I applied on the 10th and today is the 14th, getting a little nervous I didn't get accepted. Anyone else apply on the 10th or after and get accepted?
Is the Mintchip team just taking a bit longer due to the high demand? Am I supposed to get an acceptance email or just receive a package in the mail?
Really really hope I get accepted, already been working on the design and organizing my team.
Thanks,
Lorne - www.snap-pay.com
What a failed contest....I watch the news this morning, see a report on the challenge, and rush to the computer to enter. What a nice surprise it was to find that the challenge was already closed to new participants. Was also led to believe that the top prize was $50k, not $50k chopped up into a bunch of little prizes. Doesn't realize that any real developers are already making more than this with their other apps?? I hope some good comes out of this debacle.
Well this really really sucks. I applied on the 10th, and apparently the cutoff was April 9th.
It's very unfortunate for the mintchip program because I'm a developer who's won a $10,000 PayPal developer award in the past & recently selected as a top 10 fintech startup in north america by Innotribe. It's not like I'm just a regular developer, I've won awards in the payments space, and already have the infrastructure built for a prototype, have a team put together....and Canadian too.
Ultimately Mintchip and Canadians will lose out on receiving my proven ability to provide top quality innovation in this space.
I'm just providing proof to a point that Mintchip's approach to this competition is wrong. They have selected the 500 developers based on which ones heard about this competition first.
If they are putting on this competition to challenge developers to build the best innovative products with the MintChip, they would have selected the 500 developers based on their ability to build proven innovative products in the payments space.
Can you imagine if a company like Google made their hiring decisions based on which applicant sent in their application first?
Here at taab, we'd like to extend our regrets to those who couldn't take part in the competition in the capacity that they wanted to. Indeed, registrations were quite limited and it's unfortunate that many of you willing and able to develop something for the MintChip Challenge cannot.
However, when life gives you lemons, you can try to make lemonade. We're sure that there are plenty of groups here willing to accept people to help them develop their idea.
If you feel like you have something to contribute, why don't you post up a message asking to join a team? Or you could follow what do at taab and perhaps reach out to us.
This isn't a missed opportunity. In fact, it's an even bigger opportunity!
I agree that your position is unfortunate, but to me your previous post read as begging backed up by an appeal to authority. So this is why I replied the way I did.
At least this is going to be open to the public, it's just the contest you're missing out on.
Guillaume, the organizers broke their own rules by closing the registration process early. Their rules clearly state:
"4. Between 10:00.01 a.m. ET on April 4, 2012 and 4:59.59 p.m. ET on July 18, 2012, apply for access to the MintChip Technology by completing the form at MintChipChallenge.com/info/register-to-participate. You will be provided with a software development kit (the “SDK”), two microSD cards (the “MintChips”) and access to two virtual accounts (the “Remote MintChips”). The Competition is limited to 500 approved Solvers."
This means that they would accept applications until 4:59.59 p.m. ET on July 18, 2012. Nowhere does it say that they may close registrations early. Also, their statement of "The Competition is limited to 500 approved Solvers" means that they would rank and approve 500 registrants amongst all people who register during the stated timeframe. Therefore, they broke their rules the moment someone made the decision to not accommodate an increased number of registrants.
The rules only inform you that applications will not be taken outside of that timeframe, it does not say that applications will be taken throughout it.
Nowhere does it say that they would "rank and approve", only that they would "approve".
The way you want to interpret it, they'd accept applications up to two weeks before the final submission date, then decide on some ranked top 500 applicants, then send out kits, and hope those 500 Solvers could put something together in under two weeks. if this is your level or reasoning, I think the contest holders got lucky.
If it helps you feel any better (and shuts you up about the topic), tell yourself that the rules state that applications won't be taken past, say, eight hours before you happened to discover the contest. Or, admit to the possibility that you would have not been ranked in the top 500 applicants and would have still, unfortunately, been unable to participate.
