Steady as she goes...

As you all knew, we were planning to choose the 5th contest winner at Interop NY 2008. We'd like to thank everyone who took the time to participate in the closing round of the Will Linux Work contest, but we regret that there was no real feasible winner idea and therefore we are going to move forward with our four original winners:

• Winner #1 lives aboard a trimaran in New Zealand and needs a small, low power device to record positional data and monitor the engine, fuel reserves and rate of consumption. The OpenMicroServer will be put to the test against constant motion, vibrations, a sweeping variety of temperature conditions and the risk of electrolysis from lack of proper grounding and presence of salt water.

• Winner #2 will use the OpenMicroServer as a controller for amateur radio repeaters in an unheated container on a 4200’ hilltop. He will also use Asterisk (open source VOIP solution) and modified USB audio dongles to interface with the radio.

• Winner #3 will use the OpenMicroServer as a home utility automation device to be more efficient with energy usage. The system will monitor heating zones, hot water and air conditioning system cycle times to allow extracting daily information and plan strategies for fuel and cost savings. Advanced versions of the system will allow for time-of-day scheduling to take advantage of variable utility rates.

• Winner #4 will use the OpenMicroServer as an irrigation control system. He has developed software to control his 5-acre pasture and orchard ranch’s irrigation system, but needs a server that can deal with the hot California summer heat (104°F and more) and ubiquitous dust.