The HP Magic Giveaway: Win $6000 in Hardware and Software, Then Share It [Archive]

Jason Dunn

12-13-2008, 05:40 AM

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.hp.com/go/magicgiveaway' target='_blank'>http://www.hp.com/go/magicgiveaway</a><br /><br /></div><p><img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com/resizer/thumbs/size/600/dht/auto/1227719243.usr1.jpg" style="border: 1px solid #d2d2bb;" /></p><p>It's time! I posted my <a href="http://www.digitalhomethoughts.com/news/show/91517/the-hp-magic-giveaway-6000-in-hardware-software-to-one-winner-who-will-share-it.html" target="_blank">teaser back at the end of November</a>, and it's finally our turn to kick off this <a href="http://www.hp.com/go/magicgiveaway" target="_blank">amazing contest from HP</a>. As a reminder, here's the list of hardware that the winner will be awarded:</p><p> </p><p><strong>Hardware</strong></p><p>• <a href="http://www.shopping.hp.com/series/category/desktops/IQ816t_series/3/computer_store" target="_blank">HP TouchSmart IQ816 PC</a></p><p>• <a href="http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shopping/computer_can_series.do?storeName=computer_store&category=notebooks&a1=Category&v1=Entertainment+powerhouse&series_name=HDX18t_series" target="_blank">HP HDX 18 series Premium Notebook PC</a></p><p><a href="http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shopping/computer_can_series.do?storeName=computer_store&category=notebooks&a1=Category&v1=Entertainment+powerhouse&series_name=HDX18t_series" target="_blank"></a>• <a href="http://www.shopping.hp.com/store/product/product_detail/KC816AA#ABA" target="_blank">HP MediaSmart Connect</a></p><p><a href="http://www.shopping.hp.com/store/product/product_detail/KC816AA#ABA" target="_blank"></a>• <a href="http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shopping/series_can.do?storeName=computer_store&landing=notebooks&a1=Category&v1=Mobility" target="_blank">HP Pavilion dv4 series Entertainment Notebook PC (with Windows Live)</a></p><p>• <a href="http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shopping/computer_can_series.do?storeName=computer_store&category=notebooks&a1=Category&v1=Mini&series_name=mini1000_series&a1=Category&v1=Mini" target="_blank">HP Mini 1000 (with XP)</a></p><p> </p><p><strong>Accessories</strong></p><p>• <a href="http://www.shopping.hp.com/store/product/product_detail/CD028A#ABA" target="_blank">HP Photosmart C6380 Wireless AIO (printer)</a></p><p><a href="http://www.shopping.hp.com/store/product/product_detail/CD028A#ABA" target="_blank"></a>• <a href="http://www.geardiary.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/hol_08_fact_sheet_hp_564_photo_value_pak.pdf">HP 564 Photo Value Pak</a> [thanks for the PDF <a href="http://www.geardiary.com/2008/11/24/the-hp-magic-give-away-youll-have-50-chances-to-win/#more-16654" target="_blank">Gear Diary</a>!]</p><p> </p><p><strong>Software & Entertainment</strong></p><p>• Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate/Home Premium or Microsoft Windows XP pre-installed on all units (Mini 1000 runs XP)</p><p>• Microsoft Office Home and Student Edition 2007 (Student-Teacher Edition) - 1 DVD with 3 licenses</p><p>• Microsoft Windows Live</p><p>• <a href="http://www.corel.com/servlet/Satellite/us/en/Product/1175714228541#versionTabview=tab0&tabview=tab0" target="_blank">Corel VideoStudio X2</a></p><p>• <a href="http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9004793&st=Kung+Fu+Panda&type=product&id=1915586" target="_blank">Kung Fu Panda</a> (2 widescreen DVDs; 1 widescreen Blu-ray disc)</p><p> </p><p>Here's the important part though: part of this contest is sharing the magic, so this contest is all about <strong><em>you giving away part of what you win</em></strong>. So here's the deal: I'm going to numerically pull one random post here as the winner, but when I review that entry, if it doesn't meet the qualifications, another random entry will be selected. So what are the qualifications? <strong>Telling me how you'd share this prize pack, with whom, and why</strong>. With this bundle consisting of four computers, three of them laptops, it's really more than one person needs - and in these troubled economic times, there are going to be people around you, charities, schools, etc. that could put some of this hardware and software to good use, right? So if you won this $6000 prize pack, who would you give some of the hardware to, and how would they use it? I'll be looking for a detailed explanation of how you'd share this, but the requirement is only that you give away at least one of the laptops or the desktop computers. As long as you meet the requirement of giving away one of the computers, your entry is valid.</p><p> </p><p>Some other basic rules: only one post per person is allowed, and if you don't see your post appear right away, give it up to 48 hours because if it's your first post, it's probably held in moderation. Anyone in the world can win this contest. <strong>All posts have to be submitted by midnight mountain time on the 17th of December</strong>. If you're selected as the winner, I'll be contacting you via email and private forum messaging. You'll have 24 hours to respond to claim your prize, or the next person will be selected. No whining allowed. The prizes will be shipped to you directly by HP, so if you're selected as the winner, you should provide me with your shipping address and the shipping address or addresses of the people you're going to share this prize with. If you live in the USA, you will be provided with funds to cover the taxes on this prize bundle. If you have any more questions, <a href="http://forums.thoughtsmedia.com/f308/hp-magic-giveaway-6000-hardware-software-one-winner-who-will-share-91517.html" target="_blank">please ask them in the original thread</a>.</p><p> </p><p>With that said, bring on the stories of sharing! And remember there are <a href="http://www.hp.com/go/magicgiveaway" target="_blank">49 other sites participating in this contest</a> - two new contests launched today, one from <a href="http://www.slashgear.com/slashgear-hp-magic-giveaway-starts-today-1226071/" target="_blank">SlashGear</a>, and one from <a href="http://forum.osnn.net/showthread.php?t=95990" target="_blank">OSNN.net</a>.</p><p> </p><p><strong>UPDATE:</strong> I've scrubbed the YouTube portion of this contest. The only valid entries are the ones in this thread.</p>

Shan Gee

12-13-2008, 05:56 AM

If I win, I will donate the netbook to the Oakland Children’s hospital and my current PC will go to charity. I already have a working printer so I’ll donate the new printer to charity as well. The Kung Fu Panda DVD will be donated to my local library. The Microsoft Office 2007 software will go to a college student that needs it since I already have Microsoft Office 2007 software. I will help geeks by writing a video review of each notebook and posting it in the Notebooks.com forums (the Corel software I win will be used for editting the videos). The Touchsmart PC will be used as a family computer, the HP HDX will go to me for my college assignments, the other HP laptop will go to my sister for her college work, and the HP Mini will go to my older sister for her college work (she travels alot and works full time).

battousai

12-13-2008, 05:58 AM

I would give one to my sister who currently uses an HP Pavilion 533w with 256mb of ram and Intel Celeron. It's really slow running under Windows XP. She does design and creative stuff so a new laptop would really help her accomplish task much easier and faster. She's the youngest and also the smartest of the siblings. She would also proo- read my college paper essays and thanks to her, I always make A's on those essays.Rank 5 in her class and this would be a great gift for her graduation present. This would help my wallet also.

I would give one to my parents who currently own a Compaq Presario with 128mb of ram and 1ghz. This desktop is super super slow for doing anything basic. Just surfing the internet is extremely slow. They do alot for me, housed, clothes, put food on the table and confort me through 4 years of college. They could use a new pc for all they do.

Peter

nosmohtac

12-13-2008, 06:19 AM

I would likely keep the HP Mini for myself, as I work on the RR and need a small light netbook to take with me.

I would probably keep the desktop too, since my current desktop is a sony vaio with a PIII and 128MB of RAM.

I would let my daughter (she's a 4.0 student in high school), take her pick from the two notebooks.

The remaining notebook, and likely the printers would either go to the Boys N Girls Club, or my church depending on which appears to have the greatest need. I would also consider giving it to the family of one of my wife's friends.

I don't consider them poor, but they are definitely in the lower income level.

superdumb

12-13-2008, 06:28 AM

I am on a non-profit committee working on outfitting the first-ever library for an inner-city K-8 grade school that has been around since the 1940s. It was so hard for me to imagine that the school had existed so long without a standalone library. They had a couple of shelves of very old, very worn books in the back of their gym. We are buying them books, smartboards, computers, furniture, etc. Our committee is also building mini-libraries for two area family shelters and they are not slated to receive computers, so it would be great to be able to provide them with some technology. It would be nice to have some extras to throw in, too, like the printer and MediaSmart Connect.

I would like to keep one of the laptops for myself, probably the Mini. I've only ever used Mac desktops so I would be curious to see how HP/Windows compares. And I think a netbook or laptop would be awfully useful for a mom of a toddler and preschooler who likes to blog and surf the net.

uzziah0

12-13-2008, 06:31 AM

I was at my sister-in-laws this evening helping with some things around the house for a house concert she is having tomorrow. While she was out her daughter mentioned something about her mom's computer. I asked what she meant, and was told about how her Gateway all-in-one computer is having problems.
She is a single mom, with two girls (high school and grade school).
This is her first year of teaching, since she got her degree.
So, with this new information, I am thinking I'd give her the big desktop HP.
I am not sure, but I think her printer is in good shape.

The other things, I would see what Fellowship Housing (http://fhcmoms.org/) would need in the way of one of the laptops.

The others would be a replacement for my desktop, and something for when I'm out, and for my son to surf the internet (he is 5 years old).

Mom2Ways

12-13-2008, 06:31 AM

My husband and I are marriage mentors for our church and community. If I won the incredible HP prize pack, I would share it with Healthy Marriage of New Mexico which is an organization that works to strengthen marriages. This is done by giving couples tools to help with communication, conflict management and other common stumbling blocks that can create difficulty in marriages. Divorce, in addition to the emotional toll on the family, causes great financial stress on a community as well. A large component of the program is to complete an on-line inventory. This gives us (and the couple) and idea of what the couple's strengths and stumbling blocks (weaknesses) are, so we can help them find tools to improve their marriage. One setback we've had is that some of our families don't have computers and/or internet access. We could take a couple of the laptops when we meet with the families so the inventory could be completed. Healthy Marriages of New Mexico is a faith based initiative that is currently looking to expand its operations out of Albuquerque and form a greater presence in the southeast corner of New Mexico. I'd like to give them a head start on setting up an office to help my community.

jegatheez

12-13-2008, 06:45 AM

I would like to share one of the prize I win with a poor boy,really a poor boy who is 3 year younger than me and currently doing his graduation part time,as he is working in parallel so that he can compensate his expenditure for his study. A laptop or PC is possible for him only in dreams. If I share one with him, he will be very much happy and very useful for his final year project!

Mini will go to my sister who is very fond of musics and movies.

I decided to donate one more to my Primary School which made me to this height in my life!

Thanks for HP Magic Giveaway

olovram

12-13-2008, 06:47 AM

Well, I actually dont want this prize for myself. Im 14 and Im going out from school this yeas, a school which I am very fond of. So I would donate everything except for the pavilion to the school.

The pavilion would go to my sister, who wants a computer.:D
I have already entered this contest at eliax.com ans another page I dont remember :S

Im mexican, so sorry for any mistake I made, If I did.

kerrireed1

12-13-2008, 06:53 AM

Kerri Reed
[email protected]

If I am fortunate enough to win this contest, I will change the lives of many people in my community, starting with my own family.

I would give the HP Touch Smart computer to my son. He is 15 years old, and has severe learning disabilities. I home school him, and we cannot afford our own computer. Due to his disabilities, he has trouble processing textual information and needs a visual component in his education. We go to the public library to use the computers there every day, but their time limits are strict. He could really benefit from the Touch Smart computer for his educational needs.

The second computer I would give to my local elementary school. I tutor children there in language arts and many of these children have never used a computer in their lives. It would benefit these children to be able to learn the necessary computer skills needed for their education. They would be so grateful for this gift!

The third computer I would give to the local animal shelter. Many healthy animals are put down every week in San Bernardino due to their limited resources and networking capabilities with other rescue organizations. A new computer could give them the networking resources necessary to rescue out hundreds of animals a month, so that many lives could be saved. Animal rescue is a passion of mine, and that would mean the world to me.

The fourth computer I would give to my boyfriend. He works hard every day, but has never been able to afford his own computer. He is applying to medical school, and needs his own computer to be able to finish his education, and get a good job. He is a very worth candidate for a gift such as this. He helped me through a serious illness last year, and I cannot think of a more deserving person for this giveaway.

The last computer I would give to my sister's children. My sister passed away unexpectedly in July at the age of 40. She left behind 4 children. They will have nothing for Christmas this year, and this is the first holiday without their mom. A new computer would really lift their spirits, and give them something to smile about on Christmas morning.

Thank you for considering my family and my community for this amazing giveaway. I know there are many needy organizations and families out there this Christmas, and so I am blessed to be able to enter my name down in this sweepstakes. Merry Christmas!

jeys0n

12-13-2008, 07:06 AM

Reading about HP's Magic Giveaway amazes me in a way that if I was to have that much prize it would satisfy my craving for gadgets ever since childhood. Haha I know it's a silly thing but it is true, it's like the kid inside me was back in the electronic section of the toy store but this time with a wide grin stuck on my face and holding the Sharp video camera i cried for. Winning the prize would really bring joy but I think the prize is much too huge for just one person to have. There are many other souls out there who are much in need and unfortunately I didn't have to look very far to find one, my Brother.

My Brother's name is Jimmy, he just got married to Dette last June, a really wonderful lady. It's been almost seven months since their wedding and i can see how very happy they are. They have also established their own business, a motorcycle parts and accessories shop. They have just started it and are still establishing a name. I am going to share the prize with them because they can really put it to good use and I really only need one computer for school. My brother had a Pentium 3 computer where he keeps his shop's inventory but unfortunately the computer just gave up on him and that really made things harder in the shop. Purchasing a new computer is just too expensive for the Newlyweds who had just invested their savings in the shop. This prize would honestly do good for them and their new family. That's right their new family. A couple of months ago Dette found out she was pregnant, we were all very happy that both our families had a small celebration.

Now that Dette is expecting it just makes sense. I want my niece/nephew to grow in a knowledgeable environment. A place with books, articles, music and of course a computer. My brother and I didn't grow up having a computer, let alone any gadgets but I want my niece/nephew to have the best resources he/she can have. So that he/she may grow inspired and wise. This prize can really do good for my brother and it would mean so much to me and our family to see them happy. It would be their first Christmas as husband and wife and i hope we can make it one of their best.

Elanoa

12-13-2008, 07:11 AM

Honestly, I'd give three to my supervisors.

I work in Americorps for my state's Department of Ecology. Our budget is small, the crew members make minimum wage and we just got upgraded this year to a trailer with - get this - heat and a working fan. We work outside, 40+ hours a week, in the rain, snow and floods, cleaning wetlands and assisting in emergencies.

All three of the supervisors use state computers - that is, old Dell laptops that barely work. It takes us ten minutes just to get Word working to write up our safety reports. Internet access is next to impossible due to a poor connection and faulty ports. Given that all three crews are trying to set up service projects right now, things get interesting.

So, I'd give all three to my bosses. Our work will go a little nicer, and everyone would be a little happier. That and I'd ask my programming friends to set up a decent router.

riley4077

12-13-2008, 07:15 AM

I'd share one of the laptops and printer with my niece. Her Dell bit the dust of the summer. She has SMA type II, a form of MD. So the mini note may work better than the others. She could get back to playing Sims.

Great products HP and Jason great idea for the giveaway.

rhoneyg

12-13-2008, 07:28 AM

I would keep the Touchsmart for myself to replace my dinosaur emachine. I would give the mini to my oldest son because he can't afford one himself and I am a really good mother to him. At least, I have him tell me that often. LOL I would give another laptop to my son in grad school to help him with his job after he graduates grad school this summer. I would give the other one to his girlfriend who will soon be his wife because I want her to know that I will not be a crabby mother-in-law but that I will be a mother-in-law who gifted her with a laptop. Gotta suck up a little bit every now and then. LOL

lohoz

12-13-2008, 07:28 AM

Dear thoughts Media,

If i won the 6000$ price package from various companies,

This is what i will do to distribute one or two of the prizes.

I Will Give The Hp Mini 1000 Together With The Microsoft office 2007 Disc to one of my many friends as he is studying now in university (NUS)(National University Of Singapore) As he is Currently He Is Using an 3 year old 3.5kg laptop from acer and he's complaining about the weight of his laptop and since the hp 1000 is light and highly portable,so he could use it for his projects and school homework.And the Microsoft office 2007 home and student disc would Help him type out presentations for his projects.

Thanks.
Good Luck Everyone That is reading this posts.:)
Terence.:)

jaxim

12-13-2008, 07:33 AM

I'd give one of the laptops to my nephew who could use it for his studies.

slinky333

12-13-2008, 07:38 AM

If I win the HP giveaway, I'll be giving away all but one of the computers to members of my family. My father, for example, has a 10 yr old PC that can't even play
Flash videos that the news sites he visits are incorporating more and more. My brother loves to take pictures on his digital camera so I know he'll really
find useful the printer. One of his sister-in-law is going to start college soon, and one of the laptops would be great for her.

gorkon

12-13-2008, 07:41 AM

My wife needs a new computer so I would give her the desktop. I myself would take the HDX and the Mini1000 and give my Eee PC I currently use to my Son. The dv4 would go to my mother in law who is a 10+ year cancer survivor. We never know if we're going to have her the next Thanksgiving or Christmas. We know this year she's ok and will probably be here. However, it;s always a question whether she will be here the next Christmas season. Help me make her season this year bright by giving her a brand new computer.

I would give more computers away if it wasn't for the fact my wife and I were in Chapter 13 until this year. My wifes computer is functioning now, but it's starting to get pretty old. It's at least 5 years old and getting older. I haven't had a PC that wasn't a work computer since my Mac died last year.

Anyway enough of my sob story... and I hope I win!

Elkaye

12-13-2008, 07:45 AM

siauw

12-13-2008, 07:47 AM

I will share the notebook with my niece, the mininote going to my wife. I will also make a contest at my blog at Gudang Hadiah (http://gudang-hadiah.blogspot.com) with prize from my winning.

Kassad

12-13-2008, 07:56 AM

I live in an community with many different cultures, we have turkish-dutch, marocco-dutch, people from surinam, afghanistan, poland, india, brazil and native dutch and that is just in my street the people I know of. In this community we have an organisation (all voluntary) wich does a lot for the community, they organise language courses, social get togethers, support with all legal and goverment paperwork etc etc. In a time when The Netherlands have to deal with Geert Wilders and his "Fitna" (a really idiotic movie basicly insulting muslims), we need these local organisations to keep these communities together and communicating (not only for the muslims but also the chritians, the hindus etc etc).
If I were to win I would keep the desktop and the mini, the rest would go to this local organisation (including my old desktop).

slugbug

12-13-2008, 08:08 AM

I would share this prize pack with my sister and her kids. She and her husband have been going through a rough patch lately, and the holiday season is looking rather bleak for them. Gifts like this would truly make a difference and put smiles on their faces.

I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't keep some of the goodies for myself. I would keep the Touchsmart PC, the media server, and the netbook for myself.

afropooh

12-13-2008, 08:08 AM

I would be thrilled to win this package. I would be sharing it with a friend that just started online college and is currently married with 4 kids. I only plan on keeping a couple of the computers and giving the rest to him and his family!

dizzer

12-13-2008, 08:23 AM

I'm gonna keep the HDX 18 for myself, a powerful laptop will help me in my university projects replacing my old PC (athlon 3000+ ...)

The HP Mini 1000 and the Kung Fu Panda I'll give it to my little cousin who has no pc.

The rest of the prize I'll donate it to a school near me. The special about this school is that it has kids with down syndrome, kids that are very special in their way. I hope this new technology to help them a little. Most of them can't afford a laptop or PC at home, so giving them such a wonderful Christmas present will make me and hopefully them very happy. From games to education, the new laptops and the touchscreen is sure years ahead of what equipment they have at school.

That's all.

maskology

12-13-2008, 08:35 AM

Hi,

We work in a company and there are about 15 tea boy working over here,one of them who I happen to now for about 5 or 6 years is Reza, he is in his late 40 years old, married and has a little son who is in second grade, actually he is not in a very good economical condition and is struggling to pay his rent for the house every month,about a year ago he was asking if we knew where he could buy a cheap PC so that his sun gets acquainted with computers and stuff, so me and some of the other staff over here tried to gather some money so that we could buy a very cheap second hand PC for him but we could not raise enough money to that.

So , My is to provide him with the latest gear so that both himself and his son could start using that, as for himself, I am thinking that he could learn to type in word or maybe other do other stuff so that he could upgrade himself from being a tea boy and as for his son , I think growing up learning the new technology will give him the knowledge , perspective and motivation to try harder for the better future.

I am thinking of giving him the HDX laptop and so that Reza and his son can start using it at home and I want to use the HP TouchSmart desktop and HP dv4 Pavilion in the office to make a workshop so that all the other tea boys in the company can use I can can start teaching them the basics of using windows,web,e-mail,etc.

I have one younger brother who is mentally challenged, he goes to a governmental institution where they take care of him and other students over there, it is not a wealthy institution so their facilities are really basic, they teach them to make small handicrafts and some cheerful practices as well, they also teach the boys how to sing , so if I win , I will donate the HP printer to the institute so that they can print and give the lyrics of the songs to the boys to read from it at the time of singing , I know that will improve their singing and make them very happy.

Best regard and wish the best for anyone who wins all these perfect gifts,

listenup

12-13-2008, 08:37 AM

If I win, I would keep a laptop and printer and give the rest away. I have a very old, slow computer and I'm in the process of applying to law school, I'll need a better notebook when I get in! I currently work at The Legal Aid Society - <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Employment</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Law</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Center</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> coordinating the Workers' Rights Clinic. Through my work I see first-hand the struggles of low-income workers to feed and educate their families with love and dignity. Because of this, I plan to focus on employment and immigration law and I expect to work in a public interest law firm. As an immigrant, I consider myself privileged to have had a college education and to be able to live in the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">U.S.</st1:place></st1:country-region> and want to give back to the community. I would give the rest of the prizes to the <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Mission</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Graduates</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Tutoring</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Center</st1:PlaceType> here in <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">San Francisco</st1:place></st1:City> which serves 120 public school children K-5 year-round, infusing "college messaging" throughout its curriculum. Most of the children come from immigrant families and having hands-on experience with a computer will make a world of difference in their education and future opportunities in life. The following short article illustrates precisely why the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Tutoring</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Center</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> needs a computer: http://news.eltecolote.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=211e268f4b161f44aa5501c3a84f15e7

windmage

12-13-2008, 08:47 AM

I am planning on donating the some of the prize to our local cooperative nursery school. I think it is important that pre-schoolers get familiar with computers and this would be a great setting for them to gain knowledge and have fun at the same time. My son is in his last year there and the computer competency he developed at home with any formal structure was amazing. My daughter is in her first year there and it would great if she got a more structured approach to learning how to use and have fun with computers. I am thinking about keeping the TouchSmart or the HP Mini.

dpowers

12-13-2008, 08:47 AM

I would give one of the laptops (HP Pavilion dv4) and the printer (HP Photosmart C6380) to a dear friend here in the Kansas City area. She and I both lost our jobs at the same time this year and she is starting her own writing business and can use the equipment to help get her business off to a good start. She has been a huge support to me during my job search and I would like to give her the laptop and printer as a way of thanking her for being there for me.

Thank you for hosting this contest on your site and also thank you to HP!

marcpodi

12-13-2008, 09:10 AM

davidgwells

12-13-2008, 09:16 AM

I would love to win this prize for selfless and selfish reasons. I would like to help my parents because they are both 64, have never owned a computer and aren't in a financial position to purchase one. I believe the HP TouchSmart IQ816 PC with Windows would be the perfect introductory computer for a novice and I think the touch screen input would help to alleviate their technophobia. I would endeavour to find worthy recipients for the other computers and surprise them for Christmas. I would like the printer package for myself please because I don't have one.

Dave Wells

swalker

12-13-2008, 09:17 AM

I'd give away most of the items to needy family members who would use the items to replace their aging (5 yr+) setups.

TouchSmart/Photosmart -> Mother
Dv4/Mini/Photo Pak/Software/DVDs -> Sister
HDX 18/MediaSmart -> Myself

makeetis

12-13-2008, 09:36 AM

This is what I would do if I won the prize. I would keep the desktop and printer and whatever goes with the printer for myself because I honestly need it. My Dell is 5 years old and keeps freezing up on me. No one that I took it to can fix it. They tell me to buy a new one. Well with 3 kids I just can't do it right now. I would give one laptop to my aunt so she could keep in touch with her son. She could get pictures of her grandchildren more than she does now because he doesn't send them through mail. She, like me, can't afford one right now. I would give the other mini laptop to my husbands nephew. He is 17 and he will soon be off to college and he will need one. His mother is divorced trying to raise 3 kids so that income is limited. As far as the rest of it, I would give the software to the schools and the other laptop would go to my friend who has 2 kids and could really use it. She also doesn't have any computer. I hope the magic shines on me this year to win such a great prize. I know whoever gets it will be so very happy and they will have an awesome christmas to be able to share what they have won. That's really what christmas is all about anyway. I wish everyone good luck!!!

