Giving away a $50 Amazon gift card for answering a trivia question that could have been easily Googled was nearly impossible – though it did eventually happen (to a colleague, who writes here as well), even if it took weeks longer than expected. But I'm not letting that deter me... in fact, I'm going to try another contest. But first, let me set the stage...
I pre-ordered a Kindle Fire because I have impulse control issues that make me highly susceptible to glowing objects or on-sale items. I have an iPad 2... and I'll eventually have an iPad 3 (...4, and 5), too. I've long-considered buying a regular electronic ink-style Kindle because my boss, who is an Alpha Gadget Freak, has corrupted me into thinking that some overlap in functionality across devices is acceptable if a key differentiator makes one clearly superior for a certain task. Example: Having seen a regular Kindle, I believe that it's better for reading books. Maybe. Therefore I should get one, because reading books makes you smarter. Also the battery life thing, which Juan sold me on years ago.
The Kindle Fire doesn't use e-ink, so that whole getting-it-because-its-better-at-books-or-has-a-good-battery argument is moot. Odds are high that it's as good, slightly better, or slightly worse than the iPad 2 when it comes to doing the thing it does – the digital media thing. Another flaw in my thinking: If I truly believed in having the right device for a core need or function, I'd have a phone that simply makes calls instead of – wait for it – an iPhone 4. 4S, actually.
So now I have a Kindle Fire coming and I already have buyer's remorse. So Datalink labs is going to Pay It Forward via this device. I'm going to take my $200 investment, and inject some (hopefully good) karma into the world. We're dangling this piece of desirable technology out there because we want to show you our lab system so you can see how it can help you make better IT decisions.
The Rules for the Datalink Labs Kindle Fire Giveaway Extravaganza
1. You are a Datalink customer or a member of an internal IT team. This offer is not open to partners or Datalink employees.
2. You will do as many of the following activities as possible to earn points. Points are listed with each activity.
3. The points will be tallied and the winner announced here on this blog on December 1, 2011. There's a max of six possible points – you can only enter once.
4. The reader with the most points wins. If multiple readers earn six points, the first to get to six points wins.
Details:
1. Requesting a demo for a set of two or more technologies you've already deployed will be frowned upon. Please don't.
2. Also frowned upon – a Datalink or Partner employee asking their cousin Cletus to impersonate an interested party to game the system. No offense to people with cousins named Cletus.
3. As a practical issue you'll want to stick with our partners' technologies, please.
I suddenly feel great about purchasing this Kindle Fire for no apparent reason. The Oracle said we can't see past the choices we make that we don't understand. She was a wise one, indeed.
We'll see you in the labs. Let's be careful out there. --Rick
And now, the fine print:
Unlike the Belated April Fools Iceland Labs Data Center post, this is not a joke.
This assumes the Kindle Fire is a real product, and that Amazon exchanges the $200 I gave them in pre-order a few months ago with an actual product that more or less behaves like the device so far marketed as a "Kindle Fire." The winner will receive one open-box, slightly-used-but-not-damaged Kindle Fire. There is only one Kindle Fire in play in The Datalink Labs Kindle Fire Giveaway Holiday Extravaganza. The prize will be shipped via U.S. ground only.
They who make the rules can bend or twist the rules to fit reality. In this case that is me. This process is being audited by the accounting firm of myself. If you're unhappy with the result, you can be unhappy with me, not my company or its partners.