Just please, please stop the whining and, if you feel the need to continue to post, try to make it productive by contributing to ideas for MintChip use, perceived weaknesses in the process, features you feel are missing, etc.
Rather than waste time complaining, better to try to find someone who's willing to work with you.
I think the rules in the contest were pretty well laid out. It's unfortunate though that there are only 500 people accepted. But at the same time, the early bird gets the worm.
The rules were not clearly laid out, since it did not mention anything about the possibility of closing the registrations before June 18th.
You may feel special because you heard about this challenge before others and snuck in before others had a chance. "The early bird gets the worm" is not appropriate for this conversation, because all birds are aware that the sun rises every morning. Not all Canadian programmers were aware of this competition before April 4th, so therefore there have been and will be numerous people disappointed because they are no longer able to register before the June 18th deadline.
I am not wasting time discussing the flaws in how this challenge is being run, because this discussion will hopefully change the way this challenge or future challenges are run by Canadian organizations. It encourages other Canadian programmers to speak up and their discontent be heard. Without their voices, the people organizing this challenge will not become aware of their process flaws.
One big change that I'm hoping the organizers are looking into, is an ability for the April 9th-June18th programmers to participate in the remote access aspect of the competition.
I'm going to have to agree with Wayne P. here, you're expecting the impossible.
There is a time where they take applications, sure, but in no way does this mean that they HAVE to take applications the entire time. As shown above, there are 500 applicants, and it could've been a random draw for all I care.
This isn't about feeling special (being first isn't really special, sorry if you thought so), neither is it about blocking all television broadcast for 5 minutes to announce and make sure all Canadian programmers have their chances.
Let's be realistic here. It was impossible for registration to close on the last day, delays would've been impossible. There's a reason they had the 500 limit.
Your only hope at this point is that they change their rules to have more than one wave. Good luck with that.
Guillaume, I disagree with you. You are using exaggerations to belittle the point. The point is that it is unprofessional and surprising for an organization funded by Canadian tax-payers to close a competition within a week of the start-date and more than 3 months before the end-date that was stated in their official rules.
Sure, the reason for its over-subscription could be due to the fact that the competition was open to Americans and Canadians, and not just limited to Canadian programmers..resulting in an influx of registrations. The organizers should have done a better job planning the logistics of this competition. The organizers should have done a better job in deciding how to respond to the unexpected surge in registrations.
You state that it was impossible for registration to close on the last day. If so, why was the date "July 18th" mentioned in the official rules in the first place? And, why did the official rules not state that they may stop accepting registrations before that end-date?
If the official rules can be changed to shorten the registration from 3 months to 1 week, then they can also change the rules regarding number of registrations accepted and prize distribution amounts.
50 comments
Calum Barnes • about 14 years ago
Got my development kit in the mail yesterday. Such a nice little package :)
Check out my MintChipr for pictures:
http://mintchipr.com/topic/9/my-developer-kit-came-yesterday/
Brian Jones • about 14 years ago
Received mine today as well.
Tri Nguyen • about 14 years ago
I too received mine today!
The packaging is a lot nicer than I thought it would be.
I was thinking it would be an envelope with chips in it, but it looks really nice and official.
Michael Felch • about 14 years ago
I received mine as well!
Shannon Rush • about 14 years ago
I'm really hoping to receive mine today!
Xitij Patel • about 14 years ago
We received our MintChip Challenge Developer kit, and we've done an unboxing video just for you. We're super stoked! http://blog.taab.co/2012/04/13/mintchip-challenge-developer-kit-unboxing/
Want to see the MintChip in action? We've got it running on a BlackBerry: http://blog.taab.co/2012/04/13/mintchip-in-action-blackberry-bold-9900/
Shannon Rush • about 14 years ago
Mine just arrived! :)
Lorne Lantz • about 14 years ago
I applied on the 10th and today is the 14th, getting a little nervous I didn't get accepted. Anyone else apply on the 10th or after and get accepted?
Is the Mintchip team just taking a bit longer due to the high demand? Am I supposed to get an acceptance email or just receive a package in the mail?