SAZMD

12-13-2008, 09:40 AM

The recipient of most of the winnings would be my oldest step daughter, who will be going to college next year. She hasn't gotten too much from us as far as material things, so this would absolutely floor her. The All-in-One, one of the laptops, the printer and the MS Office would all go to her. The DVD would be for my little ones. My wife would get her own laptop as well. I'd probably play with the Mini and the other software.

Alber1690

12-13-2008, 09:42 AM

I dress up as Santa every year...so giving away stuff like this would only make it all the more special. I would appreciate that opportunity very much.

1. The HP Mini will go to my young cousin in Mexico. He's always looked up to me and his family has very few resources. His parents, my uncle and aunt, have always been very welcoming and giving to us when we visit, even when they have so very little and we expect nothing but their presence. Ever since I took my laptop on a trip to Mexico, he became in love with the "magical" factor of it. I cannot even begin to imagine how he would react to this. He has extremely high marks in his academic and his hard work should be rewarded.

2. The Desktop, I would give to my family, more especially my youngest sisters, a pack of twins whom I have exposed to Windows computing since they were only 4. They know how to email and IM me now at 8. They'll have a great advantage in their academics because of what they will aquire with this new computer.

3. One of the laptops, I'm thinking of giving to the middle child among my sibblings, meaning my younger sister Leslie (for those who think I've overdone the sister count, I have a total of 4 younger sisters; I'm the eldest and only male). My mom said she teared up one night during the first week of my leaving home for college and that love needs to rewarded. She asked for a laptop from Santa, and I could just be the one to give it to her, since she's definitely not getting one from the "real Santa(s)."

4. Finally, college demands a lot from a student. The the last laptop stays with me. Too much money is already spent on tuition and housing for me to afford a laptop. It's time to upgrade.

There. I appreciate the time people are spending to read these through and only hope I get to continue my Santa tradition, but with a little extra cheer this holiday season. Thanks and good luck to everyone.

andrew_lee

12-13-2008, 09:51 AM

I'd keep the TouchSmart for myself, to replace my (no longer functioning) Athlon XP 2200+ desktop computer. I'd give the two laptops to one of my sisters and my mother, who currently share an old Pentium 4 desktop. Sharing might be good in general, but it's not so great with computers. My mother would love to have video chats with my other sister's 3-year old son and 11-month old daughter. I'll either keep the Mini, or give it to my older brother. I'm not sure what I'll do with the rest of the items.

Killa2dahead

12-13-2008, 09:59 AM

i would share it with my brother and my dad because we have a family business and only one computer. more comuters in the house would be nicer

Sheppard

12-13-2008, 09:59 AM

Not that i even have a chance of winning i might as well try and enter.

I dont have a sob story and im not going to lie about how im going to give everything away to the needy, charity begins at home and if i win the touchsmart i would love to have that as my PC as mine is an aging celeron system with crt monitor.

The 18" notebook i would give to my father as he has done a lot for me over the years including doing without things so that i could have what i wanted, sounds selfish and it probably is, i already have bought him a lot for this christmas including the phone he wanted but the notebook would be the icing on the cake as his Acer laptop is on its last legs.

The 15" notebook i would want to keep for myself as i work in the field of IT and i would love to have a notebook instead of having to use written notes.

The Mediasmart i would give to my father for the front room, i bought him one of them crappy hard drive caddies that plays back divx and xvid and the software on it is dire, it only supports very few formats and the HDD inside is on its way out clicking and grinding.

Finally I would like to donate the HP Mini 1000, HP Photosmart C6380 Wireless AIO Printer, HP 564 Series Photo Value Pack, Microsoft Office Home & Student 2007 and Corel VideoStudio X2 back to this blog so they can put it back up for grabs to someone else who wasnt as lucky as me to win.

Thanks for the opportunity.

Felias

12-13-2008, 10:27 AM

Hello there,

well, i just wanna be completely honest with you here: Currently i just don't have the cash for all those amazing gadgets that exist out there. Especially the HP-Gadgets do have the best design, thats why I always wander around their webpage and start dreaming of better days :-) As I don't need all the things personally, I'd keep the Mini and one of the laptops for mobile gaming, give the other one to my sister, who is just writing her master thesis on an old old Desktop PC. I don't own a printer, so i'll keep this one. The Touchsmart.... well, i'll find someone on my family for sure, who will need it most :-)

Maybe this contest will be my ticket to those better days, thats why I want to participate.

Thanks a lot for HP & the blogs that are supporting this,
Felias

dlindman

12-13-2008, 11:01 AM

Well, my complete system could be revamped as I have not gotten a new computer in the last 4 years. So the desktop and mini would stay put.

However, at least two of the laptops and the printers would go to a couple I know. They are a newly married military couple where the husband is assigned in Germany and the wife is in the states. They will be celebrating several family related holidays apart since they do not have the funds needed to get together. They are both computerless currently and I think this would give them the ability to stay in touch (I'll add webcams if the notebooks don't have them). I wish I could do more for those many families who share the same issue.....

Thanks for this opportunity and I enjoy all your sites!

beq

12-13-2008, 11:22 AM

I would give the TouchSmart IQ816 to my Mom, who has been using the original TouchSmart IQ770 (19" AMD Turion model). I want to give her a faster desktop that also has a larger, higher-resolution screen. The IQ770 can then go to my parents-in-law so I can encourage them to use a computer more often :)

I would give the Pavilion dv4 notebook to my wife, who has been using the original HP tx1000z (12.1" AMD Turion notebook with non-digitizer touchscreen). Although the tx1000z has mostly been working fine, it does get hot on my wife's lap, and her poor eyes have trouble reading text on the smaller 12.1" screen. I believe my wife would then choose to donate her old notebook (as she had done with her previous computers).

I would give the HDX 18 to my sister, who has never had a laptop. The large screen and multimedia capabilities would be perfect for her mostly-at-home computer usage, as well as for teaching and having fun with her 3 year old daughter. And when she needs to take it on the road, the portability is there, too.

Why don't I want the HDX 18 notebook for myself? Well, I'm already using the original HDX behemoth with the even larger 20.1" screen!

But that is also why I would like to keep the HP Mini 1000 for myself, because lugging around my 16-lb HDX (not including the bag, adapter & accessories) makes my shoulders sore. I also want the MediaSmart Connect because I've never had one of these digital media streaming receivers before, although I've read great reviews about this HP unit.

I may also keep the PhotoSmart C6380 printer and photo pak because, sadly, we don't have a working printer in our house. We've had to mooch off relatives and friends who have color lasers and inkjets at their homes...

P.S. I know you didn't ask about the software, but I would provide the Kung Fu Panda DVDs to a good friend of mine, as well as a MS Office license.

olo

12-13-2008, 11:55 AM

If I won I would give the HDX 18 Notebook to my brother, who is a sculpture artist at the beginning of his career. He definitely could use it for preparing off-line presentations of his works. I would give the Pavilion dv4 to my older sister. She likes traveling, so she could use it as an entertainment device during one of her trips. I would give the Mini 1000 to my second sister. It’s small, portable device, so it could be used as good notebook during classes. The MediaSmart would be given to my parents. They could use it to watch pictures made by me (I’m a little bit vain, and I like to show my pictures to as many person, as possible ;-) ). Because the photography is my hobby I would keep the TouchSmart and Photosmart for myself :-)

NYC84

12-13-2008, 12:37 PM

I would give the HP HDX 18 series Premium Notebook to my cousin who cannot afford to own one and the HP Pavilion dv4 series Entertainment Notebook to my niece as she is going to start her new school next year. I would keep the HP Mini 1000 to myself. Next, I would give the HP TouchSmart to my Mum and she can start learning how to use computer (she has a hard time controlling the mouse). Lastly, the MediaSmart, printer and software would be given to my sister where she can print photos and watching video with her daughter.

marklehman

12-13-2008, 01:00 PM

If I won, I'd like to share a computer with my brother, who is going back to school for his Masters in Psychology from Pepperdine University. It's a private school, so it costs an awful lot of money, but it has the specific program he wants, so he can't really go someplace else. He has a decent job, but it's with Washington Mutual, and ever since they got bought by Chase in September he's been hesitant about making any purchases.

He didn't often buy new things for himself even before that, particularly computers. He's still plugging away on an old old OLD Dell desktop that he got before his freshman year of college, in 1999. I'd like to be able to give him a laptop that he can bring to class and use for notetaking, but also something that's powerful enough that can crunch any statistical data he might need when he starts his practicum working with soldiers coming back from Iraq dealing with PTSD and other issues.

hsh_l

12-13-2008, 01:08 PM

The HP-Giveaway is truly MAGICAL. Kudos for them and you too for giving the opportunity :)

I'm sharing those huge goodies with,

Nope i don't have any names (atleast as of now)... read-on to know why!

"Notebooks, MediaSmart Connect, few soft-licenses (genuine) would definitely help students who aspire to be tech-savvy or just with a dream to learn more, but have been denied of that dream due to various reasons (may be financial)

Because I too am a student and definitely understand the situation, where u can't pester your dad for a PC nor can we earn that sum while studying and the only way we can have access to it is from college PC's (for e.g in my college there are 6+2 PC's for 450 students). Since my school-days I wanted a PC for the sheer potential it gave to its beholder and its aid in education but never was lucky to put my hands on one (no i won't put any sobbing stories here)

And how I'm planning to find those students? I'll be involving the local Radio (FM stations are a huge success in my city) to host a competition, believe me It'll reach to the entire city's student community. And the winners shall be getting those goodies. I'll be giving away one notebook for my university students (again they too will go through a competition)

As far as the nature of the competition would be, may be academical brilliance or a literary event (I'm open for suggestions). I'll finalize it if I win it in the first place.

I'll be content with the Touchsmart (been amazed with the touch concept) and the Photosmart (because I have no access to a printer as of now, I'll be having a lot of print works for my academical projects)."

miguelsantos

12-13-2008, 01:11 PM

HOPE, i simply need one computer to work and can´t affort it , even those new netbooks that are cheaper (and that even make things more difficult) and thats why im entering this Magic giveway... , then if i win i would would offer one of those bigger computers to my loved younger brother thats is in college, taking an architectural degree, he´s always frustated and sad cus can´t do the works in the old computer he have , this would be my chance to help him. I would have to give one other computer to the most beatiful person i know , my Mother, would love if could do this for her, she is 58 , she just gonne back to school to pursue the dream of a life , a College degree , and a computer would be good for her. And thats it, the rest of the prizes i would leave in the hands of her (my Mother) , she´s a volunteer in hospitals, she´s the most giving person i know im sure she would find a better way to give use to the rest of the Magic giveway than me , like i said i just need one computer and sincerely i don´t belong to any churchs , communities (just the huge Human community), associations , helping groups of any kind, so i couldn´t know what i could do more , but thank you very much for this opportunity!!

Yair

12-13-2008, 01:15 PM

I just finished my 3 years compulsory military service and i am starting my real life all over again. I will be going to a university soon and i will sure need one of the notebooks, the mini 1000 should be the right one i think for that task (but i am having hard time deciding as the HDX 18 series one is real sweet)

My sister can put good use to one of the computers, maybe the Pavilion as she takes care of 2 babies and also have to work. This way she will be able to work "on the move".

I decided to share it with Loewenstein Hospital Rehabilitation Center so i'd have to contact them and find out what can be of better use for the children among the remaining computers but i am guessing it would be the TouchSmart IQ816 PC for that cause.

i have no doubt about keeping the MediaSmart for myself :D
the photosmart can replace my old HP printer if i don't find better use to it but i still have to figure out a good use to one of the computers, a freind in need maybe, another family member, tough call:rolleyes:

BettyKat

12-13-2008, 01:16 PM

I need a laptop and a desktop...but I would give the rest of it away. That's right, all the rest, baby!

I volunteer with a great group here in New York City called Getting Out & Staying Out (gosonyc.org). They help 18-24 year olds coming out of Riker's with all of the challenges they face - housing, jobs, education - all towards the goal of avoiding recidivism and any other type of bad behavior.

GOSO is well and tightly run, but it's hit a bit of a rough patch, given that - in lean times - most people will donate any extra money to more 'family friendly' charities (think charities for children, etc.). They could really use this equipment to work on these guys' resumes (including print them!), among other things, and some of the smaller items in the package for entertainment.

So, long story, long...give me the HDX 18 series notebook PC and the HP TouchSmart IQ816 AIO Desktop PC, and I will happily donate the rest to GOSO!

Regards,
BettyKat

sdross

12-13-2008, 01:16 PM

I know, I know, in these times when the economy is rough and we are all watching our bottom line, this is mind blowing!

I have been thinking about this for most of the morning, and this is what I have come up with. It isn't save-the-worldish, but it would make a huge impact none the less with those who I could bless.

First I would make sure my fabulous soon to be graduate had a notebook set up and ready to take him into college. I know this would make life much easier for him to be able to carry it to class and back home for studying and notes. He is a true gem,having fantastic grades, perfect attendance and also takes college credit courses already while still in HS. This would be a great surprise for him, and one he would truly benefit from.

The mini would be perfect for my 10 year old who attends a magnet school with focus on math and science studies. he placed 3rd over all in his school's science fair this year by studying the effects of soda and diet soda on weight gain and energy levels. Time and time again he spent hours researching online, and typing up his reports and findings. Currently he is learning excel, and power point. I do believe this would expand his education by allowing him to experiment with the new lessons from school at home.

My parents are about to retire in 2010 and start up their very own Barkery. (bakery for dogs). Mom is running a very old system currently, and reboots often just to keep it going. They would be able to run the business with a new PC and keep on top of building their online presences with a blog and website of their own.

Remaining items would have to go to my middle son's school. They have a fantastic program with focus studies in Math/Science, Arts and Cultures, Micro society, and The Performing Arts. They do so much for the students, and the teachers go way beyond in their out of the box teaching. I know the school could inspire more students through the use of new computer equipment.

These are my wishes if I were to be so lucky as to win. I know the quality first hand of the HP systems, as I work on a touchsmart system daily myself. It truly is the best PC I have ever had the chance to use. We are a military family, and being such friends and family are usually not all in one place. The touch screen is so nice when the baby wants to be in my lap and watch what mommy is currently working on. Thank you HP for being so generous and making such a huge impact in the lives of those who win. This is a wonderful gift in these hard times.

Shellie
[email protected]

opt1m4l

12-13-2008, 01:32 PM

Hi,
Firstly, I wish to thank Thoughts Media, HP and other companies involved in this giveaway for their generosity.

I intend to give the HP Mini 1000, HP Pavilion dv4 Entertainment Notebook PC, Kung Fu Panda DVD as well as Microsoft Office Home & Student Edition to my cousin. She's currently divorced with 2 kids, and her estranged husband is only giving her a small monthly stipend which leaves her barely able to cope, especially when she's left with 2 kids, of which one has undergone multiple operations. These 2 prized laptops that I'm giving away will enable my cousin's kids to be able to utilize it fully for their school work, especially when Singapore schools encourage e-Learning, and they've got no computers at home. The Kung Fu Panda DVD will also keep them well entertained and leave their mum able to have her own spare time to do her work and chores. Microsoft Office will also assist the two kids in completing their work.

In addition, I'd like to give away the Corel VideoStudio X2 & Windows Live to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, which will hopefully grant someone a wish.

I will be keeping the HP TouchSmart for my own personal use, and the HDX 18 series Premium Notebook PC will go to my brother who currently is in need of a computer of his own. The printer will be shared among us, and as for the Photo Value Pak, I'll be using it as I'm into photography.

Lastly, I hope that whoever wins this very substantial package will truly share the magic with those around him.

Thanks,
Valerie

kregger

12-13-2008, 01:54 PM

I will give the TouchSmart to my wife. With myself working in software development and three school-age kids, she always ends up with the "low computer on the totem pole" when it comes time for someone to get a new one.

She's never complained about her laptop being vintage 2003. Doesn't whine when she has to use the hole where the "\" key was (the cat scratched it and the "R" key off).

So she deserves a really nice computer!

tregnier

12-13-2008, 02:19 PM

I would give a laptop to my daughter who is in college. She's using an old Toshiba right now and would benefit from a new one. Then I would give a laptop to a guy that I am mentoring and helping with his quest for sobriety. He doesn't have a decent job and wants to become computer literate.

I would keep a desktop for myself. Mine is 5 years old, and I could use something faster for statistical analysis work.

I don't know about all the other stuff, but I have no need in my life for more than one of anything. I would find a good home for it, as I'm involved with a number of non-profit groups.

Thanks, Jason, for your charitable heart.

zoblul

12-13-2008, 02:25 PM

If I win I would like to share the prize with my local Community Service Center. This organization provides a number of programs to assist seniors, the disabled and the disadvantaged with services such as transportation, counseling and help finding employment. I'm sure they would able to put a computer to use for administration, scheduling or teaching.

cdesseno

12-13-2008, 02:33 PM

First of all, thanks for giving me the oportunity of winning all that! I think my family will be very happy, considering this economic times. If win I would share the items with my brother and my parents. My brother actually needs a Desktop PC, so I will give him the HP TouchSmart IQ816. Also I will give the others notebooks for my mother and my father and I will keep the, maybe, the netbook. Sharing is the meaning of the season.

Phronetix

12-13-2008, 02:38 PM

First of all, the mininote is mine. :-)

After that, I tried to find a reason to keep anything else, but there is nothing we need, so I would give en masse to our church. They could upgrade where fit, and donate the rest to families who could use it, or perhaps more effective would be to have a little church raffle and take the proceeds and give to the local food bank.

I would consider a notebook or touch screen pc for home since our children have never seen Windows, not seeing it at home, their friends' places and don't see it at school. My oldest, upon seeing the selection of Vista machines at Best Buy last month, said "Uhh, Daddy... they only sell weird looking computers here". I pointed her toward the Mac section and she said, "Oh whew, real computers!" I think I need to introduce her to the real world. lol

Then again, I could give the mininote to them after I have finished tinkering. :-)

PengLord

12-13-2008, 03:36 PM

I’m mostly only interested in the Touchsmart PC and the Mini 1000, though I think I’d also keep the MediaSmart Connect (don’t know, I’d have to fire it up and play around with it.) I’d give the HDX 18 notebook to a friend of mine that is working on her degree in child development while working 2 jobs and stuck using a really old AMD Athlon based PC. The Pavilion dv4, AIO printer, and all software would go to my 13 year old nephew that lives with his grandmother. He hasn’t got Internet access or a PC with which to do his school work, he must come over to my home just to write his school papers. My submission isn’t the saddest, nor is it the most selfless, but it’s the truth about what I’d do if I won. Fact is the only thing in the competition that REALLY interests me is the Mini 1000 with additional interest in the Touchsmart only because every one that I try in the stores are broken, the other items are simply curiosities. Thank you for this opportunity.

Maryfbz

12-13-2008, 03:47 PM

Great contest!
If I win, I'd send the desktop to someone in America, one laptop to someone in Europe, and 2 laptops and the printer to 3 different persons in Africa.
All these persons are my relatives, and I know they need these machines.

I hope I win. :)

a00r

12-13-2008, 03:53 PM

aliengurl400

12-13-2008, 04:00 PM

One of the laptops that I'd receive would go to a great guy in Australia. His computer (6 years old) broke 7 months ago and since he cannot afford to even buy a $300 refurbished computer (he lives with/takes care of his elderly ailing mother), he has since lost touch with many of his best friends- and he worries about them constantly. He's the kind of person that stays up all night if a friend needs a shoulder to (virtually) cry on- and I should know, because I've taken advantage of him that way plenty of times. The poor fella. He just truly cares about people, and, in return, so many people care about him. Having a computer will allow him peace of mind and enable him to get back in-touch with some of the people that mean the most to him.

I would give the touch-computer and printer to my mom. She is the owner of a (very) small business, and her business is really struggling right now. Having the up-to-date technology would really make a world of difference in how she operates & manages her inventory (books). Her computer is pretty out-dated; the tower's size alone is a hindrance but when you add in the bulky monitor plus her 'mom-clutter' it gets a little crazy to try to type up book descriptions. Also, it's very very slow. I scan it weekly for her for spy/adware and viruses, but it still struggles and hesitates to open up new pages/etc.

Besides the business reason, I really want to surprise her with the new computer because she's sacrificed a lot to raise (and home school) me and my younger siblings. This prize package alone is worth more than she made most years (including this one) to support our family of 5, and yet if one of her kids ever needed anything she'd move Heaven and Earth to get it for them. I'd really like a chance to see the look on her face when she opens up a brand-new computer (assuming she doesn't faint!).

I would give my sister the mini. She is in her first year of college. She commutes an hour away 2 days a week currently, and that amount is about to be raised to 5 days a week next semester. She has worked very hard, and has just been nominated Editor of her College's newspaper. In addition to taking 12 credits now (18 next semester) she works 4 days a week at Walmart as a People Greeter (she's the happiest people greeter they have). We're all very proud of her, and I know her life would be a lot easier if she could take the mini with her instead of having to schedule in time to run across campus to use the school's computer labs between classes.

I would use one of the laptops myself when I graduate from Grad school with my Secondary Ed and Special Ed teaching certificates. I plan to teach in a Pittsburgh public middle school- I love the age that middle schoolers are at and I feel like I would do the most good teaching in an urban environment (and I love Pittsburgh- the atmosphere, the people, the passion!). :D

Master Loon

12-13-2008, 04:11 PM

He this is great and I actually hope some of you who win will follow thur.

I would Keep the Mini PC and printer for myself. My wife is pregnant and planning to do a online course for colege credits. this would be great for her.

My brother just lost his job in the cab industry and is hit hard. Even though I don't think he can afford dsl it might be helpful for his plans to start his own business....or so I hope.

I will donate the rest of the equipmet to my daughters old day care. I donated before some of my older dells. They actually try to use the pC in class for learning activities and other things. They sing , get learning activites and other things. The touch Pc might be a great addition for the class with the touch and learn and point and click.

This is what I would do. I think this is a great contest and a cgould underlying cause.

stlbud

12-13-2008, 04:14 PM

I've a friend, her grown son is challenged and needs help getting through the day to day things most of us wouln't think twice about. Her husband is a war veteran but is handicapped in several ways. He's unable to work and rarely leaves the house. My friend is a real trouper. The smile is thin but comes easily. She works hard caring for her family but living in a small town doesn't offer many opportunities close to home. So, I'd share with her, probably give her the bulk of the package and keep a laptop for me.

Bill B.

GraoZi

12-13-2008, 04:24 PM

Hi there,

I kinda hope you're not looking for a sappy story because i don't have one. lol. My main reason for even entering this contest is for my friend. Her name's Arielle. Basically, if i was to win this contest i would be giving her family the main gift. Not too long ago they said they were having an issue with there computer connecting to the internet and asked if i would help them. When i got to there house i realized what the prob was immediately, her family's computer was a rock. Haha. This computer had come out about 8 years ago and had squat for ram. From knowing her, i knew that her family doesn't really have the money for a new computer. I would intend on giving her family the Touchsmart. As for one of the notebooks, i would be giving one to my grandfather. He, as well, doesnt have the money for a new computer and his is even older than my friend's. I would probably keep the other notebook where as mine is clearly starting to die. I am also soon going off to college and am unable to stay in a dorm, so i would need a notebook. As for the photosmart, i would be giving that to my mum. She loves to take pictures and the printer she has now doesnt like us. The HP mini, i would giving to one of my teachers. She teaches my computer electronics class, and i know that she would love something new to work with. http://liliputing.com/forums/Smileys/default/azn.gif The movie i would give to my little cousins. As i said in the beginning i am not entering this contest for myself. I have no intentions on keeping even half the things in this package. Actually, i would only intend on keeping one of the notebooks. Thanks so much just for the opportunity to enter.

Ps...sorry this basically came out to be a list. lol Happy Holidays everyone!!

VickieB

12-13-2008, 04:30 PM

Since retiring, my dad's health has been deteriorating and he's lost a lot of his mobility. I'm sure he'd really enjoy the the Entertainment Laptop and MediaSmart Connect that I would like to give him. He's done so much for me and I would love the opportunity to to give him such an awesome gift.

I would love to have a notebook, so I'm planning on keeping the Premium notebook for my use. The TouchSmart, would be set it up for household using the software from the prize package. In addition to being disabled from a stroke a few years ago, my roommate will be having foot surgery in January and will have to stay off her feet for about four weeks or so and it would be a great way to occupy time. My aging desktop is set up in my room and it's not very convenient for multi-user use.

At least two of the three movies would be family gifts, and the netbook would be donated to Oakland Children's Hospital where I'm sure it would be put to good use.

I really hope to be fortunate enough to win one of these great prize packages.

Danni001

12-13-2008, 04:36 PM

I would donate the premier notebook, the entertainment notebook, the mini netbook, the printer and software to The Epilepsy Foundation of St. Louis (http://www.epilepsyfoundation.org/stlouis/). Much of the time epilepsy can be controlled my medicine but some people have multiple seizures a day which makes it difficult to work or in some cases even leave the house. So if I can get the notebooks out to the people in need it might help them socialize with others a little easier. Forums are a wonderfull way for people to communicate with others.

I would like to keep the touchsmart and the media connect. Thank you for the opportunity.

