One day left to compete in IT, Algorithm, and Visual Gaming!
Some of the easiest ways to compete - and get your free stuff - close tomorrow night March 1st! So read on for updates on the IT, Algorithm, and Visual Gaming invitationals.
Here's how to get started: For any of the competitions, after you register, go to Team & Event Tools and scroll down to the competition. Select "Go take the quiz" or for team events you'll be prompted to create or join a team.
Algorithm:
Algorithm is a 30-minute, 30-question online quiz for Round 1. The top 200 scorers worldwide advance to Round 2 where your coding skills are put to the test.
How things are shaping up in the US: (click here for the Worldwide Leaderboard)
Ashley Ashford from Columbia College is #2 worldwide right now, Ruoming Pang from Princeton also in the top 10. For the US, both MIT and Rutgers have two students each in the US top 10, with Cal, Texas, Ohio State, and University of Chicago rounding out the top of the leaderboard.
Sample question:
Which of these is the correct big-O expression for 1+2+3+…+n?
a) O(log n)
b) O(n)
c) O(n log n)
d) O( n^2)
Answer: d
Information Technology:
The IT first round challenge is also a 30-minute, 30-question quiz. The top 10 overall and the top 5 from every country advance to the second round, and the final 6 to the World Finals in Japan.
How things are shaping up the US: (click here for the Worldwide Leaderboard)
William Long (Texas A&M) and Josh Blake (James Madison) are leading the US standings and are in the top 10 worldwide! Rounding out the US top 5 are: Brian Desmond from Walter Payton College Prep High School, Iwan Kinal from Columbia University, and Jeff Tjiputra from the College of Southern Maryland.
Sample question:
Which physical network topology is used on 10BaseT Ethernet networks?
a) bus
b) mesh
c) ring
d) star
Answer: d
Visual Gaming:
The visual gaming first round challenge is an SDK based competition where you write the code behind a team of nano-robots. Check out the SDK, characters, and back story - Project Hoshimi.
How things are shaping up in the US: (click here for the Worldwide Leaderboard)
Team ContAInment from the University of Houston is currently #5 on the worldwide leaderboard and leading the US, with teams from James Madison University, UC San Diego, University of Texas-Arlington, and DePaul rounding out the US top 5!
The winning team in the World Finals will also get a one week internship with Gas Powered Games, makers of the upcoming Dungeon Siege II! All competitors who advance to the third round of the competition will receive a free copy of Dungeon Siege II when it releases.
The 3D viewer was the picture of the day on flipcode recently.
You can download the tutorials and SDK here.
Other ways to compete:
If you prefer more in-depth experiences, head to the Imagine Cup site and click on Office Designer, Rendering, Short Film, Technology Business Plan, or Web Development, all of which are open for new entries until April 1st. Software Design has already closed for new entries in the United States, but may still be open in other countries (check here for more information).
-Kevin (Microsoft)
