OStatic

I'm beginning to think the folks at Zenoss never sleep. How else can the popular open source network monitoring software vendor explain all the recent announcements and news they've been making the last few days? Let's start with the contest.

The new Community ZenPack Contest captures the cloud computing craze. Zenoss in the Clouds ZenPack Contest is aimed at users who want to create modules, or ZenPacks, to allow Zenoss to monitor cloud infrastructureand service providers, or deploy cloud-based technologies.

Safari Books Online is holding a competition for anyone who wants to show off their mad coding skills, so if you think you're up to the task check out the Coder Challenge. If you can convince the judges that you're the best developer out there, you'll take home a 3-month subscription to Safari Books Online and score an invitation to a special event hosted by O'Reilly Media founder Tim O'Reilly.

Calling all artists: If you want to try your hand at creating images as spectacular as the one on the left and win a prize for them, then you need to enter the Blender World Cup 2009 contest. This year's topic focuses on the other world which should contain fantasy, creativity, and interest.

Contest rules are pretty straightforward. As long as Blender is the predominant 3D software you use to create your image, you're welcome to use any other apps you like. Entries need to be submitted in .JPG format and saved at 80-95% quality.

Blender World Cup judges offer the following tips for getting the best shot at nabbing a slot as one of 2009's winners:

Non-profit research group Institute for the Future has partnered with Boing Boing and Sun Microsystems to create an online community of young inventors who want to work with open source technology. To sweeten the interest in becoming a part of The Digital Open, community organizers are holding a contest for kids 17 and under to submit their own open source projects for a chance to win a laptop, Flip camera, or one of several other prizes.

Ubuntu has once again opened up a call for submissions to anyone interested in being a part of the Ubuntu Free Culture Showcase. If you're a musician, artist, photographer, or all-around creative genius and would like to enter your work in the current competition, you've got until February 9, 2009 to submit something to the judges.