Michael Morr

12-13-2008, 04:46 PM

I want to win becuase this is just a fantastic prize to be winning, and at the perfect time to be winning. I would like to give one of the laptops to the mother of my children(the mini), as she is wants to get more organized in her life, and this would be perfect for that purpose, one of the other laptops would go to her father who desperately needs a new computer, along with the wireless printer. He is a carpenter, and with these items he would be able to not only show clients simulations of what he will do for them(via the right software), but also be able to keep track of customer notes, and invoices. My brother could benefit from the extender (honestly not sure how, but I know he wants it), I would replace my main computer with the HP Touch, as my current one is about 6 years old. Of the remaining laptop I would use while I was on the train to work for my programming. One DVD would be for my children, and the other DVD could go to my brother for his new son, and of course he is a big kid so he can enjoy it for now until his son is older.

Lena

12-13-2008, 04:49 PM

I am still in college and my father recently had to relocate to a new job, starting from scratch, since his old company shut down due to the economy. My family is on a rather tight budget, and it would be wonderful to be able to not only update our current computer (it’s starting to show its 7 years) but also to give such wonderful gifts for the holidays. We would most likely keep the desktop, giving the rest to friends who have helped us in innumerable ways through the years (one of said friends will be returning to college and it would be beautiful if we could present her with a new laptop, since her old desktop is in danger of crashing for good) and also donating a part of the package to our church, which is very small and not in the best financial situation. The community is not very numerous, but certainly very warm, and they could use some new technology to help them better run the programs they organize throughout the year. It has done much to keep the traditions of the “old country” alive and also helps families who move to the US adjust and network, and new equipment could help them better accomplish these services. Thank you (and HP and Microsoft) for this great opportunity!

peterifranco

12-13-2008, 04:56 PM

this my story and whom I want to share it with.

If i were to win this competition i would firstly be over excited and overwhelmed, because i have won nothing in my life.

I would like to donate the DV4 notebook to Don Bosco Boarding School, because these kids have nothing at all, let alone computers they daily food is like only lentils, and chicken or meat is bought for them only on occasions. I would really like these kids to learn how to use a computer and educate themselves.
Another notebook I would like to give to a Nursery School which is funded by our church, this school has no technology at all, they have been asking me to help them get different quotations for computers but even the cheapest one they aren't able to afford. They use an ancient typewriter to type out letters. So I would like them to have a notebook.

I would like my wife to have the HP Mini, cause she is doing a 4 month course in Sales & Marketing and at the moment she is writing everything down on paper.

The Kung Fu Panada Movie i would like to give to my cousins cause they love that cartoon.

The reason i would love to win this is below.

I have had an extremely bad year since the beginning, firstly we were asked to leave our house, so we needed to leave immediately, then in June my father passed away because of cancer, then 2 months later my aunt passed away, she slipped and fell in the bathroom, then again 2 months later i lost my job. So my winning this it would really make me and my family happy, and before this year ends it will make our Christmas special. And adding to all this I was not robbed of US$8000 for work I did for the past 4 months for a client remotely.

So I would really like to win because i have won nothing in my life ever no matter how many time i tried, i have to struggle for everything so this christmas i would really like to win and make myself happy as well share my winnings with people so they are happy as well.

Thank you.
Peter Franco

OKCrew

12-13-2008, 05:01 PM

All of the items in the bundle are great and I would be happy with any single item. If I won, I would be sharing with my sister-in-law and her family. She is a single mother working on graduate degree. She and her family could definitely use the desktop system at home and she could use a laptop for school. We would work it out to meet their needs.

lulumendes

12-13-2008, 05:12 PM

As I know I'll be the winner this time, this is what I'll do with the prizes:

I'm keeping the HP Touchsmart and the HP HDX 18 series Notebook.

The HP Mini 1000 and the HP Photosmart printer are going to my mom.

And all other itens will de donated to families who lost their houses and belongs at a natural disaster in Brazil.

Thank you for the opportunity!

alindeman

12-13-2008, 05:15 PM

I would donate the desktop (TouchSmart) and both of the notebooks to NorthStar Youth Ministries in Birmingham, AL (http://www.northstaryouthministries.org/). My girlfriend has worked directly with that non-profit organization, and she has relayed to me how desperately the camp needs new computers. Both the staff of NorthStar and the children who go through the program could benefit from the use of these cutting-edge computers (I firmly believe that one of the ways out of poverty is good education, especially with computers).

I would also donate the software too, of course. I personally am really only interested in the Mini and the printer.

paulsg63

12-13-2008, 05:45 PM

Well, The first two I would finally get into the 21st century is my parents!!

I always have to get my Mom to go to my sisters house of I want her to see pictures I send, etc.

My Dad is just can't afford a nice computer. Same thing though.. his current system can't even pull up large files...

Then I would look to give some Christmas cheer at my church, I know of two friends that also can't even afford any kind of computer.. I would help them out.

I would then set up a cool ESX setup in my house!

hmmm, the possibilities!!!

THANKS (hope its me!!!!)

Paul G

EscapePod

12-13-2008, 05:55 PM

My plan is to donate the HP TouchSmart IQ816 PC, HP PhotoSmart C6380 Printer, HP 564 Photo Value Pak, and Kung Fu Panda DVDs to the Mrs. Russell's Home for A-Typical children in Orlando, FL -- In this economy, they can barely afford to take care of the children, let alone afford replacement PC and printer for administrative tasks.

I would auction off the HP Mini 1000 Netbook through the Central Florida Corvette Club, with proceeds going to the Mrs. Russell's Home for A-Typical Children -- the charity sponsored by the club.

I would keep the HP dv4 laptop PC (because it is exactly the one I wanted) and the Corel Video Studio.

LindaP

12-13-2008, 06:25 PM

I will march right into the Veteran's Hospital and bring the Mini 1000 (and a package of tissues) and find a Veteran who I want to have it. I don’t know who it will be but I will know when I see him or her. Depending on the situation I will either give it to him/her or have a nurse do it. I get too emotional!<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p>
I will bring the Pavilion dv4 to the local library and give it to a person while they are using a library computer, the librarian said she will help me choose the right person. I want it to go to a deserving patron who can’t afford a computer but uses the library computers. It might be a student, a veteran or person who is out of work. Maybe a sick person who will be happy to receive such a great gift. Or a mom or dad with kids and no computer!<o:p></o:p>
The DVDs will go to Toys-for-Tots.<o:p></o:p>
I will replace our Desktop computer with the TouchSmart. It will give our family hours of learning, entertainment and keeping up with our finances.<o:p></o:p>
We would use the HDX 18 for our four person plumbing and heating company. And the MediaSmart Connect would also entertain my husband, me and our two boys!

calcmonkey

12-13-2008, 06:30 PM

I am a teacher in the Kansas City Area at a Catholic school. I teach
Fundamentals of Algebra (a nice way of saying Pre-Algebra). My
pre-algebra students are mostly Hispanics and African Americans. They
live in the poverty areas of Kansas City. They are considered to be
"bottom of the barrel" academically. They attend my school because
they are good at athletics and are on scholarship to be able to do
better than if they were in the public schools. The schools that are
in these kids neighborhoods are barely accredited and not safe to
attend due to violence and gangs in the area. The kids talk a lot about how there are thugs on their streets and 'crackheads' that threaten them. They don't have the opportunity that most kids have. If I win this package, I want to use two of the computers (laptop and desktop) in my classroom to provide more technology to these students. The only technology to teach in my class is an overhead projector and that doesn't cater well to "Technology Era" children. I
want to be so much more for these kids than just a teacher. I want to
be a mentor, a leader, and someone to guide them to their future.
It's hard to get them to understand that they can be someone important
when they are treated by society like they aren't important. I am
hoping that by winning and using the technology in the classroom, they
will know someone does think that they are important and their
education is important. I love these kids and they deserve better.

One of the laptops I would like to give to a senior who is graduating and going to college. Her mother has been extremely ill for the past few months and they don't have the money to pay for her college let alone books and a computer. I know how important it was for me in college to have a computer. Another laptop I would like to give to a friend of mine who's had a rough few years. Her computer got fried about the time she was going through chemo for her cancer. She hasn't had the money to replace it and I would like to give her a laptop to replace it.

I know all of these people deserve it. It would mean the world to them and to me.

Thank you!

Jennifer

Manyangels

12-13-2008, 06:31 PM

I too have entered wherever I can,, I cant do videos as required on some sites, I dont have a my space, as required on other sites,, All I have is my 10 year old pc! And its an HP,,, The only brand I will own! I am a Grandmother, and wife of a retired Pipefitter. We live on a very fixed income, usually down to the penny by the end of the month! I used to cook Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners, and have my Childred, their spouses and my Grandboogers over and have a great family time! Now, this year we cannot afford the cost of the meals, so I wont see some of my Grandchildren. My son is divorced now, and circumstances will prevent him from being with his Children this Christmas. So I wont see them, or our Son! What would I do if I could win this prize?? MY GRANDBABIES!! Ohhhhh Lord would I have joy in giving them an unbelievable Christmas!!! I have a 10th, 2 8th, and a 3rd grader!!! Needless to say,, I dont think I would keep anything for myself,,,,, Giving such things to my Grands is more than enough joy for me!!!
Thankyou soooooo much!!!
Good luck to all,,,,,
and Happy Holidays!!!

[email protected].

12-13-2008, 06:35 PM

I hope this doesn't show up again...when I pushed submit reply, it logged me off?!?.

Here's my entry:

My family and I have been through some really rocky roads the last few years, but we have had the most wonderful people helping us. From our Church to two families in particular; if it weren’t for them, I don’t see how we would have got through them. For this I am grateful and would love to give back.<O:p</O:p
<O:p</O:p

To make a very long story short (because trust me, it would take ages trying to explain); the urgency to win this is serious! I would feel so thrilled to have the opportunity to give back to those families which have been there for us. These families (2) have pulled the shirts off their backs to ensure that my family is okay. They have taken turns getting us to doctors appointments, they’ve helped put food on our table when there was no money coming in and any other thing you might think couldn’t be done for another…they’ve done it. My thoughts are to give back to those families this year...
<O:p</O:p
<O:p</O:p
Now, I do apologize…I don’t have a charity or organization to allocate the prize package with, but I do know that the families I plan on sharing with this Christmas have done their share of “giving” and I’d feel honored to have something this wonderful to show my appreciation with.
<O:p</O:p
I’m not sure (yet) what family would have what, but I can say that they will each have a computer and then some.

Merry Christmas everyone!!!!
-barbarabaker :)

djwain

12-13-2008, 06:59 PM

I'd keep the Touchsmart for myself (drool), but as I just got a new laptop, I'd donate the rest of the computers to Youth and Shelter Services here in town. They have a transitional program for homeless youth who are pregnant or parents to help them get established and find jobs and computers are on their wishlist. And I am sure those Kung Fu panda DVDs would also be appreciated. As a bonus, I would replace my TV with the Touchsmart, so I would donate my TV to them as well.

coolhandluke

12-13-2008, 07:02 PM

I would like to share two of the computers with my brothers since they are using theirs for almost 10 years. Also, I would give one to my wife since she does not have one. I would share the DVD with my niece since she likes it very much when she was at Costco. Also, I could use one of the small laptop so that I could take it with me anytime and surf the internet any time, especially to check on the stock market. Thanks.

Damabiah

12-13-2008, 07:29 PM

Greetings from Mexico.
Especially if it gained the selection of Digital Home, would continue maintaining my idea to share the magic. Donating the following products for good of the society in alive which laptop HP Pavillion dv4-1145go, HP Photoshmart C6380 AIO with 564 cartridge HP and the film Kung Fu Panda, for these equipment I have in mind to the hospital of the Toluca boy.
Mini laptop HP 1000 would flatter it to a being very loved by me, with whom I would like to be able to be in contact with the enemy more time and through a computer it is a good option to close feel more, since at the moment she separates the distance to us and at the moment she does not have computer, she this in the State of Veracruz and I in the one of Mexico.
The rest of would use it to the equipment to continue my work of designer, who also is it jeopardize with the society to benefit his culture and development through the good communication and to thus add itself to the equipment Pavilion 7956 which I have and to benefit to a person when generating a new source of use and income in these so difficult dates. And certainly all this would fill me to gift of magic, family, to my dear beings and society that surrounds to me.
Miguel.

billchenxi

12-13-2008, 07:50 PM

Dear friends,
I understand everyone here has a golden heart, so I would like to share my thought...

Why I deserve to win this prize and what I plan to do with it?

Why? I am an international student from China, I need at least one computer or laptop to study. You know normally students are poor, so international students from Third World are poorer. I have to say this is true, I hope I could born in UK, one pound equals 2 dollar, I only needed to spend half of my money for everything... Haha...

My plan is: Sharing...I will keep my promise...
1. I will pick one, sorry I really need one and the best one that I can use for studying.
2. One to my hosting family. They need one.
3. One to Rhonda. She is a 40+ years old lady and self-studying Spanish. She bought an expensive software to help her learning, but her computer is not support it. So definitely she need a new computer.
4. One to Jack, a 3 years old boy who is learning Spanish too. (I don't know why so many US citizen want to learn Spanish. You know they should learn Chinese!)

As for other small things, I think I will keep some, at least the printer, and share the rest.

Heatwave316

12-13-2008, 07:55 PM

I have 2 people/groups of people who I want to share these gifts with.

1st - Wayne R. and family - They lost their house, as well as all of their belongings, in a fire about a month ago. We have been trying to help out here at work by donating clothes and raising money for essentials, but that doesn't count electronics. In these hard economic times, work is slow, and its hard to raise extra money. Wayne and his wife, have a son who is 13, and a daughter who is 17. Given their ages, I'm sure they are missing their computer time. I just think this would be a great Christmas gift for them. I'm sure the the equipment would be great for school as well as fun.

2nd - My friend Liz who just lost her partner to cancer on Thansgiving day. Her current computer, a laptop, will not even boot. I can't even imagine what she is going through. Her and Terri were together for 20 years. Terri was only 47 when she passed. I know a computer doesn't even come close to making everything better, but it will be one less thing for her to worry about. I think it would cheer her up. Just would be a nice surprise.

morgan culbe

12-13-2008, 08:09 PM

I am a thirteen year old teenager who lives in Pennsylvania. There is a local community center in my area. Three years ago a generous donor gave them a room of computers which the community was overjoyed at having. Later that year the building burned down and all the computers were lost. They are hoping to rebuild a computer, but with the failing economy, the center had to devote their time and money to supplying people in need with food and a place to stay. I would like to give this center the two of the computers, the mediasmart connect, as well as all the accessories, software, and DVD's to help them start rebuilding theyre computer center.

gadiel182

12-13-2008, 08:15 PM

if i win i will give it....

• HP HDX 18 series Premium Notebook PC
i will give to my friend Diony Del Rosario because he doesn't have to get this but he need it because he is estudying software engeneer at the university and it's very dificult to make the homework without a pc.

• HP MediaSmart Connect
i will give this to my best friend Jesus de la Cruz if i dont give anything from this, he is gona kill me when he know jejeje.

• HP Pavilion dv4 series Entertainment Notebook PC (with Windows Live)
i will give to Elvin Francisco i don't know so much but he is not working from 8 month ago and he need a laptop but he doesn't have to buy it.

Accessories
• HP Photosmart C6380 Wireless AIO (printer)
• HP 564 Photo Value Pak
• Corel VideoStudio X2
this accessories and software will be to heidy de pena she works with graphics desing and it will be great for her in this year.

Software
• Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate/Home Premium or Microsoft Windows XP pre-installed on all units (Mini 1000 runs XP)
• Microsoft Office Home and Student Edition 2007 (Student-Teacher Edition) ��" 1 DVD with 3 licenses
• Microsoft Windows Live
and this software i will give to Saul jimenez he is a great guy.

GearSuper

12-13-2008, 08:20 PM

I would like to start of by saying thank you for this amazing contest. My name is Cristian Ballesteros and I live in Bogota, Colombia. If I win this grand giveaway I think I will put it to best use because not only will I use it but hundreds if not thousands of people will use the hardware as well. I am a 20 year old College student who is struggling, along with my class mates to finish our school work and assignments. At our College we have a “Compu Center” which in reality is a computer lab that is based of 15 donated computers to be used for school work for the College students. You may say well 15 computers is a lot. Not really when you consider the number of students whom attend College to be able to live a better life.

If I win this contest I will donate everything but the HP Mini (I will keep for myself) to our Compu Center at college. The donated hardware will be used by hundreds of College students and we will ALL be grateful for your geneirosity. If I win I will also contact local news channels to record and evidence the donation and to give thanks to you and HP.

Thank you very much for your time. I included a picture of our Compu Center. http://www.flickr.com/photos/32894711@N04/3070371688/ (http://www.flickr.com/photos/32894711@N04/3070371688/)

God Bless. http://gfx2.hotmail.com/mail/w3/ltr/emoticons/smile_regular.gif

34skyline

12-13-2008, 08:24 PM

I will love to share the magic of HP to some special people in my life that helped me out when I was in need in for some help, See I got let go from my job about a month ago do to the slow economy, and ever sense then My friends and family members help me out on my bills, food and pay for my gas and i want to share the magic to the following people.

willie-Hp Pavilion dv4 Entertainment Notebook
jeff- HP HDX 18 series premium Notebook
chris- HP Mini 1000
Dad- HP MediaSmart Connect
Faye- HP Photosmart C6380 (She needs a new printer)
myself- HP TouchSmart IQ816 PC

I want to make this christmas a special one, the one to remember by saying thanks to the friends and family members for helping me out this past month, I may not pay them back fully but this is a start and spread the magic with everyone this christmas, Thanks HP and Digital Home for having this contest and I wish everyone a Happy Holiday Season.

YouTube - The Digital Home, HP Magic Giveaway (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pu6ZVoQwx5A&feature=channel_page)

dorpede

12-13-2008, 08:26 PM

A present like this would be very appreciated. I like technology and I'm actually studying telecommunications. I have a five years old laptop and my parents an even older computer. It would be great to give them a new computer this Christmas. This holidays I'll be visiting my grandma and my uncle. He sometime ago asked me to look for any great offer for a new computer. But what if I can give him one of these great computers...? The other one would go to my brother. He wants to follow my steps so...
I'm pretty sure they'd be very very happy with these and they would save a lot of money, and not only in presents. Thus, making this Christmas even more specials :)</pre>

yvsmadhav

12-13-2008, 08:27 PM

I have been using a p3 system given by my brother. It has served me well but the time has come for a replacement. I don't have the financial muscle to go for a new system. I will keep the hdx18 laptop.

In view of my low paying job, I am not able to take proper care of my parents in their old age. I will give them the touchscreen pc.

I shall give away the mini to a dear teacher of mine who just lost his mother.

I will donate the other laptop to the Deaprtment of Economics. Rayagada College, Rayagada where I work. The students are taught the basics of computer applications, but more than 75 students are having to share just 2 pcs. It is time to give something back to the students and the institution.

alan8it

12-13-2008, 08:29 PM

I would only keep the netbook (cuz that is really cool). I plan on giving away all of the rest to my co-workers who were laid off recently. Our department had 500 workers, and we lost over 250 of them. There were some close friends who I had worked with for many years who were let go, and in these times, it is difficult for them (I can imagine) to think about Giving...so that is what I will do if I win!
Thank you.

org_poqeteer

12-13-2008, 08:31 PM

I have 4 children. I would distribute among them. We also foster cats from a local animal shelter and would definitely donate to them.

remo26

12-13-2008, 08:51 PM

BHN"W<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p>
I would keep the HDX for myself. I am still limping along with a 450 MHz pentium III with WinXP, 512MB RAM, and a 12 GB HDD.
<o:p></o:p>
I would give the TouchSmart to my wife, who has an even older system- an HP Pavillion Pentium II with Win98. She would finally be able to publish the book she started writing several years ago.
<o:p></o:p>
I would give the Mini 1000 to my son, who is 14, and has never had a computer. His interest in multimedia is limited by the slow capabilities of our family's machines. He’d also get the Kung Fu Panda DVD to share with my other kids.
<o:p></o:p>
I would give the Pavilion dv4 to my mother- and father-in-law who have never had a computer of their own. It would be worth all the gifts just to see the look in their eyes when they received it. They would be able to listen to internet radio and news programs without having a time limit before someone had to take back their machine, and send e-mail and pictures of their grandkids.<o:p></o:p>

JKingGrim

12-13-2008, 08:56 PM

My sister got her first laptop stolen a few years ago. The second one has recently stopped charging. Having IT experience, I took it apart to attempt to fix, but was unable to desolder the old jack from the MB. Right now she is borrowing someone else's laptop, but thats not easy being in college not having your own. I would give her the dv4 series notebook.

My father has given me so much support while I have been in college and I would like to give back to him. He right now has a small LCD TV on his desk that doubles as a monitor for a pretty old insignia PC. I would give him the HP TouchSmart.

The DVDs, Office Suite, and Corel VideoStudio X2 would make great gifts for family and friends too!

Thank you and happy holidays!

patricjames

12-13-2008, 09:19 PM

Matt in MD

12-13-2008, 09:41 PM

If I am lucky enough to win this contest, I would share two of the computers, plus all of the software with the School for Arts in Learning (SAIL) in <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comhttp://forums.thoughtsmedia.com/ /><st1:City w:st=Washington</st1:City>, <st1:State w:st="on">DC</st1:State></ST1:p. SAIL is a unique K-8 public charter school providing multiple creative environments, opportunities, and experiences for inner city youth through arts-infused academic programs. They take underprivileged and special needs students and use the arts in order to help them through their immediate situations, many of which are quite dire. By using a special arts-infused method of teaching, SAIL thinks outside the box in order to come up with innovative methods of serving children and youth with differing learning styles. They have developed a specialized curriculum using the arts to help children learn in ways that match their learning styles, paying special attention to individual learning styles and specific need. Their focus is on developing the whole child, intellectually, emotionally, physically, and socially.
<O:p
This school is unique because they take kids that society has given up on and they give them hope. Through a rigorous education schedule and intensive, artistic training, they turn these kids into good students and good citizens. The school also engages the community in pretty unique ways. For example, one can submit a picture of their pet to the school and, for a fee, one of the students will create a work of art based on this picture. The artwork is shown first in a public gallery, before going to the owner. This unique system teaches the student responsibility, creativity and the results of putting in a hard days work. I have been to one of their exhibitions and it is amazing the quality of work that these students can attain. <O:p
<O:p
However, this is a public school and is heavily dependent on donations, which are increasingly few and far between. Because they are not for profit, there is a constant struggle for resources. Times are tough right now and not many people are donating, including my family, not because they do not want to, but because they cannot. As the year draws to a close, their donations are down significantly.<O:p
<O:p
While traditional art practices, such as oils and watercolors, are important, the SAIL school also wants to provide their students with more cutting edge, computer based education. I would like to help them significantly in this effort through the donation of computers and software. There are not words to express what this would mean to the school and scores of children. These kids have lived through harder times than most of us will ever see and they deserve this second chance. They deserve the opportunity to explore themselves and the world around them through art and intellectual curiosity. Please help me give an amazing present to these kids; one which will resonate through generations of students.<O:p

scott5345

12-13-2008, 10:06 PM

What I would do with all this great HP and Microsoft equipment? My daughter in her first year of college would get the HDX 18 Notebook. I sent her off to college with an old P3 notebook. My mom and dad would get the Pavilion dv4 Notebook to replace their old Gateway notebook. The lodge I belong to would get the HP Mini 1000 to help support our charity work. I might keep the TouchSmart PC or possible use it as a raffle item for our lodge's charity work. My old computer would be given to my friend’s kids to enjoy. My daughter’s and parent’s old notebooks would be given to my mom's church. All this hardware would make my family and community very happy this Christmas season. Thanks again for supporting such a wonderful giveaway. Best of luck to all!!!

matiaslaport

12-13-2008, 10:13 PM

Hi! Thanks for letting us participate in this amazing contests.

First of all, I would give the HP Mini to my grandparents, so they can surf the web and video-chat with their great-grandsons.
About the other 3 PC's, I would give one to my High School, another to my Music School, and keep the 3rd. one, although I don't know yet how I would split them.
I'd like to give them part of the prize because... well, by teaching me they made me who I am :/.

Thanks again, and good luck to everyone.

Rebeca

12-13-2008, 10:51 PM

It doesn't matter how difficult things get, my family always keeps going, and that's what I admire most about them. That's one of the main reasons why I'd share the prize with them. I know them well enough to know that they'd make the best of it. Giving them part of the prize will be like sharing it with 10 or 20 people, not just because of all their hard work but because they already share their time with others by volunteering in places in which they're needed. So, if I win, the only thing that I would keep for myself is the HP HDX Notebook. The HP Pavilion Notebook would go to my brother because not only is he a college student too, but I plan to ask him to help me some more with a youth group I volunteer for. The HP Mini 1000 would be for my sister who's a high school student and is as gadget deficient as we are. The Touchsmart and printer would be shared by the whole family, and would stay with my parents once I move out.

bly23

12-13-2008, 10:52 PM

I'd first like to thank HP, Microsoft, and Digital Home Thoughts for offering this great contest.

