Recommended Posts

I got the same letter today except mine said Vista and the Iriver Clix, I'm kinda bummed about that, already got an Ipod was hoping for the Xbox, oh well I guess I can't complain its free.

yah, free except for the taxes you gotta pay on it. they should have hooked everyone up with monetary compensation to defray the cost of paying uncle sam.

Anyone know what the going tax rate is on prizes?

Link to comment
https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/533857-prizes/page/24/#findComment-588383744
Share on other sites

I won third prize, and it ended up being Office 2007 Ultimate. I really have no interest in this prize. Does anyone know if it would be worthwhile to try and contact Microsoft or 42 Entertainment to see if they would sub the prize for Vista? Anyone know who to contact at any of these companies?

I already tried an email and a letter to Marden-Kane with no response. I'm a little weary of paying a couple hundred bucks for a "free prize" that I won't ever use.

Link to comment
https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/533857-prizes/page/24/#findComment-588383967
Share on other sites

yah, free except for the taxes you gotta pay on it. they should have hooked everyone up with monetary compensation to defray the cost of paying uncle sam.

Anyone know what the going tax rate is on prizes?

You do not have to pay taxes on your prize Vista! A certain prize you only pay taxes if its over a certain value! I do not remember where the cut off is to where you have to pay your taxes on an item. But my god you do not have to worry about anything on your prize Vista. If you dont want it, let me know. Ill take it off your hands!

Link to comment
https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/533857-prizes/page/24/#findComment-588386166
Share on other sites

I won third prize, and it ended up being Office 2007 Ultimate. I really have no interest in this prize. Does anyone know if it would be worthwhile to try and contact Microsoft or 42 Entertainment to see if they would sub the prize for Vista? Anyone know who to contact at any of these companies?

I already tried an email and a letter to Marden-Kane with no response. I'm a little weary of paying a couple hundred bucks for a "free prize" that I won't ever use.

You might consider doing this. eBay

http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?s...earch&fgtp=

Link to comment
https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/533857-prizes/page/24/#findComment-588387898
Share on other sites

Hey all,

I've been lurking for a while now... I'm a 1st prize winner. I found neowin well after the contest ended, trying to figure out what my "potential first prize winner" letter really meant. I've long since sent back the forms and confirmed my status as a first prize winner. (Sorry, I got there with just over 300 pts.) And I've been told to expect a letter telling me which prize and arranging delivery "shortly" (that was a month ago). I guess I'm posting out of frustration. I still don't know what I'm getting (hoping for that Alienware system even though the taxes are going to kill me), or when I might be getting it. Oh and by the way they didn't even get my name right on the winners list (Jerry ends with a "y")

I don't want to seem ungrateful, but I never really gave the idea of winning a thought. I played the game because I though it was fun to sit there and work things out on my newly purchased (apple) laptop (ahhh the irony...) So to win is nice, but it has been painfully anti-climactic. Am I wrong to assume that this should be going better than this? Am I wrong to assume that when Marden Kane lists their contact info it means that they will return calls and email in a timely manner? Am I risking being awarded the one of the lesser first prizes but airing my greivances like this? I don't know... I guess I just need to get it off my chest to someone, who might be even slightly sympathetic. My wife is sick of hearing about all this.

My birthday's next month... I'm just hoping MS and AMD will get me a 30" monitor and a Zune for my 34th.

:x

Link to comment
https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/533857-prizes/page/24/#findComment-588395351
Share on other sites

^ i've never won a prize before, but i'm hearing that getting your prizes is a long process. i'm anxious to get my prizes too and i've sent a couple of emails to marden kane as well with no response. i feel your pain, just wait it out :yes:

also, where do you live? your location could also be the reason it's taking a while to get that letter.

Link to comment
https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/533857-prizes/page/24/#findComment-588395373
Share on other sites

I'm in Portland, OR. :whistle: I certainly hope location isn't the issue.

^ i've never won a prize before, but i'm hearing that getting your prizes is a long process. i'm anxious to get my prizes too and i've sent a couple of emails to marden kane as well with no response. i feel your pain, just wait it out :yes:

also, where do you live? your location could also be the reason it's taking a while to get that letter.