Really really hope I get accepted, already been working on the design and organizing my team.
Thanks,
Lorne - www.snap-pay.com
Ryan McNeely • about 14 years ago
I applied the 6th and got my acceptance email yesterday (13th), so 4-5 days for me.
Lorne Lantz • about 14 years ago
Cool, thanks for the heads up Ryan....so hopefully I'll get the acceptance email early next week.
Michael Shevolup • about 14 years ago
What a failed contest....I watch the news this morning, see a report on the challenge, and rush to the computer to enter. What a nice surprise it was to find that the challenge was already closed to new participants. Was also led to believe that the top prize was $50k, not $50k chopped up into a bunch of little prizes. Doesn't realize that any real developers are already making more than this with their other apps?? I hope some good comes out of this debacle.
Abhinav Gupta • about 14 years ago
We got ours today as well :)
Thank God! Lets see what apps we can come up with :)
Nav
Lead Developer and CEO
Game Scorpion Inc.
W: http://www.gamescorpion.com
Wayne Pearson • about 14 years ago
@MichaelS Sounds like something you should take up with your news service, if they're misreporting.
Lorne Lantz • about 14 years ago
Well this really really sucks. I applied on the 10th, and apparently the cutoff was April 9th.
It's very unfortunate for the mintchip program because I'm a developer who's won a $10,000 PayPal developer award in the past & recently selected as a top 10 fintech startup in north america by Innotribe. It's not like I'm just a regular developer, I've won awards in the payments space, and already have the infrastructure built for a prototype, have a team put together....and Canadian too.
Ultimately Mintchip and Canadians will lose out on receiving my proven ability to provide top quality innovation in this space.
Want some proof:
www.snap-pay.com
www.LorneCanPitch.com
Guillaume Parent • about 14 years ago
No offense but I wouldn't place any credibility in any organization that breaks its own official rules because you won some PayPal award.
See http://mintchipchallenge.com/rules
Lorne Lantz • about 14 years ago
I'm just providing proof to a point that Mintchip's approach to this competition is wrong. They have selected the 500 developers based on which ones heard about this competition first.
If they are putting on this competition to challenge developers to build the best innovative products with the MintChip, they would have selected the 500 developers based on their ability to build proven innovative products in the payments space.
Can you imagine if a company like Google made their hiring decisions based on which applicant sent in their application first?
Terry Wilcox • about 14 years ago
I'm a little concerned that the fate of the free world rests on his ability to enter a contest. Imagine the catastrophe if he didn't win.
Xitij Patel • about 14 years ago
Here at taab, we'd like to extend our regrets to those who couldn't take part in the competition in the capacity that they wanted to. Indeed, registrations were quite limited and it's unfortunate that many of you willing and able to develop something for the MintChip Challenge cannot.
However, when life gives you lemons, you can try to make lemonade. We're sure that there are plenty of groups here willing to accept people to help them develop their idea.
If you feel like you have something to contribute, why don't you post up a message asking to join a team? Or you could follow what do at taab and perhaps reach out to us.
This isn't a missed opportunity. In fact, it's an even bigger opportunity!
Guillaume Parent • about 14 years ago
I agree that your position is unfortunate, but to me your previous post read as begging backed up by an appeal to authority. So this is why I replied the way I did.
At least this is going to be open to the public, it's just the contest you're missing out on.
R D • about 14 years ago
Guillaume, the organizers broke their own rules by closing the registration process early. Their rules clearly state:
"4. Between 10:00.01 a.m. ET on April 4, 2012 and 4:59.59 p.m. ET on July 18, 2012, apply for access to the MintChip Technology by completing the form at MintChipChallenge.com/info/register-to-participate. You will be provided with a software development kit (the “SDK”), two microSD cards (the “MintChips”) and access to two virtual accounts (the “Remote MintChips”). The Competition is limited to 500 approved Solvers."