I would love to be given the opportunity to share these great gifts with others. If I was awarded this great package I would only keep the HP Pavilion dv4 and the printer for myself. I don’t take my current notebook out in public much because people usually stare. While other people are easily typing notes in class, I am stuck scribbling down all my notes on paper. Then of course after class I have to ice my hand. Even if I wanted to carry my notebook around, it would be too big. The thing is bigger than my textbooks. It’s extremely slow and only has 512mb of ram; it has a floppy drive, and no Wifi (I have to carry around a card for wifi). The hard drive is only 40gb which is not enough for my needs. I am studying to be an engineer and my computer is not suitable at all for my needs. People in my major have nice fast computers to run all the CAD software but my computer can't do it. I tried to run it once and my computer locked up. I spend more time in the computer center than on my own computer. After dealing with my needs, I would love to share the rest of the package with a family member and a couple of my favorite organizations.
My Current Notebook: http://brandon-makeadifference.blogspot.com/2008/12/my-computer-setup_11.html

I would first share the HP Mini 1000 and Microsoft Office with my sister. She is currently in her first year of teaching and is still dealing with some of the financial troubles of being right out of college (especially with the poor economy). She has a laptop, but it is very old and slow and becomes difficult for her to get anything done for her classroom. It would also be nice since it is so portable, so she could carry it back and forth between school and home. She has always done so much for me, and this would finally give me the opportunity to pay her back for all her help over the years.

The remaining gifts would be given to my two favorite organizations. First I would donate the HP Touchscreen and the Kung Fu Panda DVD to the Ronald McDonald House in Philadelphia. Hopefully they would make this computer available to all the patients and families so they can stay connected with their family and friends. The patients could also use it to watch movies or play games.
The final computer (HP HDX) would be donated to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. This organization is very close to my heart because I feel everyone should have the opportunity to fulfill their dreams.

Thank You!
Brandon

osssyvan

12-13-2008, 10:54 PM

If I won I would keep atleast hp mini and maybe touchsmart. I would then give the HDX for my girlfriend's mother as she doesn't have her own computer, only the one from her work that she might have to give back. The other laptop would go to my brother as he keeps complaining that his old HP isn't good enough anymore. I would make him give his old laptop to my best friend though as he needs a laptop because he travels for work. My brother's old one would fit his needs.

If I kept the touchsmart, I would give my old desktop to my parents to replace their old p4. And rest of the prize would be shared among friends and family as well.

fadywwf316

12-13-2008, 11:38 PM

Well, if I win, I think this would come in real handy. I would want to keep the Mini pc as I've always wanted a small netbook. However, the other 2 laptops, one of them will go to my local Church where the Priest gives his presentations and does his work on an old beat up Toshiba laptop PC (which literally is beat up as it's must have taken some falls since like part of the casing is broken off). The other notebook (3rd one) would go to my cousin's in-laws. He's looking to buy them one with his wife and they could definitely use the help of a free notebook to give as their Christmas gift to his wife's parents.

alese

12-14-2008, 12:02 AM

I don't believe I could actually win this but for such great prizes it's worth a shot.
Anyhow, I would love to keep the SmartTouch, it would be a great family computer. The Mini 1000 would go to my wife, she is working on her PhD and she used my work Notebook until now, but that won't be possible any more and we'll need a new device.
As for the rest,I guess I would give one of the notebooks and the printer to the son of wife's cousin. They live alone, the boy started high school this year and he could really use a real computer.
The last notebook I would give to a friend of mine. He has an old desktop and could use something better, but he can't afford it.

kra9235

12-14-2008, 12:31 AM

I would donate one of the notebooks to my oldest son who suffers from CF. I would donate one of the computers to my youngest son. And I would donate a computer to the Children's Miracle Network along with all the software etc.

mobilechrisd

12-14-2008, 12:52 AM

The HP TouchSmart IQ816 PC would go to my father-in-law who recently had a stroke and is unable to move his left side. The touch screen would be ideal for him.

The HP HDX 18 series Premium Notebook PC would go to my grandmother who is now widowed. It would allow her to see out the "digital window" to a whole new world.

The HP MediaSmart Connect and HP Pavilion Entertainment Notebook PC would probably stay with me.
The HP Mini 1000 can be donated to the guy or gal who just missed winning any of the 50 contests.

Merry Christmas and thanks for the chance to win!

jonpulsipher

12-14-2008, 01:16 AM

I would donate the entire package except the TouchSmart and the Mini to a local children and family services charity called Encompass (www.encompassnw.org (http://www.encompassnw.org)) and I'd encourage them to use some of the items (such as the printer and software) as raffle prizes to raise funds and multiply the value of the gift to them in their work. They've been hit in triplicate by the economic times - their state funding has been cut, many of their private grants have dried up completely or reduced, and the private giving that has for many years counted on the gifts of employees of Nintendo, Microsoft, Amazon, and other tech companies has diminished.

Using the new laptops and the video software, I could donate my own time to bring video editing and animation workshops to their after school and summer programs.

Encompass does great work in our community and the effect of these items would be a big shot in the arm for them.

freebcn

12-14-2008, 01:16 AM

If I get the prize, I would give one of the notebooks together with the Corel software to my brother (he's into multimedia), the printer to my mother, the other notebook to a good friend of mine who has just moved to a new apartment and finally the Office and KungFu Panda DVDs to my little cousins! Thanks! :)

dshep2020

12-14-2008, 01:49 AM

If I won this great package, I would look to pass on my good fortune to a couple worthwhile charities.

One of the local hospitals where I live recently had a teen, who had cancer, start a fund raiser to build a room for teens undergoing cancer treatment. A room where teens who were staying at the hospital undergoing treatment could hang out and for a while forget the challenges they face with their treatments. The boy who headed this effort up passed away shortly after he started. http://www.idahostatesman.com/235/story/521150.html

At my church, I also work with youth and families who could definitely use some of the items that would be given away.

I would split up the items between those worthwhile causes.

meiobrien

12-14-2008, 02:09 AM

I'd share the Touch Screen with my sister-in-law in Belgium, to make it easier for my wife to videochat with her, and one of the laptops with my brother in HI, so he can communicate with his daughters in CA & TX, and the netbook with my wife. Thanks much for hosting this giveaway!

coolit_kayle

12-14-2008, 02:21 AM

I am a mother, a wife and the breadwinner. If given a chance to have this HP Magic Giveaway, I would definitely share it to those who are also in need of it.
First, I'll give one to my sister in law who is pregnant right now and have 3 children. She definitely needs this, her husband left them and she is striving hard to feed her children. she can do a lot with this to earn money by putting a business with the help of HP.
Second, I'll give the other one to a distant relative whom I've been helping also finish her school she is on her last year in college and this would really help her in doing her thesis.
Third, I'll give the other one to a school near our place (Philippines). This would help the students since, most of them don't even know what a computer is.
And lastly, the last set would be mine this would help our family to start a small business since my husband don't have a work yet. and can also help my daughter in her school assignments.
It would really be a great feeling to share something especially to those in need and in this season of giving the HP Magic Giveaway is a sure hit!
thanks and more power!

talsemgeest

12-14-2008, 02:28 AM

If I won, I would sell the laptops and some of the other prizes at auction, and donate all the money to the New Zealand Salvation Army (http://www.salvationarmy.org.nz/).

I believe that this will give as many people as possible a chance to celebrate a good christmas, more than if I simply gave the prizes to a needy person.

I hope, for the sake of all the people living on the streets this christmas, that I win.

xpplk

12-14-2008, 02:38 AM

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! If I win this contest, I would keep a notebook and give the other computers to my brother and sisters. My brother has never owned a computer, my younger sister's Dell PC quit working and my older sister has a dinosaur PC (8+ yo :eek: ) that needs replaced.

T1Pimp

12-14-2008, 03:10 AM

At a very unfortunate time of the year I received very unfortunate news. My wife has decided she wants a divorce and with her will go my eleven year old step-son. I've raised him since he was 5. I almost always refer to him as my son, then people give me that funny look "but you've only been married 5 years" and then I explain that he is really my stepson. We've grown incredibly close, I wake him up and make him breakfast every morning, take him to and pick him up from school, and love playing video games with him.

The past year or so he's become very computer literate and interested in technology. If I were to win, the winnings would go to him so that he can continue diving deeper into computers in general, use it for his school work, etc.

Happy Holiday's all!

gianoshoes

12-14-2008, 03:19 AM

Hi Everybody! Well, I am definitely giving at least one of the laptops to Computers with Causes. Computers with Causes is a great organization donating computers around the world to various charities and programs (including veteran programs and children and children with disabilities).

Anyone who would like to do the same or learn more about Computers with Causes can go to www.computerswithcauses.org.

Another one of my laptops I will be a gift to my older sister, Linh. She is someone who I've always looked up to. Growing up, we were very close and she has helped me alot in my adult life too. The holidays are about giving, and I hope I can do some giving every holiday.

Joel Crane

12-14-2008, 03:26 AM

The Touchsmart would go to my family back home. They are stuck with my old Celeron 600mhz with 196mb of RAM running XP Home. It's awful. My dad has helped me out financially in so many ways, I'd love to give something back.

The HDX is easy. There's a girl. Yeah.

The MediaSmart Connect looks neat, but my Xbox 360 is working very well for streaming media, so I certainly don't need another receiver/HTPC. My brother is getting ready to build an HTPC, maybe I could save him the effort and expense!

Photo value pack would go to my family, they love to print photos.

All of the Kung Fu DVD's would go to friends around campus, and the Blu-Ray copy would go to my dad, because he is the only person i know who owns a Blu-Ray player to go with his nice 50' Samsung.

blue.o7

12-14-2008, 03:35 AM

I would give the DV4 to my friend Briony who moved down to Sydney at the beginning of the year. She's been surviving and communicating using an ancient compaq laptop, netcafes and friends computers who have net access. So this would be an awesome gift for her and let her keep in touch with us and her family better.

I would most likely keep the HDX for myself and give the touchsmart to my parents to replace their aging desktop. They've been having to use my computer whenever they want to use skype to talk to my sister in New Zealand so this would be very useful for them.

The rest I don't know about yet, but I'm pretty sure my little niece Riana would like a copy of Kung Fu Panda lol.

hoki424

12-14-2008, 03:38 AM

thanks for the oppurtunity to take part in this fantastic giveaway...

If i was lucky enough to be the chosen one I would share the epuipment with the seniors of our town.. at present i am volunteering to teach them how to use computers and we have to work on old computers running windows 98.. it is really hard to convince them of the value of cumputing using these machines..but if they do get it they really enjoy learning..
The value of the prize is equivilant to about half an anual pension for these old folks so it would truely be wonderful to win.
barb

hosanna

12-14-2008, 04:31 AM

What is love without caring, and what is caring without sharing? That is where the magic comes in. Though it will be like magic for me to own a Laptop for the first time, I will also be happy knowing that some people through my winning felt the HP MAGIC. I would also like the news media, major Newspapers and TV stations such as Africa Independent Television (AIT) Silverbird TV, Nigeria Television Authority (NTA), etc., in my country, to share in the MAGIC news, maybe FrontPage news or some interviews. You will be amazed to know how this will surprise a lot of people. Can ffice:smarttags" /><ST1:place>Africa</ST1:place> feel the magic too? If I win, I would like to share thus:
ffice:office" /><O:p></O:p>
(1) I'll give HP Pavilion dv4-1143go Notebook with Windows or dv4-1145go Entertainment Notebook with Windows, HP Mini 1000 Series with Windows and kungfu Panda (DVD Blu-ray + Microsoft Office Home & Student 2007 to HOPE Family Ministries, Inc. Center of HOPE, Stockbridge, GA 30281, USA. Reason: They have an all girls program GEMS - Girls who Empower, <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:place>Mentor</ST1:place></st1:City> and Succeed. They are starting an interactive workshop with girls from <st1:country-region><ST1:place>Swaziland</ST1:place></st1:country-region>, <ST1:place>Africa</ST1:place>. They need updated computer hardware to complete this project. I really don't know much about them, but I prefer to give the items to those who would not go ahead and sell them, which I believe they will not do. They advertised for this assistance. Their website is: http://www.hopefamilyministries.org
<O:p></O:p>
(2) HP HDX 18 series Premium Notebook PC with windows to a former neighbor who now lives 6 kilometers away from me but still comes to my office twice a day, (morning and evening) to use my computer, that is if there is electric power (because mine is a desktop). It’s not news that sometimes we have like 1 hour-a-day power supply, sometimes we get lucky and get about 6 hours-a day. But with a laptop you can get it charged the period there is power supply. Most of her business is done online, but she dreads going to cyber cafes which abound everywhere and which has virtually been taken over by scammers. And you don’t want to be found among such persons. She continually prays to get a laptop, on loan, hire-purchase or by HP MAGIC.

(3) The HP Photosmart C6380 Wireless AIO, and HP 564 Series Photo Value Pak goes to my brother who runs a business center and uses an old printer, DeskJet 895Cxi printer. This machine will be priceless to him.
<O:p></O:p>
I’m a 47 year old man and only want what I need. I need a mobile computer that I can travel with, because my computer is also my office. I would like to keep the HP TouchSmart IQ816 PC, Corel VideoStudio X and HP MediaSmart Connect. These will help me immensely as I also go into the business of music and home movie editing which requires updated computer hardware and software. My Computer system is an OmniTech PC Pentium 3, 648 Mhz, 224Mb, and 7.5 Gb HD, which I replaced with a 60Gb HD. I also use it as a TV because I installed a PCI TV Capture card in it. The Monitor is a Dell 14 inch. My former system was a P2 which was damaged by a surge in power supply, which was due to erratic power supply.
<O:p></O:p>
I’ll give my present computer to a family with 5 children (2 in the university) because they need a computer as well as a TV. Since I have a TV card installed in the computer they can now have a replacement for their TV which has visited the repairman several times and is still with the repair man. Also there is a DVD ROM in the system for them to use in playing DVDs.
<O:p></O:p>
This is my story, this is my song
Praising my Savoir all the day long

yvilla

12-14-2008, 04:45 AM

I would so love to give the HDX and the printer to my grandson. He's between highschool and college right now, and will clearly need a good laptop and peripherals for college.

The Pavilion would be donated to the Domestic Violence Project of Farmworker Legal Services, a very small, financially strapped non-profit agency. Not only would it assist the staff greatly in everyday office and research tasks, but also in delivering educational presentations taken out to the community.

The Media Smart and Mini would probably be given away as well, but I'm really not sure who the worthy recipient(s) would be.

I'm truly lusting after the TouchSmart for myself, but it would also be put to good use, as I spend hours and hours as the volunteer website administrator for the Ronald McDonald House of Durham, North Carolina. (http://ronaldhousedurham.org/)

neil.

12-14-2008, 04:56 AM

Well, I have a twin brother and three older sisters, my brother and two of my sisters have school age kids so theyed get a laptop each and I would keep the touchsmart.

RaginCajun

12-14-2008, 05:05 AM

If i were to win the contest, I would give away the laptops by looking around my college campus (when the next semester starts in January) for the people with the oldest laptops, then I would just hand them one of the new HP laptops. I have seen a few laptops that still run Windows 2000 around campus. I would give away the printer and the software to the Honors building computer lab.

NathanScott

12-14-2008, 05:14 AM

Put simply: I'd give the HDX 18 to my older sister, the dv4 to my younger sister, the MediaSmart Connect and the printer to my parents, and I'd probably be selfish with the TouchSmart and Mini 1000. The "why's" would be because they're all several generations behind in technology and like most are struggling financially.

Tetragramm

12-14-2008, 05:19 AM

GrayArea2467

12-14-2008, 05:23 AM

Currently I am attending college at UCI so if I won this prize I would share it will all my ramen loving college friends.

For myself I would keep the hp mini.

The 18 inch laptop I would give to my boyfriend. His old computer is on its last leg. It has had one to many all night programing sessions.

The touch would go to my one friend who is currently without computer at all. All his money goes to rent or food so this would be a great treat for him.

The smaller laptop would go to another friend who overheated her computer. She needs a new laptop for all the MCAT studying she plans to do. She cant by one herself because she is using all her money to put herself and her sister through college with her current 3 jobs.

The mediasmart and kung panda would go to my staving art school friend.

The software would all be used to update the computer in the campuswide honors program study room so it could help the most students possible.

The picture paper would be used to decorate this room with all the great college times we have had.

Finally the printer would go to my daddy since he was kind enough to rush his printer up to me at college when mine died the night before my huge paper was due.

Thanks for the chance to make a bunch of college kids happy.

wahoomcdan

12-14-2008, 05:44 AM

I would share two of the laptops with a local library and a non-profit shelter that provides bridge housing for single moms with kids. The library always has more people in the afternoons and evenings waiting foir internet access that it has PC's. Another laptop would be a big help. The shelter, called Hearth, provides housing for a year or so to single moms with kids while the mom's seek job training skills and search for work. The PC could be used for job search or entertainment for the kids.

It would be an awesome experience to share the wealth and I look forward to it.

Rob Alexander

12-14-2008, 05:56 AM

The links are broken to the details of the notebook PCs, but I would give either the HDX 18 series or the Pavilion dv4 to my local humane society, whicnever one seemed to meet their needs best. They have a very old computer right now and that would be very helpful to them. Since I already have a printer that works well, I would also donate the Photosmart C6380 printer to them. That would help them print out photos of the animals to post in local stores for adoption.

I would give the Office copies to students at my college as I already have Office. I would also give away the Corel VideoStudio because I'm too invested in Premiere Pro to change, and I don't have kids, so I'd find someone who does for the Kung Fu Panda.

I'd give the remaining notebook to my wife, keep the HP Mini 1000 for myself and set up the Touchsmart as a media center PC in our living room.

craigkes

12-14-2008, 06:08 AM

There are a lot programs/individuals that could benefit from so much technology and it would be tough to decide on only one. If I had to choose I would have to say I would give at least one of the laptops to the Childrens Hospital in Detroit, Michigan. This in addition to the movies (of course) and part of the software. Being a medical student I have seen what some of these children have to go through on a daily basis and I can tell you that they keep a smile on their face through it all. They are very strong kids and have such a great attitude about everything. It's almost like they are immune to the disease that is attacking them, at least in spirit. I know that this would surely cheer them up a bit. I would either send it to them or drop it off while I was in town if I were to win this.

brownar

12-14-2008, 06:11 AM

Below I have listed the items in the giveaway along with why and who I'd like the items given to. Thank you for your consideration.

Hardware
* HP TouchSmart IQ816 PC - My friend Ms. Williams. I recently took a new job which is a 125 mile round trip commute. I am a single mom and would not have been able to take the job if she hadn't volunteered to take my daughter to school and pick her up. She was layed off from her job this week and as such no longer has a computer. Her laptop was a work laptop and has to be given back to the company. Giving this gift would only stracth the surface of saying Thank-You for all that she is doing for my daughter and me. Also, she has a 19" TV, so I would set this PC up for her with a TV Connector and she could use Windows Media Center to watch Television on a bigger higher quality screen.

* HP HDX 18 series Premium Notebook PC - Dad. My father is a Pastor at a very small church. The church doesn't have much technology at all. My Dad likes to go to the church during the week to study and prepare for his sermons. Giving him this laptop would allow him to also type his lessons while at the church. Also he could use the laptop to show media during Sunday School. He mentioned to me that he would like to start recording his sermons onto CD. With this laptop I can get him a web cam and he'll be able to record it directly to the laptop and encode it on DVD if he likes.

* HP MediaSmart Connect - Me. I would keep the MediaSmart connect for myself. With the long commute of my new job I don't get to watch TV during the week. I record a few shows on my desktop computer, but because it's in the cold room off the garage I never get to watch them and end up having to delete them as space runs out. This would allow me to catch the shows on Saturday evening in the comfort of my living room.

* HP Pavilion dv4 series Entertainment Notebook PC (with Windows Live) - Ms. Fu. I have known my friend Ms. Fu for 15 years now, and she is hands down one of the most considerate, selfless people I have ever met. Just as a quick example... as I mentioned early my new job is a long commute, when I got the new job she bought me a mountable GPS for my car. I would love to be able to give this gift to her, it's something she would never buy for herself. I think it would be really great to give her something just because. It's great to be able to give back to people who give selflessly of themselves all the time.

* HP Mini 1000 (with XP)- Mom. My Mom is 51 years old and she's going back to school to get her B.A. I'm so very proud of her. Alot of times when she's on the go it would be nice if she could check her email, do the occasional internet search and write a Word document. Her laptop is a bit bulky to satisfy the need of always having around. I would give her the HP Mini and buy her an air card so that she would have internet access in a nice small portable package.

Accessories
* HP Photosmart C6380 Wireless AIO (printer) - Ms. Williams, this would be a nice compliment to the Touch Smart to have a printer that didn't need to be hard wired to the TV.
* HP 564 Photo Value Pak - Ms. Williams, it goes hand in hand with the printer.

Software - I would distribute the software licenses to my Mother,Father,Ms. Williams and Ms. Fu.
* Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate/Home Premium or Microsoft Windows XP pre-installed on all units (Mini 1000 runs XP)
* Microsoft Office Home and Student Edition 2007 (Student-Teacher Edition) 1 DVD with 3 licenses
* Microsoft Windows Live
? Corel VideoStudio X2

Entertainment
* Kung Fu Panda (2 widescreen DVDs; 1 widescreen Blu-ray disc) - I would keep 1 DVD and give the other to Ms. Williams. The three of us saw the movie together and she and my daughter really enjoyed the movie.

Thank you for the opportuntiy to pass these gifts on to those in my life whom are so Very deserving.

Cheers

nicko.dvz

12-14-2008, 06:14 AM

As I already have a good notebook, I'd likely give the stuff to relatives (maybe a few friends) for Christmas (high school student = not much money). The TouchSmart definitely to my parents, because they're always craning their heads around the wall to see the TV while they're in the kitchen cooking. The MediaSmart Connect to my parents, they're still on analogue TV, the premium notebook to my brother, the entertainment notebook to my Nanna, her PC is getting old, I would keep the printer, I'm in need of a new one and probably the mini 1000, because my laptop is a huge desktop replacement. Kung Fu Panda disks would have to go to some of my little cousins. Is that it??? There is so many things in the package. I'll make sure I send pics of people getting their gifts if I win.
Thanks for the opportunity,
Nick Darveniza.

aml1676

12-14-2008, 06:15 AM

Each year, my coworkers and I sponsor families through the United Way's United Christmas Service. These are families who've lost everything, or had nothing to begin with. This year we're sponsoring three families... all three are single moms with kids, most of them school-age. If I win this prize, the three notebooks will go to those families, along with the Kung Fu Panda DVDs and the other software.

In addition to this charity, the company I work for does fundraising year-round for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. I would donate the MediaConnect Media Center to be raffled off in the next fundraising event.

The TouchSmart and the printer I would keep to replace my aging desktop and printer, but I'd donate the used ones to another charitable organization.

I'd love to win... keeping fingers and toes crossed!

firemind

12-14-2008, 06:29 AM

One notebook for me (my hp nc6000 is becoming too old) and netbook for my girlfriend.
I’ll donate every other thing to charity, because it must be Xmas for everyone!

z2z

12-14-2008, 06:36 AM

A lot of these gadgets can be put to good use and given to those who need it. I know how I can help so many people and make a difference in their lives with these computers.

I know how I can give the HDX to my father who's worked so hard over the years. I know the it would be very valuable to my father in his engineering job especially because of its big screen for auto cad and other engineering work also for its processing power in simulation and rendering work.

I would give the dv4 and the printer to my little brother who's going off to college in a few years. I know how helpful this computer and printer would be to him for all his college work and document printing needs.

I would give the mini to a local shop salesman. I know how helpful it would be for his small business. I would install accounting software on it and teach him how to use it effectively. It would greatly improve his business and help him work efficiently.

The touch smart is a wonderful piece of technology and I know how my local school could benefit from this greatly. It would help the teachers do presentations during their biology and chemistry classes. The big screen is a plus because it can be viewed by a lot of students.

The Mediasmart connect and Corel Videostudio I would give to my brother who works in the media department of the university. It would be a nice piece of hardware and software to accompany them and their work.

The dvds I would probably keep myself :)

Cold Flame

12-14-2008, 06:44 AM

The Touchsmart would be kept for myself and my wife. One of the laptops would go to my son because he is getting to the age where he needs his own machine to do homework on. One of the other machines would be donated to a charity; whether it would be a woman's shelter or otherwise. The last machine would go to my two sisters as it's very difficult to stay in contact with them given their lack of access to a computer (they have to use the schools).

Thanks for the opportunity, Jason! =)

onajourney9

12-14-2008, 06:59 AM

One of the laptops I would keep for myself to replace my current one which has a super-http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_K8GGrpz6Q9I/SUCIMCQ9f-I/AAAAAAAAADQ/ccjGWo0vN94/s320/computer+screen+crack.jpg (http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_K8GGrpz6Q9I/SUCIMCQ9f-I/AAAAAAAAADQ/ccjGWo0vN94/s1600-h/computer+screen+crack.jpg)cracked screen that is getting worse every day. That will be a big help financially and also for my business.

