The Gadgeteer’s HP Magic Giveaway Contest Winner Chosen!

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The wait is finally over. After 7 days and 137 entries, I can announce that the winner of our HP Magic Giveaway Contest is…

Lloyd Viente and his painting “To Gadgeteer, With Love“. I picked Lloyd’s entry because he understands HP’s idea behind this contest and also what The Gadgeteer means to me and the rest of us here at the site.

magicwinner

Let’s not forget the two runner up entries:

Jalaj Jain’s Chronicles of the Gadgeteer comic was fantastic and I loved it. You’re a talented cartoonist and should keep going!

Vance Fry’s robot and blocks image is so cool. You came very close to winning.

Again, I want to give congratulations to Lloyd and thank you to everyone that entered. I had so much fun seeing each new entry as it was sent to me. You’re all very creative and talented! Thanks to HP, Windows Live and BuzzCorps for allowing me to be part of such a great contest!

31 thoughts on “The Gadgeteer’s HP Magic Giveaway Contest Winner Chosen!”




  1. Gadgeteer Comment Policy - Please read before commenting
  2. Thank you very much HP, Julie and the rest of The Gadgeteer family. I really wanted to do justice to the HP Magic Giveaway and The Gadgeteer’s spirit of sharing its passion with its readers. I hope you keep up the good work and look forward to being part of the community for years to come.

    For everyone who participated, thanks for making the contest the most fun out of the other 50 being held by HP Magic Giveaway Partner Blogs. I wasn’t sure of the outcome until the very end and so it was very exciting. Keep visiting The Gadgeteer for I’m sure we are going to see more from their excellent crew.

    [Edited at December 08, 2008 19:44:03 PM.]

  3. Congrats

    A small suggestion from me to Julie.

    Could you comment on each picture you recieved with your impressions on the picture or why it was disqualified? It will be good i think for them to improve, including me.

  4. Congrats, Lloyd! Great painting!

    I sure wish there were prizes for runner-ups. I really wanted that mini-note… 🙂

  5. Thanks for not even including me in the top 42 when I TATTOOED MYSELF WITH YOUR LOGO! Seriously…..You’ll be hearing from my fans….

    Zane

  6. Not saying I should have won, but really? Several people who took 1 hour to photoshop a picture made it to the top 42 when I, whom tattoo your EXACT logo on my leg FOR LIFE only makes it into the top 82. It’s logic people…. Obviously, I was discriminated against for winning an HP Dragon last contest…. it’s plain as day…

  7. This is a great contest! I just learned about it today. I must say though, the robot was my favorite (okay, so he is my brother, but I promise he didn’t pay me to say this). Congratulations everyone!!

  8. Zane:

    I’m sorry that you’re not happy. But your idea was not original (as I specifically asked for in rule #1 of my contest details page). You used the same idea in a previous contest and then just sold the prizes on eBay. Come up with a new idea next time :o)

  9. jmv1993204:

    I can’t really tell you why some entries didn’t make it to the end other than some looked like they took more effort, were more creative, more cool, fun, etc. I’m not going to comment on each entry with something that says “I didn’t pick you because…” Because to me that just seems mean.

  10. The only reason my idea WASNT original was because someone tipped you off that I had won a previous contest. Sounds like you did some investigating which is totally unfair because I’m sure some of the entries just took a professional photo illegally off the web, used photoshop, and used it as their own. Also, when it comes to selling the dragon. I worked a minimum wage job, and was going off to a school (paying for it myself) 45 miles away every day in a 92 Dodge Dynasty….That’s why I sold the dragon. TO get a car that could ACTUALLY get me to college, or did the chumps who ratted me out forget to mention that?

    Zane

  11. Congratulations Lloyd! Great entries from everyone. Of course I wanted to win, but that was some tough competition. I especially liked the robots and blocks – that was pretty cool!

    Dale

  12. Zane:

    Actually, I had learned about the tattoo contest entry from the 31 Days of the Dragon contest before I even posted my HP Magic Giveaway contest. All 50 site owners have been discussing this and the previous contest on a special private forum that Buzzcorps set up for us.

    Although your contest entry was extreme, it just wasn’t original and creative enough for me to move it past the first cut.

  13. i am pretty proud of my submission and was happy it had the legs to stand into the top 10.

    i should email a picture of it to my 8th grade art teacher, who failed me, and see what he thinks of my artistic progress.

    my only regret (aside from not having the stuff to take the cup) is that my submission was not edible. had it been a cake i would be in hog heaven!!

    congrats again to the top 3 and to all who participated.

    thanks go to HP and Julie at the-gadgeteer.com for another great chance to win!

  14. Congrats Lloyd! I knew as soon as I saw your painting that it would win (though I hoped my entry would 😉 )
    Enjoy the prize and I’m sure that whoever you share the love with will as well.
    Peace to all!

  15. Thank you for the gracious comments and of course to Julie, Gadgeteer and HP. Creating the piece was a challenging experience for me but well worth the effort. I would like to remind everyone that there are still other HP Magic giveaways going on as well, so there’s still hope to snag a Magic Package of your own. Happy holidays and help spread the love.