This means that they would accept applications until 4:59.59 p.m. ET on July 18, 2012. Nowhere does it say that they may close registrations early. Also, their statement of "The Competition is limited to 500 approved Solvers" means that they would rank and approve 500 registrants amongst all people who register during the stated timeframe. Therefore, they broke their rules the moment someone made the decision to not accommodate an increased number of registrants.
Wayne Pearson • about 14 years ago
I can't believe I'm getting suckered into this...
The rules only inform you that applications will not be taken outside of that timeframe, it does not say that applications will be taken throughout it.
Nowhere does it say that they would "rank and approve", only that they would "approve".
The way you want to interpret it, they'd accept applications up to two weeks before the final submission date, then decide on some ranked top 500 applicants, then send out kits, and hope those 500 Solvers could put something together in under two weeks. if this is your level or reasoning, I think the contest holders got lucky.
If it helps you feel any better (and shuts you up about the topic), tell yourself that the rules state that applications won't be taken past, say, eight hours before you happened to discover the contest. Or, admit to the possibility that you would have not been ranked in the top 500 applicants and would have still, unfortunately, been unable to participate.
Just please, please stop the whining and, if you feel the need to continue to post, try to make it productive by contributing to ideas for MintChip use, perceived weaknesses in the process, features you feel are missing, etc.
Tri Nguyen • about 14 years ago
Well said Wayne,
I completely agree.
Rather than waste time complaining, better to try to find someone who's willing to work with you.
I think the rules in the contest were pretty well laid out. It's unfortunate though that there are only 500 people accepted. But at the same time, the early bird gets the worm.
R D • about 14 years ago
The rules were not clearly laid out, since it did not mention anything about the possibility of closing the registrations before June 18th.
You may feel special because you heard about this challenge before others and snuck in before others had a chance. "The early bird gets the worm" is not appropriate for this conversation, because all birds are aware that the sun rises every morning. Not all Canadian programmers were aware of this competition before April 4th, so therefore there have been and will be numerous people disappointed because they are no longer able to register before the June 18th deadline.
I am not wasting time discussing the flaws in how this challenge is being run, because this discussion will hopefully change the way this challenge or future challenges are run by Canadian organizations. It encourages other Canadian programmers to speak up and their discontent be heard. Without their voices, the people organizing this challenge will not become aware of their process flaws.
One big change that I'm hoping the organizers are looking into, is an ability for the April 9th-June18th programmers to participate in the remote access aspect of the competition.
Guillaume Parent • about 14 years ago
I'm going to have to agree with Wayne P. here, you're expecting the impossible.
There is a time where they take applications, sure, but in no way does this mean that they HAVE to take applications the entire time. As shown above, there are 500 applicants, and it could've been a random draw for all I care.
This isn't about feeling special (being first isn't really special, sorry if you thought so), neither is it about blocking all television broadcast for 5 minutes to announce and make sure all Canadian programmers have their chances.
Let's be realistic here. It was impossible for registration to close on the last day, delays would've been impossible. There's a reason they had the 500 limit.
Your only hope at this point is that they change their rules to have more than one wave. Good luck with that.
R D • about 14 years ago
Guillaume, I disagree with you. You are using exaggerations to belittle the point. The point is that it is unprofessional and surprising for an organization funded by Canadian tax-payers to close a competition within a week of the start-date and more than 3 months before the end-date that was stated in their official rules.
Sure, the reason for its over-subscription could be due to the fact that the competition was open to Americans and Canadians, and not just limited to Canadian programmers..resulting in an influx of registrations. The organizers should have done a better job planning the logistics of this competition. The organizers should have done a better job in deciding how to respond to the unexpected surge in registrations.
You state that it was impossible for registration to close on the last day. If so, why was the date "July 18th" mentioned in the official rules in the first place? And, why did the official rules not state that they may stop accepting registrations before that end-date?
If the official rules can be changed to shorten the registration from 3 months to 1 week, then they can also change the rules regarding number of registrations accepted and prize distribution amounts.