The other computers I am super excited to give away! As I pondered who they would go to, it came to me that it would make sense to give them to aspiring Virtual Assistants - especially those who are financially struggling and can't afford to buy the computer that is so integral to this type of work. To choose these people, I will reach out to the VA organizations I volunteer for and ask for nominations. I will give the computers to aspiring VAs (small business owners) who volunteer for these professional organizations selflessly and give of themselves without expectation of reward or thanks. I have met so many Virtual Assistants who have awesome potential and are doing everything right to grow their business - they just don't have adequate tools to get them to the ultimate level they are capable of. Making a small difference in several people's lives would be such a great Christmas present to myself. When you give, you get in so many intangible ways! Many thanks to HP and all the bloggers for being so generous!

greeney

12-14-2008, 07:10 AM

I would give one of the laptops (the Pavilion?) to my grandmother, who is still using a Gateway P2 with Windows 95 and wants to write a book. She'd get Office 07 as well.
I'd also probably give the netbook to my sister or my mother, both could benefit from a new computer.
I'd keep the HDX notebook, and the Touchsmart, though it would definitely be used by my whole family.

MaRSFlip

12-14-2008, 07:20 AM

That's definitely too much hardware for a single person so I would share the prize with my family and friends. I'd keep the HP TouchSmart IQ816 and retire my old Athlon-64 desktop tower and CRT monitor, which would save me a lot of much needed desk space in my cramped room. The Photosmart C6380 printer would come in handy when I print my PhD thesis (I'm a researcher in Developmental Biology), and the HP Mini 1000 would be great for writing it on my daily commute to the lab (and hopefully I would finish it sooner). The HP HDX 18 would go to my cousin, Armando, a struggling landscape architect who'd appreciate the large screen real-estate and horsepower for his CAD work. My parents are a little behind the times so I would give them the HP Pavilion dv4 so that they can finally get on the internet (I'll admit that this would not be an entirely unselfish gift, I would be trading "tech support" for Mom's cookings). In don't have room for a TV (or much time to watch it anyway) so the HP MediaSmart Connect would go to my friend Sara (giving me an excuse to visit her more). And finally the Kung Fu Panda DVDs would go to the kids in the family.

As you can see my entry most probably isn't the most altruistic, as I just wish to share some joy with my loved ones, so it would be perfectly understandable if you would prefer to award someone who would be willing to donate the prize to some charity or institution in need. In any case, let me say thanks for the chance to enter this contest,

JonHPMagic

12-14-2008, 08:24 AM

Hi Jason,

I would give the following away to my son's pre-school (Hagley Community College Preschool, 510 Hagley Ave, Christchurch, New Zealand)--it's in a low decile area and is community supported. They would be able to make much better use of the extra computers than I could--they would use it to make up the children's personalised annual Achievement Book (which contains photos of each child's activities) that, as a parent, I find is a priceless memento of my son's year. I'm sure they would also make use of the computers doing admin, etc.

So, I would give the following away:

HP HDX 18 series Premium Notebook PC (http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shopping/computer_can_series.do?storeName=computer_store&category=notebooks&a1=Category&v1=Entertainment+powerhouse&series_name=HDX18t_series)
HP Pavilion dv4 series Entertainment Notebook PC (with Windows Live) (http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shopping/series_can.do?storeName=computer_store&landing=notebooks&a1=Category&v1=Mobility)
Any bits of the software packs that I didn't need (e.g. the additional Office licences)
Heck, they could probably have the Kung Fu Panda DVDs (if they thought it was suitable for pre-schoolers...)

All the best,

Jon

(http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shopping/computer_can_series.do?storeName=computer_store&category=notebooks&a1=Category&v1=Mini&series_name=mini1000_series&a1=Category&v1=Mini)

autodafe20

12-14-2008, 09:36 AM

If I won I would send computers to family members who don't have one so we could all keep in touch easier.

twinjackie

12-14-2008, 10:14 AM

What a great giveaway! Heres what I would do if I won!

The first PC I would replace my husbands. It is OLD and SLOW and all it does is frustrate him. I was thinking of getting him a new one for his birthday, we will see if I win first :)

The second-laptop- I would give to my sister. She will be entering college soon and everyone needs a laptop for school now! She would really use it to its advantage!

The third I would give to my grandmother. She was just diagnosed with cancer and is currently going through chemo. She LOVES to play online games and her computer is so slow! I dont even think she realizes how slow it is. I would love to give this to her!

The last I would give to a family that I took care of in the NICU at Rainbow Babies and Childrens Hospital. With the medical bills taking over it would be a great present. The mom recently lost her job because she wanted to stay with her dying son. Its a horrible ecomony.

samanthapayn

12-14-2008, 10:19 AM

My cousin Sara seriously needs one of these, she's a senior in high school and her laptop is in a sad state at the moment!! The screens hinges are basically useless, she has to tape it in order for it to stay upright, it's actually quite funny. Several of the keys are missing and her "z" button is completely useless. She can't spell "Zoinks" or "Zimbabwe" what's a girl to do??? That dog just don't bark no more, i guess we're going to have to put 'em down <img alt="Sad" border="0">

But i guess she's learned to work around it; she uses a 2 instead of a Z and it passes off quite well. If anyone can handle the sad states she's in, it's her. She carries her duct tape around wherever she brings her laptop, it's quite sad (and hilarious) to watch her frantically rap that tape around her computer every time we're at a Panera. All she wants to do is chat with hot guys who love Twilight and Christian Bale as much as she does, is that so much to ask???

So, yeah i'd definitely give one of the laptops to her, and the desktop to my mom, even though most of the time i have to help her check her email (what would she do without me???) her old computer is in a sad state of affairs, it's a '98 for god sakes!!!

coolmob

12-14-2008, 10:21 AM

well i am thankful to god that this holiday season at least i dont i have a lot of problems due to all the financial crisis around the world. but i know a lot of people who have. just like my neighbor who has just lost his job. from earning approx $2000 a month he is down to nothing. his son is one of my bestest buddies and i would be giving him at least one laptop and anything else that he wants.

i would keep the touchsmart for myself and give the mini to my nephew and also a kungfu panda dvd.

another laptop would go to my girlfriend. her parents are against our relation and they have taken her mobile and laptop so that she cant contact me in any way. they dont even let her go out of the house alone, only with either her dads personal assistant or her elder brother. i want to give it to her in front of her family and tell them that if they dont care about her, i do, i love her. this way at least we can stay in touch online.

rest i would give away to my school who take free evening classes everyday for poor children. they could use all that for their benefit.

well thats my story. hope i win it.

lunaocho

12-14-2008, 10:31 AM

Hello,

Whoever gets this is certainly hitting the jackpot.

Since I cannot afford to get many new electronics for my family, I would give a notebook to my daughter and the pc to my mother. I would keep a notebook so I can take my work on the road with me. That would be helpful.

One notebook is definitely going to the local Boys and Girls Club. I love that there is a place for young kids to go, especially the ones that cannot afford the Y or after school sports programs.

What a nice contest in that sharing is part of the plan.

gordoncahill

12-14-2008, 10:40 AM

Except for the Touchsmart (for me) and the 18" (for my partner- she's starting uni again next year) I'm going to give the rest of the prize to my brother. He's trying really hard to get his life together after making some very poor life decisions. He's now a single dad doing his best to raise his two kids. His old computer, which I gave him, is now 5 years old and constantly breaking down. I'd give him a laptop and his son the netbook for school. They could share the rest of the prizes between the family. I'd really love to reward him for trying so hard to get his life back on track.

Gordon

dawngreenfie

12-14-2008, 03:34 PM

I am a 5th grade teacher at Parkview Elementary School in Eagle-Mountain Saginaw ISD in Northeast Fort Worth Texas. I have heard from 3 out of the 12 parents that I have already conferenced with before Thanksgiving break that they are in such financial crisis that their children will do without anything this year.
If I were to be the lucky recipient of your prize package all of the technology and equipment would be used to benefit the students that I teach. I would supplement the classroom that currently teach to make sure that I am able to effectively teach the students and make them responsible citizens, as they are the ones who will be taking care of you and me in our aging years. I would continue to use the technology in my classroom to benefit these 88 students and the future 5th graders that I teach. After making sure that the classroom was effective, I would love to make sure that the families that I have heard from that are struggling to get by have a Christmas for their children. Regardless of whether I win this or not, I will still do the latter; however, this generous prize package would allow me to reach even more families in need. I hope that you will consider me and my students when you make your selection for your winner!
Dawn Greenfield
:D

fluegas5

12-14-2008, 04:32 PM

I would keep one and give the rest to my daughter's school. Her school is K-12 and only has 50 students so they don't qualify for the technology grants that other school's get. They only have a couple of pc's for all the kids to share so needless to say they would be thrilled to have them.

I would gladly write a follow up to post on how the hardware had been used.

Thank you for the wonderful giveaway!

dor

12-14-2008, 04:42 PM

Here's how I'm going to use the prize, on the rare occasion that I win:

The TouchSmart and one of the Kong Fu Panda discs will go to the Down syndrome children's hostel in my town. My sister used to volunteer there, and she told me the costs of running the place are so high that the management can't afford a new computer. I think that a new computer can really make a difference in their life - it'll show them that my town really does care about them.

The HDX 18 and another Kong Fu Panda disc will go to a family in my town who just got their house renovated and desperately needs a new computer. Their use of computers is pretty straightforward, and it sums up to watching movies, surfing the internet, browsing photographs and writing essays.

Last but not least, the dv4 and the printer will go to my sister. She's living in her college's dorms, and she has just started a long term literature research. I hope the computer would help her along the way.
The MediaSmart and the Mini 1000, as selfish as it may sound, will stay with me... I'm running out of music storage space :-)

AlbinoAsian

12-14-2008, 04:45 PM

Sorry for the long post, but these are the details with what I would do with it

If I were to win the HP Magic Giveaway, I would give it away to a whole community, by using it to build an E-learning centre, where the children of this farming community in northeast Thailand could come and learn for free.
<O:p
The truth is though that this farming community is not exactly a remote community, in fact it is only about 20 minutes drive out of Korat, one of the biggest cities in Thailand. In the city, most children get the opportunity to go to good schools with well-trained teachers. They have great English programs and up-to-date computer labs. Even the poorer government schools still provide the kids with the basis they need in order to “go far” if they study hard. The situation out here though, is a much different story. There is a small primary school; in fact, it is directly opposite my house. Most of the teachers walk into the class, put on a teaching video and then walk out again. While the teacher is gone, the students just cannot resist the urge to change the channel over to something a little more interesting. It is a shame though, because watching cartoons and soap operas is not going to be enough to get them into university. In fact, a mere handful of these kids will even end up starting senior high school.
<O:p</O:p
My wife and I moved to this village this. It is where my wife was born and raised, and where we are planning to raise our kids in the near future. When we moved out here, we really wanted to give to the community. To really be able to impact this community, we knew we had to start with the younger generation. By teaching them English, we could improve their chances of completing a higher education, and provide them a stepping-stone to obtain a decently paid job in the future. The way Thai society works is that, once a child is working and earning an income, he/she gives a percentage of that back to their parents and family. It is essentially their social security system. If the young of people of this village were to go on to earn a reasonable income, then they would channel that money back into the community, thus lifting the standard of life for the whole community.
<O:p</O:p
Right now, our home is ALREADY an English learning centre. My wife decided to paint a sign one day, she hung it out the front, and within a few days, our living room was transformed into a small classroom. My wife and I currently teach English six days a week, to kids between the ages of six to fifteen. I also have a paid teaching position in town during school hours, in order to provide an income for our family and to enable us to give to the community.
<O:p</O:p
When we were making the move here from Australia, I had a crazy thought “wouldn’t it be cool if we could set up some kind of E-learning center!” I thought about all the different possibilities of using software and educational games to teach the kids English … for free! Research already shows that putting children in a multi-sensory environment like a computer lab accelerates the learning process. Apart from that, it would just be plain FUN. A great number of Thai children do not like to learn English, because they perceive it as too difficult. If you got these kids onto a computer though, they would have such a great time that they would forget they were even “studying”. In addition to teaching English, I would also be able to teach the children many other things, whether it was as basic as using Windows, Microsoft Word & Excel, Photoshop, creating a website or maybe something more advanced. The closest thing that any of them have come to computers is for the few that have played the odd game or two at an online-gaming café in town. Recently I have come across several skilled Thai programmers / developers / graphic artists online. My favourite J2ME twitter application – jibjib (http://sugree.com/project/jibjib (http://sugree.com/project/jibjib)) – happens to be developed by a brilliant young Thai guy. Whether the kids that come to the E-learning centre end up becoming developers like him, choose a profession where they must use a computer on a daily basis, or merely simply had the opportunity to enjoy learning, it would be worth it.
<O:p</O:p
After a little while dreaming, I eventually resigned myself to the fact that it was not really a possibility… well for the time being at least. There was no way I could afford the hardware to set it up. Then, I saw this competition, and I was inspired to rethink the idea. So whether or not I win this prize thank you for re-inspiring me again. I know that even if it took me a while, I could in fact build up a small E-learning centre, and it would be worth the time and effort. If I were however to win this awesome giveaway, then the dream would become a reality overnight. The package has everything we need to make it happen – minus a few English teaching programs and some headphones. The number of computers in the package is perfect, as the average size of our classes is four children. The fact that they are all relatively compact portable computers is absolutely ideal too, as we have limited space. We could not fit four or five desktop systems and desks into the current living room / classroom even if we wanted to. The possibilities and ways to use the touch screen in the classroom are endless. I would just love to see the look on a kids face as he/she interacts with the characters on-screen. Another huge bonus would be the printer, as I have been intending to buy a printer for a while now, in order to print out worksheets for the students. Taking the files into the print shop in town can be a hassle, not to mention the extra step of wiping my USB thumb-drive clear of viruses every time I come home.
<O:p</O:p
I do apologize for this email being so long, I am not even sure if you will be still reading this at this point, but a big thanks to you Digital Home Thoughts, Microsoft and HP for the great competition. I have uploaded a few pictures of our English centre in its current state.
First picture (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v203/tom_dts/TomTeaching.jpg) – me teaching, my wife’s Grandmother is on the left. She comes in from time to time to just to watch this strange white person speaking an even stranger language.
Second picture (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v203/tom_dts/TuuTeaching.jpg) – is of my wife participating with the kids in a skit / drama to practice their English.
Third picture (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v203/tom_dts/CurrentTech.jpg) – is our current implementation of technology in the classroom. Where would I be without my trusty old iRiver h340!
By some great MAGIC miracle were we chosen to be recipient of this amazing giveaway, I would definitely send you some more photos of the new E-learning English centre - in use - as soon as possible.

A happy and safe Christmas to you
Thomas Beckingham
(AlbinoAsian)

MomDot

12-14-2008, 05:01 PM

First, thank you for this contest. I have entered almost all the HP giveaway contests out there because I am that determined to win.
For as long as I can remember I have been surrounded my heros in everyday life and I believe it has turned me into one. While my aspirations have all yet to be reached, I do strive daily for excellence in family and business.
When my husband joined the military, I really didn’t know what to think. We were both young and like all young people, we “went with the flow”. 4 months after entering the Air Force, right out of college, 9/11 hit and the world changed drastically and so did our new marriage. Now my husband was on trainings and trips and school like we had never thought before and it was whirlwind for years. But we settled into it and were able to be a part of something great.
At the end of 2005, my husband was taken to Afghanistan and left me in a city alone, with no family or friends, to care for our then 10 month old. But rather then crawl in a hole, which some days I felt was the only option, we worked together overseas and created a charity for Afghan orphans. I worked diligently over here in the states to attract attention for the program, sometimes emailing and getting on the phone for hours and hours a night, trying to get news attention, and my husband worked in Afghanistan, finding out what we needed to do to complete our ideas. Eventually the project was picked up by some local media and it spun from there. We were able to collect over 1200 kites around the world to send to orphanages in Afghanistan to give those children a small glimmer of hope. Through the military and the US embassy, we were able to ship them over and have them passed out. Ill never forget the feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction. Unfortunately, with my husband now on his way home in 2006, without a liaison there, the project was impossible to continue.
I spent the next two years launching myself into project after project online and quickly became a ‘go to guru’ for help with moms wanting to start online boutiques. I created countless resumes for strangers, websites for strangers, and help create and launch several online businesses. Throughout all this, I wanted something that was for myself, my own. I had dabbled in a bit of everything and finally found something I loved other then just being a consultant. I started my own business in fall of 2007 on eBay, that eventually moved into a full time store online where I was able to work from home. I invested in my products and hand created everything. Single handedly I was able to get my product into stores and sell off my website. But then a fire struck in Jan 08 and I lost all my materials, we lost all our brand new Christmas presents, our couches, our mattresses, our linens, everything in the kitchen…the list goes on and on. Worse, we were exiting the military in a few weeks, and with only the clothes on our back. The items that made it through the fire and soot damage were sent to a professional cleaner, where they spent several months “restoring”. Meanwhile, I moved in with our daughter to my mother in laws, while my husband too his first civilian job in another state.
Eventually the rest of our household goods arrived, and the good old military managed to break half of what made it out of the fire. It just seemed to never end. But the great thing was that we could all move together and my daughter and I were able to meet up with my husband, find a place to live, and literally start over. New household goods, no military, new state, new job….
I started my business back up again and it has been great. I cant afford all the newest technology to keep it running as effectively as I would love to, but I am blessed with what I do have. I also started a blog and have been very fortunate to meet with and spend my days with mentoring and connecting with other women with aspirations like myself. I have been trying to do my best to create content that assist women that were in my position and realize that things just happen to us, that we cant control everything, but we CAN control how we feel and react in life. It would have been easy to pack it up so many times, but NOT doing it, is a testimony of strength.
In the upcoming year, I am expanding to include a nonprofit. My past has inspired me to know that what I need to do in life isn’t done. All my experiences have given me an amazing idea that I am going to go forth with and should be ready in January 09. This equipement IS the start of this new project for me. It could be the foundation of the new office and being able to start with zero debt and create from get go, would be incredible.
I feel like life is a journey. Something that you cant count on everyday to be the same, but you can create and mold what you get out of it.
What I would do with the other computers is pass the magic. There are so many ideas for the other computers. I have people in my life that have touched me and could use them, but I honestly want to take one into public, go to a mall, and stop people and ask about their years, their life, how they have been affected the last year and then LIVE reward someone in front of anyone that walks by, and change their Christmas with a computer right then and there. I would love to take a camera and capture someone’s joy with a random act of kindness from a stranger and share it with the world on you tube. I hope it could inspire others to pick an angel off the tree and give as well.
I also would like to take one computer and give it back away to someone on my blog. The reason is because we did a Christmas of dreams giveaway and I was able to solicit over $2500 worth of items and give it to three people that really needed it (one to a woman that lost her husband, one to a growing family that has been through some hard times, and one to someone to hand out to the local hospital where her child was at), but there were so many more deserving stories and lives. I would like to pick one more out and give one away.
The last computer I would like to keep as the first donation to the charitable foundation I am starting. If I won, not only would the equipment help in launching, but be the first actual donation that would go on to be something greater. Its just amazing to think about.
I hope this story shows you that I am someone whom tries her best to be a part of something bigger and beyond who just I am. I will continue to give and know that I will be blessed in return.
Thankyou for the chance,
Trisha Haas
www.momdot.com

tik1207

12-14-2008, 05:18 PM

puch_puch

12-14-2008, 05:27 PM

I'd share my prize with my friend Mika. He has just graduated and uses his old PC for work. He cannot afford to buy a new PC quite yet, so he would be glad to get a nice and shiny new PC from Santa ;) I'd share the Media Smart with him as well, as we often watch movies together at his place.

tuxrider

12-14-2008, 05:44 PM

OK, here is how I would like to share the computers if I win the contest

1) We have a a very old desktop at home right now, so I would love to
have the TouchSmart PC for me and my family.

2) I would give the HP Mini 1000 series notebook to my Dad which he
could take to his office. He is learning how to work on computers and a
notebook for him would help him in the task. Besides, it would be a
great way of saying thank you for raising me up. :-)

3) I have a relative who's financially weak, his dad's business has been
erratic and so he is studying for a job in finance as well as working
at a low level position in an accountancy company to make ends meet. I
would give the laptop to him to aid his studies in finance.

4) I would donate a laptop, all the software and a printer to a local computer training
center in my neighbourhood. They impart computer training at very low fees to
students of economically weaker sections. Unfortunately, the machines
there are very old due to lack of funds and so I would like to give them a laptop, a printer and all the software.

kooliospt

12-14-2008, 06:05 PM

Winning this package would mean so much to me as I am a giving person. My reward is feeling good by giving. I would give the two laptops to two of my friends that are in dire need. We are all college students. One of my friends is a secondary education major. He is in a financial strain and it would be so nice if he could have a laptop. His current laptop is such a mess and very outdated. It would have constant problems after I have fixed it many times, but it has finally met its' end. He is also such a giving person and a gentleman. He would rather give then receive, but it is about time that he receives something. What he gives to me is love from a friend which is to me very precious since I don't receive love that often. Every time I see him he gives me a big hug and picks me up even if it's around a whole bunch of people. He treats me like a brother. My other friend is a geology major. His whole life has been a financial strain on him. I try to help him as much as I can. If it weren't for me last spring, he would not even be in school because of financial issues. But a computer would be one less thing he would have to worry about. He has always been there me when I needed a talk. So thanks for this wonderful opportunity for this chance to win something so magnificent.

SpencerAR

12-14-2008, 06:18 PM

I'm an IT professional recently employed after almost nine months of being without a job. I currently own a number of old a/o "hand-me-down" PC's that I use to accomplish my and wife's tasks around the house. Were I to win, I would give my wife the TouchSmart (she's never had a new PC), give one of the notebooks to my friend (he helped me get the job I now have and he is looking for a new PC already), I would keep one of the notebooks and the AIO for myself, and refurbish and donate most of my old equipment (I have at least 6 desktops/laptops and 2 AIO's) to personal clients (on limited budgets), friends and my wife's coworker (he doesn't own a computer, and he has helped my wife - like cover her shifts when she's needed to leave for baby emergencies).

Thanks for hosting this contest,

Spencer

MsMalevolent

12-14-2008, 06:42 PM

Gordo

12-14-2008, 06:47 PM

I would keep the following for myself if I won:
• HP TouchSmart IQ816 PC
• HP HDX 18 series Premium Notebook PC
• HP MediaSmart Connect

For all of the remaining prizes I would authorize Jason Dunn to immediately randomly select valid contents entries for each prize for all of the entries in this contest. All contest rules for entry in the original contest would apply, however I would NOT expect the winners to share the prize. I want to give something back to this community, that I enjoy reading on a daily basis.

follick

12-14-2008, 07:17 PM

I have an unemployed friend who needs a laptop for job hunting and a printer for resumes. So there goes one laptop, the printer and the photo bundle. My brother could use a netbook, he works as a truck driver, so there goes the mini. I have several other friends and relatives who are tight financially and could use a laptop. The Touchsmart would go to my kids. I haven't been able to get them much in the way of presents this year so this would make them very happy.

suelee000

12-14-2008, 07:24 PM

If I win...

I would keep the SmartTouch. My sister. She's never liked laptops, but it's possible that the Entertainment notebook would change her mind. So if she likes the entertainment notebook, it would go to her. If she doesn't like it, she gets my 6 month old PC. I would keep the entertainment notebook for traveling if sis doesn't want it.

The printer would be mine, I have a multifunction B&W laser, but it's functions don't include anything with photos. My sister had been complaining about how some of the family photos are deteriorating.

The premium notebook would go to the University that I work for. The Library needs a notebook for inventory.

The mini notebook would go to my brother when he gets back from Iraq. He's a civilian DOD employee who works with Army Reserve units. We will have a Christams with him in February when he gets back. It would be nice to have something really substantial under the tree for him.

Kung Fu panda would go to my great niece and nephew.

Tina12312

12-14-2008, 07:49 PM

I would like to keep the HP HDX 18 series Premium Notebook PC because I have been wanting a laptop for a long time. The remainder of the prize package I would like to donate to St. Judes. I think it would be helpful for the patients and their families to use while undergoing treatments and make their lives a little easier during that time. The thing I love most about St. Judes is that "No child is ever turned away"; how wonderful is that. Here is some information on this great organization http://www.broadcastnewsroom.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=589231 . Thank you for the wonderful contest and the whole idea behind it of giving to others. Have a blessed holiday. :)

artmarcia

12-14-2008, 07:56 PM

This giveaway comes at this blessed time of sharing what we have with others to make their lives better. If I win, I will have a great time distributing all these electronic goodies. Over 600 students will benefit from the magic!

I am an elementary art teacher in an urban school district in Kansas. While the classroom teachers are given the latest technology, specials teachers--art, music, physical education and library--get ours much later, if at all. Usually we have to jump through major hoops, such as writing and administrating grants, to gain access to technology. I would like to honor and reward these hard-working professionals by sharing the laptops and printers with the other five people in my specials team.

The HP Pavilion DV4 Entertainment Notebook PC and HP HDX 18 series Premium Notebook PC would have excellent visual and auditory capabilities for the fine arts department. The touch screen features of the HP TouchSmart IQ816 PC would make it ideal for working with our learning disabled and English Speakers of Other Language students. The HP Mini 1000 would be perfect to take to district meetings to take notes or for our Physical Education teachers to track their students' progress. The HP MediaSmart Connect would help students share television programming, such as when the Winter Olympic Games are broadcast in 2010. As school began this fall our specials team presented a school wide unit on the Summer Olympic Games in Beijing.

