Hack U

It's hacking season again! After successful HackUs at IIT-Madras IIT-Bombay and IIT-Kharagpur, It's time for hack lovers in IIT-Delhi to team up and emerge with cool and interesting hacks!

Get the hack fever at your campus…

• IIT Delhi, on October 13th – 16th, 2011

WHAT IS HACKING ?

Have interesting add-ons or features to existing web products or apps? Or have a cool new product idea itself? Then this competition is the perfect platform. Register your hack idea with a description and team name and get hacking.

Bounce off ideas, suggestions or just engage in plain chit-chat with Yahoo! web experts and participate in sessions full of learning, hacking and fun!

Interesting tech talks, hacking tips and lessons, and hands-on coding workshops await you. Make the best use of it while it lasts!

Overview of competition

HOW DO I GET INVOLVED

Come by the kickoff event in your campus to learn more about the competition and get the pertinent details. Or register now if you already know the ropes and have a good grasp on the open APIs and hacking protocol. Remember there are no limitations and you can use all open technology to build your app although we must admit that some of the judges have a soft spot for Yahoo! stuff. Go for it!

How to Succeed at Hack Day

We've been doing these things since late 2005 in US, UK and Canada; we are 2 years old in India.

Here are notes and observations that might help.

• You have 24 hours to build something. Wrack your brains and come up with that hack that will throw you in the limelight.
• You're not restricted to using Yahoo! APIs and services, although (hint) the judges would really, really love it. For inspiration, please visit the Apps Gallery, the Widget Gallery, and the Yahoo! Developer Network.
• There will be food, drink, SWAG, and entertainment suited to the occasion, which is code for "you will be pleasantly surprised."

RULE ONE: SHOW THE HACK FIRST!

You'll have a limited time (180 secs) to present. Here's what you need to show in that time:

• The problem your hack solves.
• That it actually does solve the problem, right then and there.
• If there's time, how your hack works.

One of the most common Fatal Errors we see at Hack Day presentations is that our hackers, having spent the last 24 hours getting their hack to work, want to cover Item Three first. (They've suffered for their art ... don’t let it be your turn.) Please, whatever you do, don't do this. Say the problem, show the solution, and then talk about how you solved it, if there's still time.

IF YOU'RE SHOWING A WEB APP, PLEASE PRESENT ON OUR EQUIPMENT

Please bring your own laptops or any other gadgets that you are using. Your presentation will be projected for all to see and praise. 1024x768 is normally the resolution you will want. The best demonstrations are the easiest to set up. If yours is on a public host somewhere and not on your university's private network, chances are better that you won't run into network trouble.

IF YOU'RE SHOWING A WIDGET OR OTHER INSTALLED SOFTWARE, PLEASE USE YOUR OWN LAPTOP

Sorry, there won't be time to install anything, even as tiny as a widget, on one of our machines. And we won't want to run the risk of breaking one, which would not be fair to the rest of the hackers.

BE ONLINE, SIGNED IN, AND READY TO GO

If you're demonstrating a hack that requires the user to be signed in to a particular network or service, be signed in before your turn begins. You'll have three-five minutes at a minimum to accomplish this before you get the microphone. (Bonus: you'll eliminate the chance of getting nervous and entering your password in the login box in front of a large audience, which has happened several times in our memory...)

IF YOU NEED SOMETHING SPECIAL, LET US KNOW EARLY

By "special," we mean "anything that can't be shown on a laptop." Going to show something on a cellphone, or other monitor that won't plug into a projector? Need audio? A close-up shot on your Nabaztag or Chumby? We'd love to help ... please let us know early!

PRACTICE! PRACTICE! PRACTICE!

Actually do your demo for your team. If you're alone, pick some random people and do it for them. Answer their questions, think about what they mean, and then rewrite the demo if needed. It just might turn out that the hack you thought you made wasn't really the hack that the audience saw.

THE LEGAL THING

If you want to know mystical mumbo-jumbo that allows us to give you cool prizes, you can check out the terms and conditions official rules of the contest.

Have Fun!

Remember, you're not just showing a hack: you're showing yourself, and (yes!) recruiters will be there, watching how you do in the spotlight. Be offbeat. Show your style. Let your freak flag fly, if you've got one. Most of all, engage your audience with your sense of humor and the clear perception that you are thrilled to be up there showing your stuff. Enjoy yourself; it really makes a difference!

Got questions?

We're here to make Hack-U awesome for you. Email us at hackuindia@yahoo.com if you have any questions. Follow HackU on http://twitter.com/hacku