITSAltair I built - The Fastest and The First PCs.
3. Although I would never wish to deprive Colleen of the opportunity todeliver the UGM to beautiful Santa Barbara, I am willing to drive toPetaluma for pick-up to save TWiT some money.
4. UGM is such a custom-assembled and finely-tuned work of art that it mayrequire an Electrical Engineer to keep it going.
5. I've watched so many 3DMarks, bluescreens, and reboots that I knowabout Spike the Cat and Peety the Parakeet.
6. If the UGM is awarded to a guy in his 50's, it will keep hope alive andserve as an inspiration to younger TWiTs that someday, they too, can win an UGM.
7. I promise to keep the "crazy settings" on at all times unless FlightSimcomplains. Otherwise, it's Crysis to the max!
8. Would have to respectfully decline acceptance of UGM if just beforedelivery Patrick changes Leo's mind and Golden Shellback is used.
9. See the UGM Application at http://ugm.s3.amazonaws.com/index.html tocommemorate and preserve the TWiT Army's march toward building such anUltimate Gaming Machine that it will make even Leo cry when he has to giveit away.
10. I always wanted an external Drobo.

10. Paul from Australia - website

http://www.tenreasonswhyiwanttowintheultimategamingmachine.com

UGM Contest Rules

Greetings TWiT Army. I apologize for the delay in getting the final portion of this contest going, but this is the first time we have done anything like this as a buisness, and we wanted to do it right, lawyers and all.

With no further delay, here are the rules for our contest to win the TWiT Ultimate Gaming Machine.

This contest will conclude at the end of september, so get ready to vote!

- Colleen

No purchase necessary to enter or win.  Void where prohibited. 

1. Entry 

Send an email to ugm@twit.tv that describes the top 10 reasons why you should win the Ultimate Gaming Machine ("UGM").  The reasons may be in written text form, video, audio, or any other form of media. Be creative. TWiT staff will only be able to evaluate entries in English. The UGM is the gaming computer designed assembled by Leo Laporte and Colleen on TWiT Live in the second half of 2008.   You’re your entry is submitted to TWiT, you are entered in the contest to win the UGM.  This is the one and only prize of this contest.  Entries must be complete for you to be eligible to participate and win.  Entries become the property of TWiT and will not be returned.

2. Eligibility

You must be at least 18 years of age at the time of entry to participate. Employees of TWiT LLC and members of their immediate families are not eligible. Void where prohibited by law or regulation.

3. Judging Phase

TWiT's judges will select the top 10 entries from all the entries submitted up until 11:59pm September 3rd 2009.   Submissions will be judged based on overall creativity, uniqueness, perceived effort, and concision. 

4. Voting Phase

The 10 entries selected from the Judging Phase will be posted on the inside.twit.tv blog at  4pm pst on September 18th 2009.   Members of the TWiT Army will select their choice for the winner.  Here's how to vote: 

a. Read the numbered entries on http://inside.twit.tv. Each entry has its own number, such as 1,2,3, etc., going up to 10.

b. Login to your TWiT Army account at http://army.twit.tv.  If you don't have an account, create one, they are free of charge.   If you do not want to create an account, see below for an alternative method for voting.

c. Using the @ syntax, tell the @ "ugm" vote bot which entry you wish to vote for, and it will record your vote. If you were voting for entry 3, for instance, you would enter the following: @ugm vote 3

d. Vote only once and vote from only one user account.

e. The entry that gains the highest number of votes will be the winner of the UGM.   The voting period ends at 11:59 pm on September 25 2009.

5. Alternative Method of Voting

If you want to vote but do not want to register for the TWiT Army, send a postcard to "TWiT UGM P.O. Box 1018 Petaluma, CA, 94953" with your vote.  To be included in the vote, postcards must be received by TWiT on or before 11:59 pm pst September 25th 2009.

6. Ties

In the event more than one entry ties for the top number of votes, the voting method set forth above will be repeated with entries that are tied with the top votes.  If necessary to break the tie, the voting period will begin at 11:59 pm pst on September 29th 2009 and end at 11:59 pm pst on September 30th 2009.  The announcement of the winner will be delayed until 4:00 pm pst September 5th 2009.

7. Original Work

Each entrant represents and warrants that his or her entry is fully and completely his or her original work and it does not violate the rights of any other person.