Because it is wireless, our entire specials team could share the HP Photosmart C6380 wireless AIO printer. Visual examples would be more appealing for students in color than black and white--especially on the quality paper of the HP 564 Photo Value Pak.

The software will make all of the hardware work to its capacity. With the Corel VideoStudio X2teachers and parent volunteers in the PTO will have a great time making videos and slides shows of school activities to share at Parent Nights at the school.

We can't show Kung Fu Panda at school, because it is rated PG, but my sons and nephew would love this DVD.

Thanks for the opportunity to make our curriculum be even more exciting through the magic of technology.

Ironzey

12-14-2008, 08:32 PM

thunk

12-14-2008, 09:03 PM

My plan is to give 1 lappie to my parents and 1 lappie to a friend. I want to do this because neither has a computer or internet access right now, so they really miss out. 1 lappie for me to replace my aged current piece.

Then the desktop I'm thinking of a children's home, if it is still open. Probably most of the software to them also.

The all-in-one I'd like to be somewhere that I can use, my parents can use, and my friend can use.

The media whatsymathingamybob I've no idea :)

Many thanks!!

dnice

12-14-2008, 09:17 PM

This couldn't come at a more opportune time...

My son just went to college this fall, and due to finances, I wasn't able to provide him with a PC (laptop) to take. He was done remarkably well working in "old school" mode - taking notes on paper, spending lots of time in the computer labs - but it would be great to be able to prove him with a modern laptop (along with the Office suite) to go back with.

I have a couple of friends who are in extended job searches, and could make use of the other full size laptop.

I have an HP multifunction unit that works just fine, so the printer could go to the neighborhood after school program, who I'm sure could make good use of it, as well as one of the DVD's .

Stayers

12-14-2008, 09:37 PM

I'm approaching my retirement in 2009. At that time I will increase my volunteer activities even more. I instantly envisioned the HP Magic Giveaway as a way to launch three projects as I transition into the next stage of my life Some of the HP gifts will be given to support long term activities. Some donated for fund raisers and some kept for personal use as I retool. Here are my rercipients/proposals for the HP Magic:

Recipient #1

Senior Opportunities West Senior Center
1220 S. Seventh Ave.
Phoenix, AZ 85007
602-262-6610

A Small Call Home

7<SUP>th</SUP> Avenue and Buckeye Road in Phoenix, AZ! In the 1970’s the “60 Minutes” television show once described this stretch of inner-city Projects as “the most dangerous mile in America”. Today, much has changed and, as they say - much remains the same. At this intersection sits a high minority-populated, economically challenged Senior Adult community center. This is where I will house my HP Magic project. Many of the Seniors have family/grandchildren living a distance away. With the HP Magic gift I will plan and establish a regular on-site schedule where Seniors can call home using internet webcam and VoIP/Skype technology. With the permission of family members grandparents can virtually visit with their children, connecting with grandchildren classrooms as school projects and, once comfortable with the concept, even visit online with other Seniors who are tech savvy. There is life beyond Bingo.

Recipient #2

William R. Sullivan Elementary School
2 North 31st Avenue
Phoenix, AZ 85009
602-353-5220

Software for Sullivan

The software and server will be donated to a needy elementary school to complement its computer lab. W.R. Sullivan is a Pre-K through 8th grade school located in the heart of Arizona's desert and the “shadow” of the Arizona Capitol. This area is high in crime and unemployment and lacks expected amenities; there are no libraries, parks, and shopping centers. The school is part of the Murphy Elementary School District, which ranks third highest in at-risk students of the 20 districts comprising the Phoenix Metropolitan area. Nearly 96% of the students qualify for free meals. The school’s tax base consists of few homeowners and almost no business or industry sector. The significance of these conditions is that Sullivan School must educate nearly 1,000 of the city’s most underprivileged children with only meager monetary resources for instruction and maintenance.

Recipient #3
South Mountain Community College
7050 South 24<SUP>th</SUP> Street
Phoenix, AZ 85042
602-243-800

HP Scholarship Drive

One laptop will be donated to to my employer, South Mountain Community College, to be used as a raffle prize. 100 tickets will be sold at $50 each with all proceeds donated to the general scholarship fund. $5,000 generated from this activity will support a full-time student’s tuition for one year.

Each of these projects are capable of impacting a wide range of people, motivating some to give - - perpetuating the Spirit embraced by this Contest.

suann47

12-14-2008, 10:38 PM

I would give the desktop to my church and share the rest between me and my kids.

Yanis

12-14-2008, 10:43 PM

I would share this package with my family. My children all have young children and often have trouble making ends meet. However I would give one laptop to my wife who is studying and would be able to use it ni her studies.

Another laptop I would give to my daughter in law. She has one child and another on the way. She is able to work from home but has to provide her own IT equipment so I would give another laptop to her.

My desktop the would be redundant would go to My other daughter in law who is at home raising children. The printer would also go to one of my children.

manro

12-14-2008, 10:48 PM

Frankly, I don't consider this a sobbing story; it's just reality.

I've worked at this place for the last 6 years (an arts/film preservation institution) for the last 6 years, and last week, two of my co-workers were laid off - one (in her 40s) had been working there for the last 18 years, and the other, had been with us for four years.

SO, I'd keep the HP TouchSmart IQ816 PC because I really want a big screen to watch my DVDs! And I would give the HP HDX 18 series Premium Notebook PC to the co-worker who has worked at my company for 18 years, mostly because she doesn't own a computer at home (we kept offering her to help her buy one, but she said she'd never find a way to bring Internet there...) and would often stay at work WAY past her time just so she could catch up with her baseball stuff. She's a HUGE baseball fan.

I think I'd give the 2nd laptop to my partner too... :-) I'll be dead if I don't do that.

Since I got lucky to keep my job but had a salary cut too. Thanks!

sheri8259

12-14-2008, 11:51 PM

I would keep two of the computers for our family because we currently use our work laptops at home as our personal computers which we really shouldn't be doing.. I would give a third to my sister in law along with the printer. She is starting college in the fall and I know this will be something she will need. The last computer I will donate to a local school or charity that is need of computers. And my son will get the Kung Fu Panda DVD because he loves that movie!

blakebritton

12-15-2008, 12:55 AM

The way I look at things, I’m a pretty unremarkable kind of guy. I not a hero (not that I know of anyways) and I’m not really extraordinary. If I were to try and describe how I make a difference in people’s lives, I don’t know if I really could, but I could explain what I do on a daily basis. I know that making people smile can make a very tiny difference in my life, by making me feel better personally, but if I really break it down and look at it, it really can make a big difference in someone else’s life too. After all, someone could be having a pretty crappy day and if you just hold open a door, smile or ask how someone is doing, it shows some courtesy, empathy or just common humanity. I think that’s something that is really lacking in today’s society. In my opinion, if I show some of that, no matter how small, it might have a pay it forward kind of effect. At least, I hope it does. Karma is a powerful thing, and I’m hoping to rack up on the positive points. I also like to take pictures. A LOT of them. I’m no professional, but I’ve been told that if I really work at certain technical aspects of photography, like lighting and exposure, I can be great. I tend not to use computers to edit my photos, but find that if I take a shot of someone, that pesky pimple can make someone’s life a lot easier if it can just be erased. I guess this is what gives me the most pleasure. I capture moments, both that I’ve experienced and that others experience. I guess I’m good at this, and it’s a small way I can make a difference. I tend to have a knack for making people happy.
Now What about the HP Giveaway? I think that some of the new equipment could really benefit me in a big way. I could use more horsepower on the CPU, especially since I’m now dealing with larger and larger images, and they do take some processing power, especially if you’re doing a RAW 9 exposure panorama! So I’ll be perfectly honest here… I’m gonna keep the TouchSmart, the HDX and the MediaSmart. They are cool and I will put them to very good use.
Now I obviously already have a computer (two actually) so here’s what’s gonna happen.
First, I have a friend, William. He is the kindest, most deserving guy I know. he suffered from a case of meningitis when he was 15, and that led to some nasty brain damage. It’s caused him to be a little on the slow side and he can’t drive, but that hasn’t stopped his heart from growing. I’m going to give William my desktop computer that he’s been begging me for. He really needs an upgrade too. He’s still running on Windows 98!
Second, I have a laptop that I use right now. I’m an HP loyalist here. I own a dv9000t. It’s a superb laptop, and is still pretty darned fast. I would give this, along with the rest of the giveaway goodies to three deserving and needy families (hopefully with kids) in my area. Those families would be determined by The Salvation Army, The United Way and the church I attend, Grace Episcopal Church. The way I figure, it’s a good way to be unbiased and to give some really good stuff to those that could really use it.
So no sob story here, just the God’s honest truth. I hope to be able to see these peoples’ faces when they receive the totally awesome gifts. Wouldn’t that make an awesome Christmas story?

Ronstarusnak

12-15-2008, 01:02 AM

It seems like my Grandma, the main person of my article is getting the early stages of alzheimers or dimensia, it may be to early to tell, so all of you who read this so far thanks for your comments. Its very disheartening seeing he forget such small things, I ordered food for her and when the delivery guy came she though it was one of my Fathers old friends that lives in Florida. She thought she was a smoker and these little things, it's hard to think about. I think it's treatable and we don't even know yet, but maybe shes just being forgetful.

----------=-------

This isn't going to be a save the world story but I hope readers will
still be interested. I will start with how this package will effect me since that's
the least important. Okay, I will attempt to stray away from the sob stories.
Anyways I am 19 years old and I never went to college, I couldn't afford it and
My family moved way too much for it to work out, recently though I have been getting
into classes on line, I'm attempting to become a network administrator but that requires
me to have a working computer, my current one is horrible. It crashes randomly, and I am
constantly asking tech support forums for their help, having a new laptop would just enable
so much. I can not even begin to tell you how much. I have a desk top now and the portable
does not exist, when I heard about these give aways that was the first thing that came to my
mind, then I realized what else I could do if I won the package.

My sister is 22 and she just had her second baby, she is doing very well taking care of
them, but she can not afford anything not absolutely necessary. She has a computer now but it
is horrible, ads that have flash cause he computer to crash, she can not go on a lot of the
sites that she introduced me to, it's not a very fun thing to know. If I win this contest, and
I know I won't :( she without a doubt in my mind deserves a new laptop, on top of that I want
her to bhave the printer, she loves taking pictures of her babies and being able to print them
out would be amazing. I want to be able to give her something but I know I'm not able to.

The touchsmart, which I guess you could say is the most notable piece here; would go to my
Grandma, my grandma is almost 70 years old and everything she watches has a website. She loves
watching animal planet and Hgtv. She has asked me to show her how to use the computer so she
can go online but her eyes aren't the greatest so she can't see the little pointer, and she
has arthritis so using the mouse can be painful at times. As of right now her life is probably
less than what she would want, she eats/sleeps/watches tv. She used to be extremely active.
She is %100 native American and she grew up on a reservation and she dealt with racism and
she worked her entire life, this is something she more than deserves, it would mean everything
to her. Not just as a new item in her life but as a connection to more people than just her
neighbors, she has been wanting to look up one of her brothers who moved to Hawaii a long time
ago and if she had this it would put her on the right track. This is probably the most important
part of the package, I wish you guys knew how much she has been through and how much this would
effect her.

The Hp-mini, would go to my step mom as a Christmas present, she is always on the go and hardly
home but can't afford more than a note-pad. Her and my Dad are trying to start a restaraunt and
catering buisiness and this would help them a lot. They are always writing stuff down and this mini
would be a portable godsend for them.

The mediacenter would be for my Dad, without a doubt. We don't have a lot of computers or anything
but this would be a very nice addition and he would love it. I am aware they're just computers and
it may seem like they wouldn't have sucha large impact, but this package would likely give my
family a nice boost, and hopefully help me finish getting my 'degree', thanks for reading.

- ron

maxima

12-15-2008, 01:03 AM

I'm going to share the prize with my friend who is out of job and has been finding it hard to find a new one. He will get one of the laptops because he has been looking for one for a while.

The rest I'm going to share them with my other friends as a present for this holiday season.

dvlpr

12-15-2008, 01:09 AM

If I won the contest, I'd keep one laptop for my wife (I've got an HDX myself) and something for my parents as well, with the other stuff donated to local retirement homes and hospitals.

JD_Denver

12-15-2008, 01:09 AM

JennyW

12-15-2008, 01:11 AM

I would share this gift with my mom, who had to move out of state to get a job to make ends meet (and lost her home and had a stroke -- all within a few years). I would also share with my dad, who is always so generous with everybody else but not with himself. His retirement income has taken a huge cut recently. He specifically talked about wishing he could have a laptop, so he would for sure get one of the laptops.

corinandali

12-15-2008, 01:22 AM

I think the first person I would give something to would be my husband, he is so supportive and often says that between me and the kids nothing in the house belongs to him. If I could give him a laptop that he could use for sound recording he would finally have a hobby for him and be able to claim a small portion of the house as his own. He studied sound engineering but then met and married me, had 3 kids and had to find a job that better supported us.

My kids are always bugging me to go on the computer but as I work from home I don't let them - I'm sure it's going to die soon and then I would be really stuck. I think I would keep a laptop to use for my job as then I can go and visit clients and book their travel while I'm there rather than ringing them back later.

My old desktop could go to the kids and if something happened it wouldn't be so bad - this would also help them with their school work.

I would give the new desktop to the kids' school as they are looking at starting up an enrichment class next year and I'm sure this would help them with this.

I help run a group for mothers of preschoolers in our area and I think I would donate the other laptop to this group. We could also use the printer to print out photos of the kids for their families. We are planning next year to expand our group - at the moment we offer a creche for the kids and the Mums have a discussion, morning tea and then do a craft with no little fingers helping. Next year we would love to be able to do a used clothing swap on a permanent basis with a cothing rack available for people to choose from, we would also like to set up a table with non perishable food items for people to take home with them to help out in these tough times. With the laptop we could keep everything in one place (rather than some at each of 4 houses), have our accounting computerised as well as inventory (for crafts, toys for creche, foodbank and clothing) and keep our contact list in order.
:cool:

dawns41

12-15-2008, 01:50 AM

If I won this contest I can tell you I will be giving a laptop to my son.
My son would really benefit from having a laptop because he is currently trying to become employed fulltime as a highschool english teacher. I am very proud of my son as he worked his way through college and does not have his own computer. He really needed one when he was student teaching so I know it will be in full use when he becomes employed fulltime.

We as a family have been struggling financially as I am battling a chronic illness. MS takes such a toll on me so I would really love to keep a laptop for myself or the touchsmart so I can be on the net from the couch or bed on those days that I just cant seem to get up.

I would love to give my husband a laptop to help him with his work load. and I know someone who has been unemployed for 6 months that could use a new laptop to help her not only with her resume but she also does artwork and I think a new computer would help her showcase her art for sale.

In these hard economic times a win like this is a blessing to those in need. I know other people in need too.

Thanks for the opportunity.

Macguy59

12-15-2008, 01:51 AM

Amazing coincidence. I was just talking with a friend of mine this morning that's heavily involved with a local food co-op. Among the things we talked about was real time inventories, WAN, leased lines versus packet and replacing the aging system (a 486 Compaq running DOS and an Apple Newton) currently in place. Ideally we would establish a private (initially) WAN connecting 3 other central Illinois co-ops to monitor inventories, food drives, changing demographics and quality control. Eventually opening up the network to regional organic farms. The Touchsmart PC and the DV4 laptop would be a fantastic start to the system upgrade. The Touchsmart would remain on the premises while the DV4 would travel with the co-op manager. His 'day' job requires that he be in the field often and while his Apple Newton is ok for some things it's short on screen real estate and connectivity options.

snonoz

12-15-2008, 02:13 AM

I would give the Touchsmart to my mother who currently uses a hideous old HP Pentium 64mb RAM on dialup :o to keep in contact with my children - the Mini I would give to my 7 year old daughter to keep in contact with her Nan :) I would give the DV4 laptop to my daughters school (as all 3 of my little girls will go there are they can't have enough computers)! I would also give away the MS Office and the Kung Fu Panda DVD's as also already have them. Would keep the MediaSmart Connect, the HDX and printer just for me as I am a total geek and feel I could never have enough gadgets... :D

Chaps

12-15-2008, 02:21 AM

I would be sharing my prize amongst various family members. My Parents and my in-laws would each be getting a Laptop so whether they are at home or on the road, they can catch up with us and all the other kids and grandkids via VOIP with Webcams. My long-suffering wife will get hte TouchSmart in her new Kitchen and her laptop will be passed onto my niece who is jut about to commuence university studies. The Netbook will go to my daughter and she continues her primary school studies. the Media Extender will be ensconsed into the lounge room allowing the XBox to go back to the gaming room so my wife doesn't have to listen to machine-gun fire echoing throughout the house. the other parts of the prize pack will be distributed amongst the rest of my extended family...

zumbooruk

12-15-2008, 02:44 AM

What I really would do first is give the mini to my beloved gf - she has back problems due to a spine issue, unfortunately, and she also has a very heavy backpack. We're college students, so whenever she has to take her backpack and books to class it can cause her serious pains and problems, so I try to help her out and carry it for her when I can -- but I'm not always there to do it! I had really hoped to get her a netbook, but they've been too expensive -- so that's the first thing I'd do, for sure. I have plans for the other items, too -- namely for the other ladies in my life, like grandma who needs a new comp., sis who will be going off to college soon, and more -- but that's the first that came to mind!

Thanks!

shanmint

12-15-2008, 03:26 AM

Like others, I really don't have a sob story to tell nor am I a part of some needy organization, but I would really love to win this amazing assortment of prizes for me and some of my family members. First off I would keep the Touchsmart for myself as well as the printer. My current desktop is very outdated...the cd-rom doesn't even pop out when it should! I would give all the laptops away because I have one I greatly adore. The laptops would go to three cousins, the older one who clumsily spilled soda on hers and is now in the shop (who knows if it will ever get repaired). The other two laptops will go to a college age cousin and one in her last year of high school. :)

Shan

lilac100

12-15-2008, 03:32 AM

Hi,

If I were to win this contest I would give most of it to members of my family that need computers. First my son would get his pick of the computers. He is going to college next year for wap networking and security, so he would know better than I what his needs are. He definately needs a good computer to take with hime to college. My youngest son would also get one, probably the netbook. I would give my sister and her 4 kids one of the computers. They don't have a computer in the house at all and with 4 children they really need one. The kids go to the public library to do their computer homework. Each of these computers would get the student office installed on it so everyone could use it for homework.

Thanks for the opportunity to win! Thanks to HP too!

Kursplat

12-15-2008, 03:35 AM

Well, I am in desperate need of a new desktop and laptop computer, so I will keep two for myself. My nephew wants a notebook computer, so one would go to him, along with one of the Kung Fu Panda DVDs. Another notebook would go to my mother. That's as far as I've planned it out. I may use the last notebook as a fundraiser for our church.

ZweeK

12-15-2008, 03:37 AM

I will be sharing the giveaway package to my family because they supported me when I needed them and made me into the person I am today. My mother will get the TouchSmart for working so hard and raising 2 kids by herself. My Brother will get the DV4 since he is going to college for architecture soon. My Father will get the Mini 1000 since all he uses the computer for is email and surfing. And lastly I will receive the HDX 18 because I am a freshman in college majoring in computer engineering and need a computer that is portable and powerful so I can travel with it back and forth during breaks. Right now I am using a desktop so it is really hard to lug it back and forth. The rest of the giveaway prizes will be shared among the familiy like the Kung Fu Blu Ray and the Media Connect for our HDTV. That's all and I hope I win so I can see there faces light up Christmas morning. Thanks for participating in this great giveaway. Good luck to all.

TJaymz

12-15-2008, 03:40 AM

Hey guys,
If I were to win this giveaway, I would surely donate a majority of it to people that need it much, much more than I do. I would donate the HP TouchSmart to my brother in Egypt because he has finally become a pilot, gotten married, and bought a new apartment all in the same year. I would love to congratulate him this Christmas. The HP Mini, HDX, MediaSmart Connect, 564 Photo Value Pack, Office, VideoStudio, and DV4 would be donated to this great organization that really touched my heart, called the Soujourn House. They help refugees that have come in to Canada by supplying food, shelter, clothing, water, etc. These refugees have very tragic stories: some cases dealing with rape, political problems, and other issues. I would love to give them something to help them learn English and to get in touch with their family back home, if possible. I would only have to keep the printer because I have no printer at home and it is inconvenient and expensive to go to the library whenever I have to complete my work for university. And lastly, I would give Kung Fu Panda to my 9 month old neice back in Egypt.
Happy Holidays,
James H.

paints

12-15-2008, 04:04 AM

I would donate at least one laptop to the Ventana Wildlife Society.
Back in June and July, a lightning-sparked wildfire destroyed tens of thousands of acres of forest in the rugged coastal mountains of Big Sur, CA.
Among the losses was the Condor Recovery Center located high above the Pacific Ocean on Partington Ridge, and run by the Ventana Wildlife Society. They lost everything, but the condors were spared, only one chick died in the fire. The Coast Guard joined with Ventana Wild to evacuate the birds from this steep, rugged and isolated terrain.
Less than 250 California Condors exist on the planet, and most of them owe their existence to these fine people.
Laptops would be a great asset in the field, and I would give Ventana Wildlife their choice of equipment to use in the field and in their Ornithology Lab at Andrew Molera.
Big Sur is the home of my heart, and I will give anything to help it heal. This would be a great start. Thank you.

textus

12-15-2008, 04:18 AM

No harm trying, since a small chance of winning is better than none.
If I do win. My drool is gonna wet my body till the yummy gifts get shipped over. =)

Well, I am going into the army next year so I am most probably not going to be the one to enjoy all the goodies from this winning. This Christmas I am sure I'll be able to experience the joy of giving and sharing.

As much as I would like to at least keep 1 or 2 of the items for myself, I would probably be using them for less than 3 months before having to give them away.

For the HP Mini 1000 netbook, I'll hog it for awhile before giving it to my brother who has been complaining that his notebook is WAY too heavy.

As for the TouchSmart PC, HP Smart Connect and the HP Photosmart printer its gonna go into the living room to be shared among the 4 of us.

The HP HDX 18 notebook PC will go to my cousin, he is more of a gamer and getting this would give him the "oomph" for the latest games.

The HP Pavilion dv4 notebook will go to my dad. He has been eyeing laptops this holiday season, but couldn't decide on one since we are running on a tight budget. This gift will allow him to do his photoshop on the go. In addition he will also be glad to receive the HP 564 series photo value pack as well.

The Corel VideoStudio is something I need to help my teacher with video editing of a school overseas trip. This would indirectly help my teacher since I am doing it for him with no strings attached. Only problem now is that I lack the software to do so.

Hehe... I vividly remember watching Kung Fu Panda, so the DVDs would go to my neighbour's cute son who seems to like watching animated cartoons.

A change from OpenOffice to Microsoft's Office would be great too.

Well thats how I am going to split the loot. =) Thanks once again to HP/Microsoft and to Digital Home Thoughts for making events like this a reality.

TechTip

12-15-2008, 04:21 AM

Hello there!

My name is Steven De Filippis. I have been looking at all of the Blogs that are containing the HP Magic Giveaway. Digital Home Thoughts is one of them. So, I’ve read all of the rules and this is my post.

Now, At my local school St. Andrews, We do not have computers however, our secretaries, and some teachers have computers but are only used for special purposes such as report cards, student information, etc. We unfortunately haven’t been given the advantage to go use one. At our school we have a group called Luke 4:18 (Get involved, Make a difference). I am part of it. Our group helps our community and the world. We are currently in the process of raising money for Vision life - Build a stable. This charity well help give kids in Africa, Animals. This will provide food, comfort, and more to the children of Africa. This is a description on what our group does. However, we would like to plan more events like this to raise money for charity. Unfortunately our school does not contain any Computers, so we are unable to contact other organizations and to type a letter to send home asking for donations. So we were going to plan on using every piece of hardware from this giveaway to organize more events as I described above. We will also use the equipment for school tasks that will be available to all students in our school. I will now describe how we will use the hardware:

HP Touchsmart PC, HP HDX Laptop, HP Mini 1000 - These will be used to help organize charity events.

HP MediaSmart Connect - This item will be used to store movies or videos in our library.

HP Photosmart C6380 Wireless AIO Printer, HP 564 Series Photo Value Pack - These items will be used to print notices to the students of our school for upcoming events.

Microsoft Office Home & Student 2007 - This software will be used to type out all of our upcoming events.

Corel VideoStudio X2 - We will only provide this software to the intermediate students who are interested in Multimedia courses free of charge.

Kung-Fu Panda - We will use this movie to entertain the little ones in our school.

We would like to thank you for giving everyone this opportunity.

Thank you!

ghostamongyo

12-15-2008, 05:26 AM

This won't be the wordiest entry or perhaps even the most deserving one, but if I win this I'll keep a little something for myself and give the rest to family members. I have two in my immediate family whom are both on disability and unable to afford luxuries such as these... and I've been hoping for awhile to be able to afford to buy them some computer stuff because they love electronics. A truly great giveaway, thanks for hosting this contest and good luck to all...

lolagoetz

12-15-2008, 05:36 AM

My step daughter is a college student. She desperately needs a new computer to get her through the rest of her classes. She has a laptop, but it's old and slow, and she has a lot of trouble keeping it charged. A new computer would be an awesome surprise for her, but we just can't afford it right now. We help her as much as we can, but that's too great of an expense.

