As part of LXF89's cover feature, Linux Format has teamed up with Novell to run the Make it with Mono competition. You've read how great Mono is for accelerating and expanding software development -- now put it to the test!
Make it with Mono is the competition where you decide what software you want to see. Despite the wealth of software in the open source world, there are still some major gaps -- but now's the chance to put it right. On this site you can submit a description for a program you'd love to use, and if other users rate it to the top, your program idea will be written in Mono!For instance, maybe you want a music player that also pops up RSS feed headlines. Or perhaps you need a MySQL administration tool with certain features. Maybe you just want a revamp of a classic game! Whatever you want, you can write about it here, setting a category, provide a brief description, and going into detail about the features and functionality.
On the 2nd of April, we'll close the entry system, and open the voting booths. Users will be able to rate one another's projects, and at the end of the voting phase, the entry with the most votes will be programmed in Mono and released as open source. Additionally, the authors of the top-30 rated entries will receive lovely Mono T-shirts from Novell! Note that entries should be realistic -- please suggest programs that can feasibly be written in a few weeks, not massive office suites or development toolchains. Small but useful programs are best. Note that LXF reserves the right to remove copied or extremely similar entries.
So, what are you waiting for? Click here to sign up (registration is free), and then submit your entry! Entries will be approved by a moderator before appearing on the site, and your email address will not be used for any other purposes than logging in. If for some reason you can't use the website to submit your entry, you can email lxf.competitions@futurenet.co.uk or send your idea on a postcard to Make it with Mono, Linux Format, Future Publishing, 30 Monmouth Street, Bath BA1 2BW, England.
If you have any questions or problems, email mike.saunders@futurenet.co.uk.