The video must be under 2 minutes in length. Essays are limited to a paltry 300 words. This page
has a list of the most popular submissions so far. And of course, Verisign screens all entries for appropriateness, so you can’t make a video about your porn start-up.

In the video above, the demonstrator completes the task in just under 50 seconds. This includes installing the CPU heatsink, RAM, ribbon cables, and putting the cover on the system case. However, participants may install the components in any order they wish and are given two attempts.

I’m curious to see how this turns out, but let’s just hope The Planet doesn’t host any customers using this server after the show ends!

Entries are due on February 15 and can be submitted through Twitter or email. The prize is only a mug with your poetry written on the side, but I still think this contest is pretty neat.

Here is a good example of haiku from the page:

Yesterday it worked
Today it does not, black cloud
No one hears your screams

Who said geeks weren’t creative?

Photo | Flickr

Entries can be submitted starting today up until September 30, 2009. On October 15, 20 submissions hand-picked by a panel will be published on the contest website. The general public will then be able to vote for the winning gTLD until November 15. On November 30, the winner will be announced.

Only one entry is allowed per person, so make it good. The prize is $10,000 in addition to $1.00 per domain registration per year for the next 10 years if ICANN approves the TLD. That’s right, Interlink will pay the winner a decade’s worth of royalties. The company claims that if the extension becomes as popular as .com, the entrant would earn more than $80,000,000 a year.

You can enter the contest on a special site set up by Interlink here. It is open to anyone from any country.

RegistryPro is the official registry for .pro, a TLD aimed at professionals. The meeting, which is designed to promote public participation in ICANN, will be held June 21-26 in Sydney.

We’re excited and proud to support the 35th ICANN International Meeting,” said Catherine Sigmar, general manager of RegistryPro. “ICANN public meetings attract many of the best minds and influential companies in the Internet community in an energetic public forum. As one of the fastest growing gTLDs in the industry, meeting sponsorship is a chance for us to connect with our core customers, accredited registrars, and those in the industry who may not have discovered the rich landscape of .PRO.

Dot-pro is also running a contest for the best .pro website. Submissions are due by the end of the month. The winning site owner will receive…. nothing, unless you count a “Best of .Pro” logo and mention in a press release as a real prize.

Photo: Flickr