My husband's desktop is at least 6 or 7 years old. It's slow, doesn't have a lot of memory, and it drives him crazy. He almost always gets my hand-me-downs. But this time, I'd love to give him a new computer that's all his (and hopefully he'll let me use it once in a while).

I'd probably keep the mini so I can use it for travel and writing. I'm still thinking about the 4th computer, and who I know that needs it. Possibly my mom & dad, or maybe I can find someone through the church who could really use it. I'm sure we'd find someone who's struggling.

saqiblatif

12-15-2008, 05:56 AM

Hello and God Bless you for this wonderfull giveaway to a needy family.
I will only keep theTouchsmart and the rest I will give away to few needy people.
I will give Few items to a family I know whoes house just got forclosed and the dad lost his job. Their daughter is going to college.
At a homeless shelter in Loudoun county VA and few items to a school with disabled children and the games to a public school child after consulting with the principal and his feed back on the needy child.

Kind Regards,

Saqib Latif

andiee1123

12-15-2008, 06:44 AM

This is a win I could only dream about winning. It would mean a lot to me, my family, and my church.

I would have to keep one of the notebooks. We are a family of 5 and only have one PC. I work from home on the internet and I have to fight for time to work. I really need to make the money to help support the family.

The other notebook I would give to my mother. She is 76 years old and loves to play casino and bingo on the computer. Her computer is not working right and is very old. I would love for her to have a new one to use.

The Touchsmart I want to donate to my church's youth program. They do such great things with the children and I think this would be a big help for them. I think it would also open some doors to the way they teach the children.

The mini would go to my nephew. He owns his own business and travels a lot. He has commented that a mini notebook would be perfect for him to take on the road with him.

The photo value pak would definitely go to my niece. She loves pictures and takes them all the time. She would be in heaven with this.

The rest of it I'm not sure what I would do with it yet. I need to think on it.

jyaan

12-15-2008, 07:29 AM

My mom has said that she wanted a laptop, but she doesn't do anything that requires much power so I would give her the MIni. I could use a laptop for college, especially since I don't have Windows but have a DirectX course coming up. I would donate the TouchSmart and another laptop to Pankow Vocational Tech (from my old high school) because they have computer courses, and a student wishing to become a computer professional needs a new computer more than anyone! I was thankful that they gave the computer classes back when I took them, and so I would like to give something back. I can also rest easy knowing that the prizes will be put to good use and not taken for granted. The remainer of the items will be shared with my brothers and friends, since I don't have much interest in them.

ashutosh

12-15-2008, 07:54 AM

First of all, I thank you guys and HP for such an awesome number of awesome prizes!

I'm a Mechanical engineering student of NIT, Rourkela (India) and if I win, this is what I'll do with the prizes :

I'll swap my 3 month old HP dv5-1006ax notebook for the HP HDX 18.

My sister needs a notebook as well, now that her training will be starting shortly. So she'll get my dv5 notebook [she'll be gone for training by the time your dv4 arrives :( ]. I'll have to be notebook-less for a few days but that's OK considering that I'll be getting the macho HDX. :)

I would love to keep the TouchSmart at home, but I stay in a hostel and my parents aren't very comfortable with computers. It would be an utter waste of such a good product. Therefore, I'll make arrangements with the Microsoft Club of my institute to hold some sort of contest at our upcoming tech fest (Feb. 6-9) and offer this TouchSmart as a prize.

One of my cousin brothers will be joining some engineering college next year, so I'll gift him the dv4 notebook.

There is still a whole bunch of stuff to give away! Coming to the HP Mini netbook, I'll gladly hand it over to the orphanage that we visit every week under the National Service Scheme. The kids over there are learning the basics of computing, and a darn new netbook with Windows XP will be a huge gift for them.

I can't think of doing anything with the accessories - Photosmart printer, MediaSmart Connect and Photo Value pack, so you can keep it yourself (yeah seriously!). Hey, this is still sharing!

I've got legal copies of Vista Ultimate and Office Enterprise, and I'm not going to use VideoStudio. So, I'll be holding a small contest of my own at our institute's tech fest to hand over the software packs to the winners. This will be a great way for me to get actively involved in the tech fest. :)

Finally, the Kung Fu Panda discs will go to one of my tiny tot cousins. The other cousins can then keep those discs in rotation. :)

K2ray

12-15-2008, 08:06 AM

:(No sob sorry here that Dr Phil couldn't fix...,well other than the Touchsmart the rest will be spread around family members but on condition they will start to Skype me a lot more than they have before (which was nought)!....oh and the Kung-Fu Panda goes to my nephew.:D

ADBrown

12-15-2008, 08:10 AM

I'd give one of the laptops to the local SPCA, which I expect they'd raffle off to raise money. The other, to a local grassroots group, for the same. I'd keep either the Mini or the Touchsmart, not sure which one... probably the Touchsmart. The other would go to a family member who needs a PC.

The printer and software, I assume the local school would be interested. The DVDs/BRD might go to the local hospital if they could put it to use, otherwise the thrift shop.

SomeAudioGuy

12-15-2008, 08:21 AM

Man I hope I can win this.
My brother just had his brand new macbook pro stolen in grad school. I'd let him pick what ever he wants. My brother is too cool a guy...

My Mom is a quilter, and needs a better way to scan in templates and print out patterns.

I think my Sis would really like the mini. She has a decent Thinkpad, but she's afraid to take it to class.

My wife really needs a new Lappy. She works in casting, and I think she's embarrassed to whip out her old Compaq around all the Macbooks she faces.

Me.
I'll take whatever's left over.
I'm good.

amywill5918

12-15-2008, 08:39 AM

First it should be said that giveaways like this nurture the spirit of giving in our world, inspires an effort in individuals to be more then we are; giving us an opportunity to think beyond ourselves and our own lives. I hope for both the winners and the challengers, this will start the flow of ripples in the WEB of connection that will change everyone's lives.

That said, its an obvious choice who I'd share this with. My sister embodies the spirit of giving (of herself) everyday. She has a business as coach, consultant - and mentor, "Helping People and Non-Profits Thrive!". Because of her RSI injuries, she hates computers but they are vital to her day to day work I know her computer is older and she can certainly use a new one which will support voice activated use just as I know that her own computer will go to someone who needs it. If there is someone else in need besides herself, she is the one who will know another person to gift one to as well.

As for myself, two of these computers will enable me to write a special book and continue my study of Massage Therapy Modalities (I've already completed my primary schooling and only need to take my Nationals to obtain my license) which will include techniques such as Manual Lymph Drainage to complement the treatment found in an Oncology Department.

However, eventually, I want to have my own practice where I combine Thai Massage, Lomi Lomi, Hypnotherapy,Breath Therapy, and Morita Therapy (which, rather then talk therapy is about getting off your er couch, and doing - whatever it is you want to and feel you can't), in a practice with a special mission; each people how to Relax and include balance in their lives. Many people think they know how to relax yet can't sleep, have stress related illnesses and trying lives. And others feel that there is no time to relax in their drive to succeed or put food on the table. I feel, and want to show in my practice and my book, that the art of Relaxation can help you stress less and profit more and in the process not alienate your family or never see them.

At least one of these computers will aid my sister in her partnership with companies that make more then ripples - waves in the lives of so many.

The Touch Smart and mini computer will help me in both my studies and my writing - my pursuits, that, like this contest, will start the ripples in the lives of others.

reevester

12-15-2008, 09:47 AM

Hi!

My name is Reeve Luiz and I am a student in Mumbai, INDIA.

I have an HP Laptop dv6000 series purchased in 2005. Although this machine is decent, it cannot keep up with my demanding requirements. Unfortunately being a student, I cannot afford to purchase a newer one....... dunno.gif

If I do win the prize, I will firstly sell of this machine and donate the proceeds to the valiant Police force who fought with vigor during the recent Terror attacks that occurred in Mumbai. It was a very disheartening experience and I want to do as much as I can for them. I will personally keep the HDX machine. The HP dv4 machine I will gift to my elder brother on Christmas, as he is using a machine that he was gifted in 2001! It is really really old and I would love to surprise my elder brother by gifting him a spanking new machine!! It would be simply amazing to surprise him as his little bro would really be making his day! The HP Touchsmart PC, I will gift to my darling mother. She is currently learning how to operate a PC on our old Desktop PC which is a Pentium 2(64 MB RAM) machine and is just not good enough by today’s standards. I will donate that old machine to a school where I teach underprivileged kids as a part of my Sharing Care club (http://www.sharingcare.org/). The HP Mini, I will gift to my retired dad. He will be simply delighted to have a small lightweight machine to check his emails and to read the online articles that he loves to read. It would be perfect for him! I will give the movies and printer to my little cousins who would enjoy them as well as use the Printer which will come in handy for their school projects!! This gift would all in all, make Christmas a whole lot brighter for my entire family! :D

I will ensure that the software titles will either be donated to a school or perhaps given to an NGO where they could use it legally and without any worries.....!

I am including some pics of me and my amazing family! I miss them a lot as I am away in a Boarding, and I want to give them a crazy surprise this Christmas!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ffgr5qQsA1w

Thanks a ton for this opportunity!
Hope you do give me an opportunity to spread some Magical Cheer within my beloved family this Christmas!

Regards and Merry Christmas in advance (I am in a very christmassy mood! Can't wait to go home!!! :D )
Reeve Luiz

th234

12-15-2008, 09:51 AM

If I were to win the prize package, I would donate it to an organization that I am a part of: Technology Services Corps. We're a group of high-school students that are given broken computers by local companies (Seattle area), which we then fix up. Once we have gotten enough, we take them overseas to places like Ghana, Tanzania, Guatemala, and a number of other places.
We used to be called Global Tech Academy (GTA) and were affiliated with the school district and could use some of their resources (school facilities, for example). GTA took over 5000 computers to more than 15 developing countries since 1998. However, the school district recently terminated that arrangement and essentially shut the program down. Now the remaining students are trying to restart the program under a different name, with much fewer resources.
The hardware would really help us--we can take the laptops on trips (especially the mini-1000) and use them for our staff (all high school students) to work on.

T

heaventrees

12-15-2008, 10:01 AM

I would keep the TouchSmart for myself as I truly need it and it looks so fascinating.

I would give the HP Pavilion Entertainment Notebook PC to my mother because she desperately needs a laptop. She can't sit at a desk any longer, due to her health and she is so terribly bored by having to stay home. I think the boredom is actually making her physical condition worse and it worries us all.

Plus there are often grandkids at her house that drive her crazy and the entertainment capabilities of the Pavilion might actually keep the little darlings quiet.

The other things I would have to see and evaluate to decide who needed them. I make packages for soldiers and I donate to women's shelters and Ronald McDonald House.

forcerdj

12-15-2008, 11:08 AM

singermagic1

12-15-2008, 11:11 AM

I do a lot of volunteer work and the laptop (an old Toshiba someone had given me) was broken when I fell down my apartment stairs last week. Needless to say I am like a boat without a rudder. I have been using my daughter's macbook when she is gone but I can't take it with me to Volunteer meetings or to event sites. A new computer would be a major blessing, I can't give money to these worthwhile non-profits but I can offer myself and my time and part of that has been my ability to help out with letter writing, spreadsheets, one-sheets, press releases etc that I have always been able to do on my computer. If I win this computer, no worry that it will end up on EBAY, it will be put to good use helping others. I would also like to give some of the hardware and soft ware to a teacher, Miss Iyes, who was an inspiration to my daughter, she helped her get a scholarship to Cal-Arts for the summer because of her my daughter now wants to me an animator.
I know she uses some older equipment and some was stolen so I would like her to get some so she can inspire other children.

I would also like to give something to Diane who teaches youngsters musical theater. They put on a complete show each summer and then she works with 1-6 graders in an after-school program and I know she can always use any help she can get

Thank you

P.S. I have a lot of events coming up in the next few months so I will keep you in the loop where the computer is and what it's up to if I win.

Stinger

12-15-2008, 11:28 AM

Four PCs is an insane prize. I'd the desktop for myself as it looks very shiny. I'd then give a laptop to my parter, mum and a friend. My mum and girlfriend are both technophobes and are using PCs from the dawn of time. They'd never buy a new one themselves but would appreciate the charity. My friend, on the other hand, is desperate to play Fallout 3 but doesn't have a PC good enough to run it (or enough money to upgrade his existing machine). It would be good to put a few smiles on people's faces this Christmas.

Xan

12-15-2008, 12:23 PM

I'd like to share it as follows:-

Hardware

• TouchSmart -This will go out to my school which also is working as a Non-Profit Organization in helping and guiding mentally & Physically disabled children. This i feel wouldbe a great way to unleash their mental skills & keep abreast with the rising demands for computer proficiency. I would love to keep this wonder but thinking about those tiny tots. i convinced myself i'll get one for myself later when i can afford it.

• HDX NOtebook- This is for me and my family. Our current PC is a P4 running windows XP and 256 MB ram.

• HP MediaSmart Connect. this on will also go out to me coz i couldnt afford a DVD player for my house..

• HP Pavilion Entertainment Notebook - This will go out to My gadget-frenzy uncle who just broke his beloved laptop. And cannot bear the repairing costs. (He was instrumental in providing me good education)

• HP Mini 1000 (with XP) - IM gonna donate this personally to some worthy soul who i think will make use of it or a descent legitimate charity foundation as and when i research a little bit and find one.

• HP (printer) -This one will be with me coz currently my printer is a horrible squeaky deskjet 695 which is about 6-7 years old!

No plans with the software right now but will go out, when the right time comes, to whoever needs it the most.

Hope you support my cause.!

Anubhav Mathur

fireGeek

12-15-2008, 12:51 PM

As the username attempts to imply I am a volunteer firefighting geek who would donate the PCs to emergency service to support on going education efforts. Volunteer Fire and EMS take many hours of their personal time to support their communities with little or no payback. I would also like to provide a pc to my wife and children for their sacrifice of giving up my time and attention while I am out serving the community.

simon211175

12-15-2008, 01:13 PM

I don't know any charities that desperately need a new computer or two, and I'm not a volunteer for anyplace. I work hard to support my partner and three children, and in today's current economic climate, this prize would help anybody. Good luck to all.

Personally, if I won I would donate one of the laptops to my partner, as her current HP Pavilion laptop sounds like it could explode at any time. I'd also let her have the photo printer - which could technically put Snapfish out of business. One of the laptops I would give to my mother-in-law - she's a single parent who has taken on foster caring, mainly for trouble teenagers. She desperately needs a laptop to provide access to education resources etc. This would help her immensely. I would donate the Office 2007 pack to one of my friends. She has 5 children and this would help with college work for the eldest.

man0000

12-15-2008, 01:29 PM

I will share most of it. Don't need more than a Notebook/Netbook (haven't decided yet).

I want gift/help friends, family and my old techers who have started an association to help less favored children from "not conventional" families to keep a smile and have an opportunity. They have asked me to help them anyway I can and now this opportunity has landed in the precise moment to try it.
Don't expect much since must be zillions of people trying but, It's Christmas and Hope is here...

FELIZ NAVIDAD Y PRÓSPERO AÑO NUEVO!!!

rdezso

12-15-2008, 02:12 PM

dmccl

12-15-2008, 02:36 PM

I have an 13 year old Autistic son. His special needs classroom is in desperate need of laptops. They will use these laptops to help these special needs children to read, communicate, type, play educational games that help them to communicate with others, look at photo's, etc.

My son uses his old computer at home and has helped him communicate with us. Having laptops at his school could really help these children in the long run.

Dan

jewood

12-15-2008, 02:37 PM

Wow, this is a great contest that would make it a wonderful holiday season for many in my family.

I would first give the Mini and printer to my wife. She runs an arts organization and needs a much better printer and scanner to deal with all the graphics that she comes in contact with. The mini would be a great help with all the meetings she takes on the road.

My sister would get her choice of the two other laptops. She has limited mobility, does crafts work from home, and her laptop just died last week.

My parents would get the touchsmart. They have never used a PC before, and that looks to be a good system for them to learn on.

I would keep whichever laptop was left.

srsabu

12-15-2008, 03:29 PM

I would give the dv4 to my mother, who is currently using an old celeron desktop. I'd replace my current laptop with the HDX and donate it (Inspiron 1705) to our local shelter. I'd keep the TouchSmart for my kids as my four year old loves trying the touch screen HP at Costco and add their current desktop to the group of ones that I'm donating to a seminary in Guatemala (PIII class machines). I'd give away the Mini 1000, I'm just not sure who yet. I'd donate a copy of Kung-Fu Panda to our local library.

cjhpe

12-15-2008, 03:48 PM

Thanks Jason and HP for making another such contest possible. I would keep the touchscreen all in one for home. I have been considering one anyway. Then my wife has just gone back to teaching and ask just the other day for a laptop. I would give her a choice of the laptops and maybe two as she works for a very small private school and they do not provide any technology other than a wireless network for the teachers. She would like to use one for her students to use so maybe the small netbook for her to use back and forth to school and the big 18 inch to leave at school for her kids to use. My neice will be starting college next year so the other laptop would go to her for her studies. My kids would love the Kung Fu Panda so they would get that. I have a pretty new HP printer already so I would donate the HP printer to our church. Just volunteered to lead a group of young people at my church in learning how to create media and video so we could use the VideoStudio for this project. The mediaSmart Connect would be used at home with the new Flat screen TV that is suppose to be delivered next week. Good luck to all...Thanks J..

aircraft

12-15-2008, 04:13 PM

Fhould I win, I will keep the HDX laptop to replace my aging Thinkpad, and the printer to replace my old HP which died last month.
One other laptop - either the media one or the netbook will go to my youngest, so she stops bugging me for computer time.
The media server will go to our living room to, well, serve media.
The portability-challenged PC, as well as (probably) the third laptop, will go to a charity I'll determine when and if I win, such that it is used to help others.
The software and movie will go to my kids' schools.

nicksmart

12-15-2008, 04:27 PM

Thank you Thoughts Media and HP/Microsoft for hosting this amazing contest!

If I win it will be so much fun giving away everything but the TouchSmart and Mini. I will keep the TouchSmart to replace my current P4 machine which I will donate to a family at my church who doesn't have a computer (along with an 18 inch flat panel monitor). The mini I will keep to finish writing my first novel - a dream that will be easier accomplished with the mini that I can throw in my bag and use at lunch time! http://liliputing.com/forums/Smileys/default/smiley.gif

The laptops, software, printer and everything else I will donate to Monroe Harding Inc. http://www.monroeharding.org/
This is a great organization whose mission is “to partner with at-risk youth and families to provide a bridge toward independence and success.”
They currently have a need for computers and equipment and these new laptops etc will really help. What an amazing thing it is to help someone in need especially an organization that is helping to develop and assist children who wouldn't otherwise have the opportunity to get out from their circumstances and lead healthy productive lives. The future rests in the hands of these youth and this gift will make their (and potentially ours!) future brighter.

Thanks!
Nick

purviska

12-15-2008, 04:36 PM

I am a student at Metro State College of Denver. I would love to be able to share this prize package with a young family that is friends with my parents. Both the husband and the wife are currently going to college and have a young daughter. I don’t know a lot about the husband, he’s quiet and seems really nice, but I have a lot of respect for the wife. She is going to the same school as I am, full-time, but also manages to be an active volunteer at the hospice near where she lives. She is pretty passionate about hospice care and wants to do what she can to help people not have to die alone. She also volunteers at a local elementary school, helping some emotionally disturbed kids. I think she’s a great example for her little daughter. It would be pretty exciting for me to be able to give back to this family since they give so much.

moko

12-15-2008, 05:07 PM

That's a whole lotta computing goodness! First I'd send one of the notebook computers to school with my son to replace the 6yr old cranky PC in his Grade 1 classroom. The small keyboard would be a great fit for their small hands. Then I'd make sure my wife's fledgling freelancing business gets a long-overdue desktop replacement for our 9yr old Pentium Pro and 5yr old printer. Her home-office would be the best on the block.

Bananaswift

12-15-2008, 05:08 PM

I'd probably keep the HQX and Mini laptops and printer for myself. The MediaSmart Connect would go to my parents. The TouchSmart would go either to my parents or brother and sister-in-law, whoever needs it most.

I'd give the dv4 laptop to a friend who really needs a computer. She was using the time limited computers at the library until I was able to get her a discard 8 year old Compaq P2 laptop (still solid, except for the battery) with PCMCIA wireless from work. It also help to convice her that Vista is not bad, after her brother's experience with a bargain bin Vista machine. I'd also give her the copy of Microsoft Office.

The Corel software would go to the youth group at my church, as they are making videos and such all the time. I don't know who I'd give the Kung Fu Panda DVDs to, but I'd keep the Blu. :D

(Hopefully this isn't a double post, because the first time errored out on me.)

Ronstarusnak

12-15-2008, 05:22 PM

This isn't going to be a save the world story but I hope readers will
still be interested. I will start with how this package will effect me since that's
the least important. Okay, I will attempt to stray away from the sob stories.
Anyways I am 19 years old and I never went to college, I couldn't afford it and
My family moved way too much for it to work out, recently though I have been getting
into classes on line, I'm attempting to become a network administrator but that requires
me to have a working computer, my current one is horrible. It crashes randomly, and I am
constantly asking tech support forums for their help, having a new laptop would just enable
so much. I can not even begin to tell you how much. I have a desk top now and the portable
does not exist, when I heard about these give aways that was the first thing that came to my
mind, then I realized what else I could do if I won the package.

My sister is 22 and she just had her second baby, she is doing very well taking care of
them, but she can not afford anything not absolutely necessary. She has a computer now but it
is horrible, ads that have flash cause he computer to crash, she can not go on a lot of the
sites that she introduced me to, it's not a very fun thing to know. If I win this contest, and
I know I won't :( she without a doubt in my mind deserves a new laptop, on top of that I want
her to bhave the printer, she loves taking pictures of her babies and being able to print them
out would be amazing. I want to be able to give her something but I know I'm not able to.

The touchsmart, which I guess you could say is the most notable piece here; would go to my
Grandma, my grandma is almost 70 years old and everything she watches has a website. She loves
watching animal planet and Hgtv. She has asked me to show her how to use the computer so she
can go online but her eyes aren't the greatest so she can't see the little pointer, and she
has arthritis so using the mouse can be painful at times. As of right now her life is probably
less than what she would want, she eats/sleeps/watches tv. She used to be extremely active.
She is %100 native American and she grew up on a reservation and she dealt with racism and
she worked her entire life, this is something she more than deserves, it would mean everything
to her. Not just as a new item in her life but as a connection to more people than just her
neighbors, she has been wanting to look up one of her brothers who moved to Hawaii a long time
ago and if she had this it would put her on the right track. This is probably the most important
part of the package, I wish you guys knew how much she has been through and how much this would
effect her.

The Hp-mini, would go to my step mom as a Christmas present, she is always on the go and hardly
home but can't afford more than a note-pad. Her and my Dad are trying to start a restaraunt and
catering buisiness and this would help them a lot. They are always writing stuff down and this mini
would be a portable godsend for them.

The mediacenter would be for my Dad, without a doubt. We don't have a lot of computers or anything
but this would be a very nice addition and he would love it. I am aware they're just computers and
it may seem like they wouldn't have sucha large impact, but this package would likely give my
family a nice boost, and hopefully help me finish getting my 'degree', thanks for reading.

- ron
- [email protected]

newmommyin08

12-15-2008, 05:27 PM

My father is the most honest and hard-working person I know. He never asks for anything for himself because he is too busy thinking about the needs of others. He met my mom right after college and left his degree on the back burner to be the best husband/father anyone could have asked for. When my mother divorced him, she took everything he had, including his dignity.
After 20 years, my dad had to go back to school so that he could better support his family. He is now living with his 93 year-old mother and he works out of his home so he can watch her everyday.
Michigan’s economy has been very depressing lately and my dad has very little money coming in. He has had a rough time paying his bills and taking care of my Grandmother.
My father has a 10 year-old computer that he does all of his real estate and appraising work on. If my dad had a new computer, he would have the ability to network with more people thus being able to make more money.
I would love to be able to give my dad the power to work more efficiently so he could be proud of himself for once in his life. He has never owned a new computer, honestly, he never buys anything for himself!
I would give my father the HP Pavilion PC and I would find a way to donate the other wonderful HP products to other people in need. Christmas time is upon us and it is about time that I start giving what I can to all that I am able.

learningmama

12-15-2008, 05:30 PM

If I would win one of these, I would give both of the larger laptops away for sure. My one aunt has 5 kids under 13 and I think they could benefit from the Student software on them. They could type up their reports and use it as a learning tool for homework. They would never be able to spend the money on something like this. They just don't have it to justify making this type of purchase. These kids could definately benefit instead of having to go somewhere else when their teacher requires something to be typed and printed out. The other laptop I would give to J's dad. He travels all over the US, Canada, and Puerto Rico for his job. They put him up in hotels for the duration of the contract. He only has a cell phone to keep in touch with his family. Sometimes he's in areas with not-so-good service and the hotels mostly have free wireless so this would benefit him greatly. Who wants to go a couple weeks in a strange city without being able to properly communicate with your family or anyone else you know? The smallest laptop I will be giving to my daughter. The keys are perfectly smaller than regular keyboards. This will be a great little machine for her to learn to use. I will even let her watch her DVDs on it and make shortcuts to her favorite sites for her! Her little hands will benefit from having this instead of playing with Mommy's computer.

mobileschola

12-15-2008, 05:35 PM

Please accept this simple essay as my entry for the HP-sponsored
Digital Home Thoughts blog contest.