8. Disisqualification

Entries can be disqualified if the submission subjects the entrant or TWiT LLC to actual or potential legal claims or liability or, in any manner, compromises TWiT's good will, reputation or intellectual property including, but not limited to, the unauthorized use of the likeness, words, or other intellectual property of a third party.  TWiT reserves the right to disqualify any entrant  who directly or indirectly tampers with the entry process or voting process, the operation of the TWiT.tv website, or otherwise violates the rules.  Activities that could lead to the disqualification of an entry include, but are not limited to, the following:  (a) Receiving multiple votes from the same accounts in the same round, (b) any vote purchasing schemes, (c) creation of multiple accounts merely for the goal of voting, (d) voting by any automatic means, or (e) any type of activity that appears to be (or is even suspected of being) unfair, inappropriate, or gaming the system.  Activities could possibly lead to the disqualification of a voter include, but are not limited to, the following:  (v) voting more than once for an entry per round, (w) any vote purchasing schemes, (x) creation of multiple accounts merely for the goal of voting, (y) voting by any automatic means, or (z) any type of activity that appears to be (or is even suspected of being) unfair, inappropriate, or gaming the system.  Although an entrant or voter may campaign for others to support a particular entry, such campaigning must be done in compliance with the law.  Failure to comply with the law can be the basis for disqualification.

9. The Winner

TWiT will notify the winner on or about October 1 2009 by sending an email to the address submitted with the entry.   [The winner must provide a shipping address for the UGM within 7 days of being notified of having won the UGM.  TWiT will pay for the cost of shipping the UGM to the winner].   All taxes, duties and other types of fees on the prize are the sole responsibility of the winner.  The prize is not transferable.  By accepting the prize, the winner grants TWiT the right to use his or her entry, name, likeness and biographical information in any and all media for advertising/promotional purposes.

10. Alternate Winner. 

If winner does not provide a shipping address within the 7 days after notification, or otherwise refuses or declines the prize, an alternate winner will be selected.  The alternate winner will be the entry that received the next highest number of votes.  In the event the alternate winner does not comply with requirements set forth herein, the process for selecting the alternate winner will be repeated.

11. Limitation of Liability

TWiT LLC is not responsible for entries or votes that are (a) late, stolen, misdirected, damaged, incomplete, garbled or incomplete or (b) not received or reviewable due to computer, Internet or electronic malfunction. TWiT reserves the right to cancel or modify the contest and award the prize through an alternate means if fraud or technical failure compromises the integrity of the contest, as determined by TWiT in its sole discretion. By submitting an entry, you agree that TWiT and its officers, directors, members, managers, employees and agents shall not be liable for injury, losses, damages, or costs of any kind resulting from participation in this contest or acceptance of or use or misuse of a prize or parts thereof.  By entering, participants agree to be bound by these rules.  In the event of a dispute regarding the identity of the person submitting an electronic entry, the entry will be deemed to be submitted by the person in whose name the e-mail account is registered.

12. No Warranty. 

Entrant understands and acknowledges that the UGM is a used computer.  THE UGM IS A USED COMPUTER AND IS PROVIDED “AS IS” WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED.

13. This contest is presented by TWiT, LLC, P.O. Box 1018 Petaluma CA, 94953.

TWiT 212

Jason Calacanis makes his first appearance live on TWiT with his friend Loren Feldman

One of the biggest audience turn out ever with the guys from row27.com and phonetag.com

TWiT covers Apple announcements live

TWiT covered the Apple announcements live today, when Steve Jobs took the stage for almost the first time in a year to introduce the new iPods and other announcements. I was outside the event at San Francisco's Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. I was shooting B-Roll video for most of the event, but afterwards made sure Brad Stone of the New York Times and Ryan Block of GDGT stopped by the TWiT laptop/webcam station to speak to Leo and the MacBreak Weekly panel live.

Here's a couple of photos of Brad and Ryan at my simple setup, which consisted of a MacBook, Sprint EVDO, Shure SM58 mic, and a Shure X2u (an XLR-to-USB Signal Adapter). I used the built-in iSight and connected to Leo via Skype video. I went through two laptop batteries in two hours, since EVDO and Skype video suck power.

Brad Stone speaking live to Leo and MacBreak Weekly panel

Ryan Block speaking live to Leo and MacBreak Weekly panel