MacMod is pleased to bring you "The Great MacMod Challenge 2008". This annual challenge is always a huge success and a time of exciting experimentation in the Mac modding community. Did you know that nearly all of the major mods released in the last two years were designed as entries to the Challenge? Some modders spend all year preparing for this highly competitive event. "The Great MacMod Challenge 2008 is your opportunity to win some great prizes offered by our sponsors and have fun doing it. All you have to do is mod an item that fits into one or more of the following categories.

Mod categories include

Internal Mods - Modification of motherboards, graphics cards, overclocking, etc.

External Mods - Modification to appearance through lighting, painting, remolding, recasing, etc.

Lighting Mods - If it emits a glow and its been changed then it qualifies so long as it is apple related.

Peripheral Mods - Modifications to mice, base stations, etc.

iPod Mods - Modifications to iPods

iPhone Mods - Modifications to iPhones

Software Mods - Modification at system level such as custom OS install, supporting unsupported hardware, etc.

Miscellaneous Mods - Anything from a robot controlled by a mac to a carputer system.

** Submissions can be in one or more of these categories. In other words, your mod that you create can contain mods in all of these categories if you wish. **

So, now that you and your buddies have decided you are going to pull that old mac out of the closet, mod it up and submit it in the competition, you are wondering how to do it, what can you win, and finally, are there submission requirements. What would a competition be without requirements? Exactly, thats why this one has them as well. Arn't you glad.

Mod Submission Requirements

** Mods submitted that do not fit the proper requirements will not be accepted **

• Must be Mac related and fit into one or more than one of the categories above. Therefore, it must be an Apple product, a mac accessory, or software for a Mac product or accessory. If you are in question of whether or not the mod you are planning on submitting is eligible please contact us before starting.

• Must be in the form of a Mod Guide. A mod guide is simply a guide of the processes you took in creating your mod. Therefore, there must be accompanying pictures for the steps along with detailed instructions. The amount of detail and time spent putting together the mod guide is as important as the mod itself. Think of the mod guide as your way of marketing your mod. If you are still having trouble with the mod guides, or you just want to see some tips and maybe get some ideas, check out the mod guides section from the "main menu".

• ** The detail of the guide will be taken into consideration during the judging process. **

• The mod must be new to MacMod. In other-words you may not submit a mod that has already been submitted as a mod guide or competition on the site. The purpose of this competition is to give the modding community something to talk about.

• Submissions must be received by 11:59pm EST, August 31st.

**Please note that no submissions will be accepted after this date! The judging will begin at this time.**

Ok, so you know what the requirements are and the category restrictions, but what do you win? Drumroll, please.........

iFixit.com First place : Mechanical Modder Package

The prestigious "Mod of the Year" Trophy
$1,000 Value

• 4 GB RAM
• 320 GB Hard Drive
• External HD Case
• Fluke 115 Digital Multimeter
• Thermal Compound
• Dremel 400 Kit
• Bausch and Lomb Magnifying Visor
• 48W Digital Eclipse 902-092 Soldiering Station

• iTrip Auto Pilot
• Wireless Evolve Speaker System
• Elan Form iPod Case
• iKaraoke System
• TuneFlex Aux

• iPhone 3G
• $50 for Apps

Convinced that you want to participate now, but are afraid that you can't create a "good enough" mod to place first, second, or third? In the spirit of fun, the panel of judges will also name the following...

• Best Dressed
• Class Clown
• Biggest Geek
• Most Likely to end up on eBay

	Judge 1:  Andy Inhatko       Andy Inhatko is a technology journalist for the Chicago Sun-Times, and tech author.  He currently resides in Boston, Massachusetts.  He frequently appears on Leo Laporte's podcasts, specifically MacBreak Weekly and TWiT.  He's also a regular on the MacNotables podcast, hosted by Chuck Joiner where he often is paired with fellow technology journalist Adam Engst.  Moreover, he is a weekly contributor to Scott Bourne's Apple Phone Show podcast by Podango. (excerpt from Wikipedia.com )
	Judge 2:  Ilene Hoffman Ilene Hoffman is a key player in the Macintosh world. She is the Reviews Editor on the Macintosh News Network (www.macnn.com/reviews), independently publishes the Hess Macworld Expo Events List, and volunteers her time as the photographer for her local high school soccer team. Ilene has written for many Mac publications and is presently authoring a Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard book for Wiley. In her dwindling spare time Ilene maintains comprehensive OS links for Mac users on her site and provides Mac consulting services in the Boston area. She is one of three recipients of the Macintosh User Group Academy Hero award.
	Judge 3:  Peter Cohen Senior editor Peter Cohen writes about Macintosh news for the Macworld.com Web site, where he's been since 1999. He's also Macworld's resident game guy, and he's been writing about the Mac game scene since 1994.
	Judge 4:  Victor Marks Since 2005 Victor Marks has been a product manager at Miglia . In 2000, he manufactured PCBs that adapted iMac to ATX power supply (tip, convert PFW to PS_ON# signal), replaced LCD panels in TiBooks, changing the color of the Apple insert, and shoehorned a 1024x768 panel into an iBook clamshell. Not afraid of voiding warranties or the pointy end of the soldering iron.
	Judge 5:  John Foster John Foster built custom game paddles for Apple II's back in 1981. They were super smooth and had great buttons. He's owned a computer store, published software and written articles and hacked things into other things just because. He has taught interactive design, video production and story telling at the Academy of Art University. His non-award winning podcasts talk about tech, media and beer. John currently does not own a video camera.

Now what are the judges going to be judging your mod based on? You know there is a set of judging criteria, common... They will be giving your mod points based on the following.

• Creativity & Originality
• Level of Difficulty
• Aesthetics & Design
• Functionality
• Level of Integration

So what are we leaving out now? You know what you can submit, you know what you are going to win and you know who is going to judge your mod and what its going to be judged on. All you need to know now is how to submit your mod once you have completed and documented it properly.

1st Step - Register on MacMod if you have not already done so.

2nd Step - Download this Word template

Mods Must Include the Following

1. At least 500 words in a summary description of the mod. Please include things such as its purpose, work time, difficulty, problems that arose, and various other details.
2. Step by Step Instructions of the mod process. This must include at a minimum no less than 10 process images.
3. At least 5 pictures of the finished mod.

Remember that the better your mod guide looks the better chance you have of getting a positive rating from the judges. Be creative and take the time to make it good.

Third Step - Submit Your Mod

Format your mod guide in a text editor (MS Word, iWork, etc.) and email your submission to modguide [at] macmod.com

If you are comfortable working with html, we welcome sending a zip file laid out the way you wish. However, please do not include any special styling as it will be removed and just creates extra work on both of us. Thanks.

Please keep in mind that this competition is open to teams as well as individuals.