As a scholar finishing a Master's degree, I know that technology
increases the efficiency of research. The HDX 18 will serve me well
as a powerful desktop-replacement platform for article- and
book-length projects. The battery of my current four-year-old laptop
will no longer hold a charge, and a replacement is too costly. The other
three computers I will give away to other graduate students.

The mini netbook and Pavilion dv4 laptops could be of use to a couple of
fellow graduate students, who do not have personal computers. They are hard workers, but like many graduate students are poor and cannot afford good computer hardware. I understand well the difficulty emerging scholars face without the convenience and necessity of a personal computing platform.

My wife, also a Master's student at the university, will enjoy the HP
TouchSmart, the printer, and associated media components. They will also help record our first pregnancy and our child’s early years, so our families, who live far away from us, can participate in this exciting time. Photographs and movies are merely substitutes for the presence of family, but the media can help maintain these important connections from across long distances.
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abhilekh

12-15-2008, 05:38 PM

Hey thanks for this oppurtunity I am a final year student in a medical college which is funded by the government so anygift to them will be a bonus.. BUt for starters For myself ill keep the HP TouchSmart IQ816 Pc, the main reason being, i wanna gift it to my brother who is this really huge techno fan and i know it will just make his day, rather his year.. He is really stressed out these days as it is exams time for him so i hope this will just be the mood uplifter he needs.. Next in line is my best friend sakshi who'll be gettin the HP HDX 18 series notebook.. Shes the sweetest thing on the planet but doesnt want anything.. except a surprise.. shes done so much for me that i cant even begin pay back but i guess this wud be a start.. It'ss get that smile on her face which is priceless.. My next best friend in college sajal gets the mini 1000 with xp.. he'ss just too cute and i would love to make him happy.. The HP Pavillion Dv4 entertainment note book would go to Dr. Parvesh who is probably the sweetest and definately the best and my favourite teacher and its purely respect there.. All the accessories and software would go to my library in the college for the use of everyone who needs it.. And for the kung fu panda i would give it to my student body and request them to organise a specal screening of it in the college auditorium so that i can enjoy one of my favourite movies of the year with my friends..

trishden

12-15-2008, 05:40 PM

:DIf I were lucky enough to be considered for such an awesome prize I would definitely share. I would keep a laptop, since I don’t have one and one for my son who will be going to college next year and after paying tuition, we won’t be buying him one and giveaway the rest. My mom needs a computer, she uses WebTV and boy is it slow. She wants to sell some of her stuff on ebay since my dad passed away and you just can’t do that on WebTV. The rest I would donate to a local organization called Project Self Sufficiency which is a private non-profit community-based organization dedicated to improving the lives of low-income families residing in northwestern New Jersey. The agency's mission is to provide a broad spectrum of holistic, respectful, and comprehensive services enabling low-income single parents, teen parents, two-parent families, and displaced homemakers to improve their lives and the lives of their children while achieving personal and economic self-sufficiency and family stability. It’s such a deserving charity.;)

Dyvim

12-15-2008, 06:13 PM

I would give one of the computers (probably the premium notebook) plus the printer, office license, and most of the other accessories to my brother who doesn't have a PC of his own, and so needs a complete setup.

I would let my wife take her pick between the netbook and the pavilion notebook.

I would give either the netbook or the pavilion notebook (whatever my wife didn't pick) to my parents.

I would keep the Touchsmart PC for our kitchen/living room area.

Any other unwanted/unclaimed accessories would go to the local Salvation army, except the Kung Fun Panda DVDs which could go to the local library.

marvi1

12-15-2008, 06:15 PM

I would give 90% of that package to various charities and deserving people. I guess that means I'm entering because I don't need to win!;) But I would like to be able to help out some others.

pugsley085

12-15-2008, 06:26 PM

There is a wonderful community Charity in Knoxvlle, Tn. Catholic Charities. I am not Catholic but I have always been impressed by the many effective outreaches this Charity has.

If I win this wonderful prize pack, I commit to give a computer to this charity. My desire is to make sure the person who receives this computer will be able to use it to greatly effect in a positive way their quality of life.

Andy Dixon

12-15-2008, 06:26 PM

I won then I would probably do the following with all the prizes:

The HP TouchSmart IQ816 PC would go to my brother who could use it to store pictures, videos of their forthcoming twins.

The HP HDX 18 series Premium Notebook PC would go to my parents so that they can stay in touch and view all the pictures videos of my bro's twins.

The MediaSmart Connect would go to my sister.

The HP Pavilion Notebook would probably be given to the Deaf Childrens Society to use or sell for funds.

The HP Mini I would keep as it would be great for me on the move in my job.

The wireless printer I would keep as I don't have a printer at home and the wife keeps nagging for one and the phot pak will be useful for her to print the photos we have as well.

The Windows Live and MS Office would be given to my friends son for his college work as he is a student at Uni and will get the most use out of this.

The Corel Video Studio I would again give to my bro for the videos of the twins wehn born.

And finally, Kung Fu Panda would be given to my nephews as they love this kind of thing!

jquintan

12-15-2008, 06:34 PM

Happy Holidays reader,

I have the perfect people for these computers in mind. First i'd donate the most powerful laptop which i believe is the HP HDX to the Omega Envoy team, the only student run google lunar x-prize which just happens to be at my school; they been in desperate need of a computer to get off the ground and start trajectory calculations. Then HP Touchsmart i'd have to pay it forward to my beloved father who has kept up with his aging computer just to pay for school and let me have the future he wants me to have. The HP Pavillion would have to go to a school or child I feel is in need this christmas, as I'm a brother for big brother big sisters I can safely say I have a few kids in mind. Now as for the HP Mini 1000, I'm just going to have to be a little selfish cause I'm thinking its about time to retire my old 12' powerbook which is being held together by scotch tape. Oh and the HP Media Smart connect, i think i could totally use that so i can stop watching movies off my laptop while hovering it over my head in bed, maybe its about time invest in a tv to go with it ;-).

Thanks for your consideration, I hope you have the best holiday season!

ryanmorris

12-15-2008, 06:51 PM

I would donate two of the laptop computers to North Central Texas College Foundation. The foundation is an endowed foundation for scholarships to a local college. The foundation may gift them directly to students, but more likely would include them in an auction at a charity dinner to help raise endowment funds.

The movies I would donate to a local CASA (court appointed special advocates), which helps care for children in court (often custody battles parents vs the state). The kids are often from pretty terrible home circumstances, so some good laughs would be great for them.

Printer probably to Salvation Army, and software to United Way or NCTC Foundation.

Touchsmart goes to the Mrs., media smart to the kids for movies, and the big laptop to me!

skalobster11

12-15-2008, 06:52 PM

I plan on sharing this with my whole family so we can all talk online!

pixframe

12-15-2008, 07:02 PM

I love the Lighthouse International, http://www.lighthouse.org/
They help those with visual impairments, both young and old. And, in these harsh economic times winning high tech items to contribute to them would be phenominal!

karinatwork

12-15-2008, 07:06 PM

If I was lucky enough to get picked, I would not keep any of those computers, since I am planning on switching to Apple. I would give all of those computers and printers away to people in my community that are not very well off. I can think of a couple of families in my neighborhood that don't even have a computer now. I would probably also talk to my local Salvation Army branch and find out what they could do with them, maybe sell them and use the money for food.

Merry Christmas everyone! :)

spacehippie2k

12-15-2008, 07:16 PM

I'd have to take a closer look at all the hardware to see what would best be suited for different organizations, but I do know that I would keep the desktop and one of the new laptops for myslef, which would mean I could donate my current desktop and laptop as well.

My wife has done a lot of work with Doctors Without Borders (MSF), so much of the hardware would go to them.

Some of the other stuff would go to relatives, especially my brother, who has never owned a computer in his life. The DVD's and much of the software would be great donations for Casa Esperanza, an organization here in Albuquerque that provides housing for out-of-town patients undergoing cancer treatment at the Cancer Center at University Hospitals and their families.

juliano

12-15-2008, 07:17 PM

Hello.
I'm from Brazil and an IT professional specifically a programmer in a small company.
I love win a notebook, but just one (four is very exaggerated for just one person) for replace my old Pentium II. So if i win i would keep the HP HDX for myself, and a have some plans for others three. The HP Mini i will give for my little sister for her make yours school's works which don't need very computational power. The HP Pavilion will give for my cousin that actually live in my house. She's in high school and too need a computer for school's work and enjoy it. And finally the HP TouchSmart i will give for my dad, because he really love had a computer like that(whom not?), and mainly cause your birthday is December 26th, so this is my gift for him. The others things like HP Photosmart would be shared for all in the house not just for me.
I sure this will make the Christmas of many people very very happy.
Thank you and good lucky for all.

PS: excuse for any errors of write.

lheard

12-15-2008, 07:23 PM

I choose to share my HP Magic with two people.

I. I have a home PC, which was purchased in 2000. Not many updates as you know due to its age. It manages well, but it's time to it saw greener pastures. To that end, I wish to share my HP Magic with my son, Chris. He is a 15-year-old high school sophomore. He spends an inordinate amount of time on the home PC. Needless to say, his science projects, grammar tools and literary searches require a lot of time on the PC. At the same time, I'm wanting to use the PC for my own needs - paying bills, email, Zune and Social Circle activities. His PC time being related to school takes precedence over my personal tasks - though over my own "idle worship", though he does have his RealPlayer radio booming and his WWE page open. Having two PC's in the house would create a more agreeable and productive environment for both of us. I can also prevent being blamed for his not doing well in school or failing altogether. I have enough ammunition in that arsenal already.

II. My niece, Tiffany C. Harris, has three children - three, four, and ten. They are quite the inquisitors, but sans a home PC. My nephew, Kameron (10) uses another family's PC to complete some of his assignments. His sisters are also in school. Having a computer in the home would not only resolve their inquisitions, but hopefully increase their desire to learn more, everyday of their lives. Sharing my HP Magic with my niece's family would assure me that she and her family never stop learning, and that the opportunity to do so is not hindered because of lack of resources.

courtenay27

12-15-2008, 07:49 PM

The first person I would share it with is my younger brother. About 1 month ago he unexpectedly announced that he and his fiance were going to get married after Christmas in Florida. I love the two of them dearly but the timing of his announcement could not have been worse because my girlfriend and I just cannot afford to make the trip down to Florida from Ohio or take the time off from work right now. While the prize package won't pay for plane tickets or gas and hotels it will allow me to give them a computer or two as an excellent wedding gift to go along with all of my best wishes.

The next person I would play Santa with is my dad. My mom passed away from pancreatic cancer just before the holidays 3 years ago and my dad had been planning to finally get a new computer to update their 1996 or '97 model Compaq Presario desktop which he is still using (got it when I was still in college). It never happened and now the computer is so slow and under powered that it's really next to useless for doing anything on the web. I'd like to be able to finally give him a new computer just because I could and as a thank you for raising 3 boys into fine men.

Lastly, I'd like to give something to my girlfriend's parents. They raised 4 girls into successful women and made sure all of them graduated from college with at least a bachelor's degree. They give a lot of their time to their grandchildren (who live 1.5 hours away in different directions) and their own community and certainly deserve whatever I can give them. Especially since they will one day be my in-laws! :-)

Thanks again for being part of this great opportunity.

write2phil

12-15-2008, 08:11 PM

Telling me how you'd share this prize pack, with whom, and why:

I would share the most practical pieces of the prize pack (probably laptops) with my wife's adopted twin brother and sister who are seniors in high school and hoping to go to college next year. They are great kids.

pjtrader

12-15-2008, 08:13 PM

This is such a great package of computers and stuff, it'd be shameful not to share the bounty. And even I can't put four new computers to work properly - although I'd give it the ol' college try!

You might not think this is sharing, but the HP Touchsmart would be my husband's primary computer. He spent last night describing (in excruciating detail) how he could fly Microsoft's Flight Simulator much more realistically if he could reach out and flick the landing gear into place or increase the throttle by touch instead of mousing it. My husband usually gets my older computers when I upgrade, so it would be nice for him to get something of his own that's new and shiny. (And then he'd keep his grubby prints off my equipment!)

My sister has been begging me to give her my personal HP 2133 Mini Note, so I think she would get the HP Mini 1000. Of course, she's also using an old HP dv1000 chugging along on 512mb RAM, and it broke my heart to see that thing working so hard as she taught one online class and took two others. The dv4 would really suit her needs exceptionally well. I'll give her a choice of which one she wants.

The 18" HDX is a bit large for portability, which I prize for my personal use. So I think that one would find a nice home with a local charity or church. I don't have on in mind yet, but I'm ready to do the legwork to find an organization who can make a difference with such a fine machine.

Thanks for holding this contest - and may whoever gets these machines enjoy them to their fullest!

Squishiy

12-15-2008, 08:19 PM

If I won I would share the prize with some really deserving people!

My older sister would get a computer, she is currently a homemaker (trying to get into absolute perfect health so she can have easy pregnancies) so as you might imagine she can't afford a new computer, and her current hand-me-down laptop doesn't even turn on!

I would give one to my mother. She needs a new desk top! the one she has now has crashed more times then I can count (including one time having us lose almost two years of home movies, everything from my sister's engagement to a family vacation my grandmother went on right before she passed away.)

I would also give a computer to my brother in-law, Matthew. He and my sister just got married and their financial situation is tight. He needs a new computer, (He is recently unemployed and would like to become a self employed Graphic Artist). I believe a new computer will help his new career and better help their income.

Please Consider Me For This Prize. It will really make (a currently plain, as I am sure many people are facing because of our economic crises) a truly amazing Christmas my family would always remember.:D

kcwester

12-15-2008, 08:21 PM

I'm a high school teacher and I have several students that do not have a computer. I also have a son in desperate need of a new computer as his is falling apart. I would give another computer to his church-he is a youth pastor and churches are also feeling the economic crunch. In additiion to giving a computer to my son and his church I would also give a laptop to a needy student in one of my math classes. I would probably have a contest as to who improves a grade the most in order for a student to be in a drawing for the computer. I would need to check with my school for the legalities of doing this. Thanks.

Ploobers

12-15-2008, 08:52 PM

I would use one of the laptops as a media center in the living room and as an occasional web surfing tool.

The other computers would go to college students in my town, probably international students, who do not have the funds to purchase one of their own. It would make a huge difference for these kids who typically spend all their money to get here and to pay tuition.

kathryne

12-15-2008, 09:03 PM

I would share most of these great products. I would keep one for myself to replace my old and outdated desktop and give one to my daughter who is a hard-working college student. As a single parent, paying tuition is difficult enough and a new notebook for her is impossible right now but desperately needed.

The rest I would donate to a local animal shelter and foster program. I know they need both hardware and funds so I would let them decide how these can be best put to use. It's a great way to give back to an organization that selflessly serves our community.

trog

12-15-2008, 09:10 PM

If I was to win, I would give away several of the items. I would give a laptop to my wife's church. They do a lot of great outreach work and would definitely help to brighten many other lives. I would give the Entertainment notebook to my Grandmother. She is just becoming technology savy and she would love the ability to stay in touch with the whole family on-line.

barbmccrea

12-15-2008, 09:45 PM

If I am selected as the winner, I would Give away all 3 of the Laptops, one To my son, a college student, who's computer fried almost a year ago and could use a new one to help with school, one to a Small Business down the road who supports 4H, who's computer just died, and one For the local home schooled children to be able to check out and use on a as needed basis. the only parts that I would keep for myself would be Touchsmart IQ816 and the all in one printer.

agsweeps

12-15-2008, 10:22 PM

I will give my Mom one of the laptops as I broke hers a couple months ago and haven't had the money to buy her a new one. I will donate the DVDs to a garage sale fundraiser that the Deshon chapter of the Iowa Daughters of the American Revolution are holding. My brother will also get one of the laptops as he is returning to college.

jenni104

12-15-2008, 10:48 PM

I am a single, disabled mom, living on social security only, with two sons about to start college hopefully. I have had to have my neck rebuilt, and my lower back is inoperable at this time, so the disc degeneration is taking it's toll on me. I also have heart problems, fibromyalgia, myofascia, and have developed severe social anxiety due to the illnesses and how I always feel. I used to teach the severely disabled and now I am on my way to being one of them. We also had to move into a two bedroom trailer from a wonderful house with land. My sons have been subjected to a lot due to my problems.

I would dearly love to help out my sons with their college needs; and this would go a long way to help them. We would keep the desk top here at home to share with the printer, and each boy could have a laptop for school and work with programming. I, of course, would let them help in all decisions regarding who gets what.

The last laptop I would like to give to my ex husband, who has lost his house and job due to the economy. He did find a factory job at minimal pay, and that one is about to close too. He is currently sleeping on my sofa here until he ever gets back on his feet. But I would like him to be able to keep in touch with the boys online too, and he doesn't have a computer. This could also help him find work too.

The child's software I would love to donate to the children's wing of the hospital for the poor kids there to enjoy, along with whatever else was not going to be used to better the future outlook of my sons.

I do not know how else I will ever be able to get technology for my sons college and work needs other than a wonderful contest like this. Thank you for this opportunity.

jimisawesome

12-15-2008, 11:14 PM

Thank you for hosting this contest. In September my mother was in a car accident and during treatment for this she learned that she had issues with her kidneys. One of her kidneys has completely shut down and she had to have it removed last month, her other kidney has an aneurysm that might need to be operated on in the very near future, she will find out Thursday. Well, during this time her computer died and I would love to be able to give her one for Christmas as she has always been there for me when I needed it. I lost my job recently and was going to buy her one but she figured it out and made me promise not to get her one as I needed the money more.

I would also like to give one of the laptops to my oldest friend Mike. He is a cop with the local sheriff’s department and recently had his second child. He is one of those people that is always there when you need him and he could use a new computer as his old one is giving him problems and his oldest child is entering the age where she will start using the computer. She also would probably love the Kung Fu Panda movie even though it is not her favorite Curious George.

quilligan

12-15-2008, 11:22 PM

One person I would share this with my 18 yr old niece. She wants her own computer to make a scrapbook and journal of my mother’s (her grandmother) life because she is terminally ill. I think this would be a good way to help her face the coming days. She is very close to my mother…as we all are. She also needs it to start college and this would be a good leg up for her. We had asked her not to get a job this past summer in order for her to help us with her grandmothers needs. It was so appreciated to have a third loving hand. She has been a super help but the money she was going to make was going to go for college needs like a computer. I feel bad about that but she says being with grandma was far more precious than anything else. She was a selfless teenager. Sometimes you just don't see that anymore. I admit I would like the printer. I have had mine for almost 10 years and it will only print when it darn tootin' pleases. Hearing me chew out the printer is a regular occurance in my house. When it really comes down to it there are so many people and my favorite non profit Children's Therapy Center I could share this abundance with. I only wish I was the computer fairy and could dance around from house to house giving out laptops. Now that would be great....as long as there wasn't a tutu involved. Yup...no tutu's...maybe a wand...only if it sparkled.

euphoria

12-15-2008, 11:37 PM

I love the spirit of giving, especially in Christmas, when TV reminds us of what we should be doing actually the whole year.
I will suppress my own needs - there aren't actually any real needs.
If I win I will give all the stuff away to others, and won't keep anything for myself, I am pretty much ok.

One notebook with the printer, the value pack and the Corel software would be given to my girlfriend, her laptop broke down.
The desktop should go to my mother, who greatly improved her work with her newly acquired at the age of 55 computer knowledge.
The touchsmart should go to my father, who has always been afraid of computers.
Another notebook would go to my sister, to help her with her job
The mini would go to a very good friend of mine who helped me very much the past year.
As for the remaining software, I will pick up randomly a friend among my facebook friends and send it to him/her.

Happy Holidays everyone and imagine how happy you would be by making others happy.

zwriter

12-16-2008, 12:08 AM

Okay I have given this a lot of thought. I have to be honest; the first person I would play Santa to would be myself. Over 7500 fans voted for the Most Popular Driver in the NASCAR Camping World Series West via the NASCAR.com website. The 2008 recipient of the prestigious NASCAR award is my son, Moses Smith (www.mosessmith.com), driver of the No. 16 Hasa Pool Products/White Flyer Toyota Camry. We were thrilled. With that honor, came an added responsibility to all the fans who voted for him!
In preparations for the 2009 season, in an effort to keep up with the technology of computer networking, I have recently published my own blog (http://nascarracemom.blogspot.com/ (http://nascarracemom.blogspot.com/)) , to inform and involve Moses’ fans. Once the 2009 racing season starts, it is my colossal plan to do ‘minute to minute’ updates from the hotels and tracks. I want to be able to interview a driver at 8:00 a.m. and have that interview up on the internet by 8:15 a.m.
It is my hope that fans can leave questions in the comments (I.E. Is Johnny B’s car fixed and ready to race) and I can find the answers to their questions and respond immediately.
I believe that this interactive blog design is new and innovative in the NASCAR Circuit and could propel itself to the leading edge within the first few races! My major drawback is that I do not have the equipment, most notable a wireless laptop, capable of doing the job. My laptop is over eight years old and just does not have what it takes to do on-site uploads. I need the fantastic HP Magic Giveaway to accomplish these enterprising ambitions! My site will become so timely and necessary, I hope that the great NASCAR itself will log on and interact in order to obtain the most current information. Therefore, I would keep the HP HDX 18 series Premium Notebook PC for myself.
Next Santa would visit the home of my favorite family. When my friend decided to adopt a child nine years ago, I warned her of all the pitfalls. When she excitedly related that the agency had found her two children, a sister and younger brother, I exhaled all the dangers; raising one child as a single parent would be tough but two . . . . . .
However, I assured her that should she move forward, she would not be alone. Adopt we did and it has been a blessing from day one. Young Miss is a vibrant and helpful eleven-year-old who doesn’t like school, but tolerates it well. Little man has shown a great maturity at the age of ten. He is a straight “A” student and a football star!
Unfortunately, my friend was injured on the job, and after two unsuccessful surgeries, it looks like she can no longer work in law enforcement and will have to accept a medical retirement next year. She is into photography and hopes to turn her talent into a new career, so HP TouchSmart IQ816 PC and the HP Photosmart C6380 Wireless AIO (printer) would have to go to her. Of the Kung Fu DVD would end up under the children’s Christmas Tree! I get giddy just thinking of the joy I could bestow on this inspirational family.
Next I would gift my husband and partner of thirty-four years with the HP Pavilion dv4 series Entertainment Notebook PC (with Windows Live). We are both retired and the economy has hit our 401k hard. To augment our retirement income, my husband has his own building consulting business (http://www.i-mez.com/). He helps people who have a code enforcement case pending or people who are just have difficulties on their construction project. He is doing really well, but needs a laptop that he can bring into the field with him. This would be the perfect way for me to help him help others!
Last but by no means least, the HP Mini 1000 (with XP) would go to the son of a co-worker. This family immigrated to the United States and has worked hard to realize the American Dream. Junior is a senior in High School and preparing to be the first college student in his entire family. The Mini will give him the head start he has earned with his hard work and good citizenship.
Thanks for this awesome opportunity!
:eek:

<o:p> </o:p>

cyngreen2

12-16-2008, 12:16 AM

I would give the desktop away to our school and a laptop I would give away to the family of the janitor at the school. She has a family of four and last year their house burned to the ground. She has had to start over with everything. I do not think she had a laptop or computer before, but I think this would make a nice gift for her and her family after all they have been through.

Pony99CA

12-16-2008, 12:19 AM

I'd keep the netbook for myself (for couch browsing) and give my daughter (who will hopefully be going away to college next year) her choice of the other laptops. She also expressed interest in the TouchSmart PC, but we'd have to see about that.

I'd done the laptop she didn't want (and maybe one other PC) to her old K-8 school (or maybe her high school depending on need).

Steve

patti31556

12-16-2008, 12:38 AM

What a wonderful prize package I wouldn't know where to start.. I would like the desktop since I have happened to fry 2 laptops in two years!! Am now using a junk Pc I rescued from someone trash. LOL. I would give one laptop to my autistic daughter since she seems to have a bad virus on her 4 year old desktop. My neice is going away to graduate school next fall and would love to give her a new laptop. The software we would ooh and ahh over and divy up. The last laptop I would like to donate to our local domestic abuse shelter's new thrift shop to help them do their paperwork and inventory.
Thank you so much for this opportunity.

zeldarose83

12-16-2008, 01:58 AM

I would keep just what me and my husband would need for school, and I would donate the rest to the WIC office with the stipulation that they give it to a mom who needs it for going back to school. For those who don't know WIC stands for Women Infants and Children and they help pregnant and nursing moms and their children with making sure they get all the proper nutrition during the most crucial years of the child's life. My WIC office has helped me greatly, they gave me a referral so I could get a crib for my daughter and they gave me a rental breast pump to use when I decided I would go back to school. They also gave me a lot of support while I was taking twice daily shots of blood thinners, when I had my first surgery ever ( a c-section), and when I got blood clots a few weeks after having my baby.