  16. I was the one who painstakingly created the comic, and now i look foolish, thank you julie!

    I am in 1st yr at college, last time i had drawn somehting would be when i was in 7th grade and that too just a greeting card.
    I had to borrow colors from a 5th grader in my neighbourhood who was eyeing me with suspicion!

  17. Congratulations to the winner,
    looks like you spent some creative time getting something together, looks good.
    Julie, you should post this on the front page so it is there for a while.

    [Edited at December 09, 2008 12:41:53 PM.]

  18. why do people get angry?? the prize was a computer package, not the cure for cancer.

    you nearly won the contest and now disparage the judge for not selecting you, despite her kind and encouraging remarks, what are you thinking?

    i enjoy these contests, from coming up with a unique idea, to seeing it come to life, to waiting for a decision to be made. i, too, become absorbed by them and let them consume way too much of me, BUT i don’t let them get the best of me.

    the part i don’t enjoy is the aftermath and the inevitable cacophony of criticism about the winning entry. i don’t enjoy reading demands for explanations or independent interpretations of contest rules.

    and since i appear to be in the midst of a rant on the topic, i’ll add that i find it both objectionable and inappropriate for entrants, or their drones, to attempt to influence the judges decisions with posts or comments. magnanimous promises and innuendos and sympathy eliciting posts are inappropriate and have no place unless specifically called for by the contest. by engaging in the aforementioned tactics, to win a “prize”, you cheapen some of the most noble of all human attributes.

    when charity is genuine, it is sacred and private to the giver. it should never be part of a contract ie.- “if i win, i will…”. if it’s truly in your heart to give then you will give regardless. At least that’s my take on charity.

    exploiting your condition to evoke an undeserved sympathetic response should be a criminal offense. if things in your life are bad winning a computer(s) will not help. you need to ask for a kind word or a hug or prayers. posts such as “i am typing this at the public library, with the one finger that the incurable flesh eating virus did not devour, because my house burned down while i was feeding the needy with food left over from my parent’s wake” really disgust me. if its true, its tragic, but you should be seeing a therapist not entering contests.

    and dont even get me started on “i deserve it more” or “i need it more”. if thats not what the contest is about, don’t make yourself look petty by using such phrases to try to put yourself at the front of the line.

    Let these contests bring out your best, not your worst. I’m always confused about how a person is seemingly kind and considerate only to be transformed into a venom spewing cobra when things dont swing their way.

    my oldest son was angry when he discovered i hadn’t won. he asked me “aren’t you mad?”. I told him i was disappointed, but not mad, and added the old pearl of wisdom that if you can’t change it, you have to accept it. so rather than take a prize package from this contest, i take knowing that i set a good example for my son, an example that will serve him far more than any computer ever will.

    remember, while it is discouraging to lose, losing does not make you a loser.

    my rant is now complete!

    [Edited at December 09, 2008 13:47:54 PM.]

  19. Darrin:

    You just said everything that I have been feeling the past 2 days with all ‘bad’ the emails and comments that came in before and after I posted the winner. Thank you Darrin, I appreciate it :o)

    Now I need to start thinking about what I want to do for the contest that will start next Monday. Hint: it’s for a laptop :o)

    Julie

  20. Hi Julie!

    thank u for the wonderfull contest, i think that i got to much “into” the contest. 😛
    Anyways, of all the contests i have seen so far, definitely, urs was the BEST, becoz u atleast did not go for some crazy random draw, the prize went to a deserving person and i am more than happy 🙂

    And the way u chose the winner, cut after cut..oh man..deadly!

    But i realised that i completely enjoyed myself in this contest.

    How are u now? u said u were not feeling well the other day

  21. sego:

    I’m feeling ok today, thanks for asking. Have you entered some of the other contests? If so, I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you. :o)

  22. Hi,

    First, it’s unfortunate there was not more competition, because it would have been good for both you and your site. All these contests should have been given info by these corporations about gaming laws.

    By the way, that’s a problem that HP regularly has, as witnessed by Carly Fiorini who had been told that electronic eavesdropping was lawful! ;<). Every state has
    gaming laws. Many countries outlaw different things. Many of these HP contests do not appear to be conforming to the law, and HP should have provided more guidance on this issue. I am not an attorney and am not giving you legal advice, just bringing this to
    your attention if you should do more of this in the future.

    For instance: http://www.dca.ca.gov/publications/legal_guides/u-3.pdf
    
    That is the link for the State of California. It get more complicated as you consider other states have different restrictions. International is a whole different ball game. I find these things interesting, which is the sole reason I'm posting this here.
    
     People are perfectly correct to expect consistency from you because you are now playing with the "big boys". HP does have corporate and shareholder responsibilities related to how they
    

    conduct business. I found some confusion in your explanation of what you expected as opposed to what you picked. But, I never expected to win, just practicing as I have thousands of ideas for set designs and props as an aspiring film director.

     Microsoft has been having server problems or hacker problems,
    

    if you believe the posts in England. I’m pointing this out because
    as you grow, the international legal aspects also draw you into the international war on rights.

    Microsoft has recently lost one of those battles in France.

     You seem nice, I hope you find your future corporate sponsorships less controversial. But, there is always risk of
    

    being caught in the middle, so get used to it and enjoy.

    [Edited at December 10, 2008 19:10:03 PM.]

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