Link to comment
https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/533857-prizes/page/24/#findComment-588395431
Share on other sites

I don't want to seem ungrateful, but I never really gave the idea of winning a thought. I played the game because I though it was fun to sit there and work things out on my newly purchased (apple) laptop (ahhh the irony...) So to win is nice, but it has been painfully anti-climactic. Am I wrong to assume that this should be going better than this? Am I wrong to assume that when Marden Kane lists their contact info it means that they will return calls and email in a timely manner? Am I risking being awarded the one of the lesser first prizes but airing my greivances like this? I don't know... I guess I just need to get it off my chest to someone, who might be even slightly sympathetic. My wife is sick of hearing about all this.

I know how you feel, I'm very grateful for winning a 2nd place prize, all I really wanted was a copy of windows vista ultimate, and I got that. But at the same time i'm bummed because I got my letter yesterday stating that I had won the iriver clix which I really had no interest in. The total value for my prize was $598 (hopefully since it's under $600 I don't have any tax liability). Other 2nd prize winners that got the Xbox 360 had a total prize value of $798, which makes me feel like i'm getting gypped out of $200. Oh well, i'm still psyched that I won playing a fun game online.

And I did get one e-mail response from marden-kane when I had to send them a change of address request a couple of weeks ago. I sent one additional e-mail after that and never got a response.

Anyway, congrats on your 1st place win and happy early birthday

Link to comment
https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/533857-prizes/page/24/#findComment-588396552
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Well, I finally got my notification letter and I'm happy to find out that I'm getting the Alienware prize! (Happy Birthday to me... come to papa 30 inch!) Sadly it will be 6-8 weeks (according to the letter from Marden Kane) before I get the goods. So here's the new question, what is the prize? I mean I know what comes with the prize (Zune, games, etc), but as for the PC itself all I can figure out is that it's an AMD based Alienware system and by subtracting the known ARV of the other prizes, I end up with an estimated value of the PC of $5800.00 (Wow, that's got to be one hell of a system.) Checking in at Alienware suggests that it's either a fully loaded Aurora 7500 or a standard configuration ALX. Anyone want to guess which is going to show up in a couple of months? More directly, does anyone know for certain what will ship, you know, any of you MS or MK insiders want to spill the beans?) I'm kinda hoping it comes with a TV tuner, but I suppose I can add one myself.

Link to comment
https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/533857-prizes/page/24/#findComment-588429445
Share on other sites

My letter arrived yesterday and I'm also the proud winner of the Alienware package :D :D

I fired off an email to Erica asking whether I'll be getting UK or US versions of the stuff and where it's being shipped from (really can't see them paying for air freight for all that and it's a long way by boat ;)). I also threw in a request for the spec of the PC so fingers crossed this email will actually get an answer, can't say that I'm impressed with the response level and timescales from MK - 1 response out of 3 emails sent so far and the prize confirmation letter was dated the 21/03.

Link to comment
https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/533857-prizes/page/24/#findComment-588431827
Share on other sites

I sent a similar request and have had a similar experience with the email response situation. Let's share whatever info we might get, shall we?

BTW Congrats!

I also threw in a request for the spec of the PC so fingers crossed this email will actually get an answer, can't say that I'm impressed with the response level and timescales from MK - 1 response out of 3 emails sent so far and the prize confirmation letter was dated the 21/03.
Link to comment
https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/533857-prizes/page/24/#findComment-588446432
Share on other sites

guess everyone else already got their stuff.....

i don't think anyone has gotten their stuff yet. if they did, they would have posted something. from the estimated 6-8 weeks that they gave me, i'm guessing my prizes will arrive near the end of this month or the beginning of next month.

Link to comment
https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/533857-prizes/page/24/#findComment-588451224
Share on other sites

Sent Erica a mail chasing my previous questions and got a reply:

Microsoft is currently in the process of confirming the order/specs of the Alienware PC. These customizations are determined by the Sponsor. I'm sorry I don't have any additional information for you yet, but I'll keep you posted once I have any more news.

No info yet, other than we don't get a choice in the case or lighting colours.

Link to comment
https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/533857-prizes/page/24/#findComment-588474745
Share on other sites

Hello all! I am from Indiana and received a package from MK saying I was a potential first prizewinner. The package was delivered via FedEx last Thursday. I played Vanishing Point about half way through, but relied on answers from here for everything after the first box. THANK YOU! I did a lot of research on Marden Kane, because I thought it might be a scam. I even called Erica Valdellon at MK to see if her phone number was real. She called me back yesterday and said that I was an "alternate winner", and that since the prize was valued at more then $600, I had to send the forms in. It wasn't until I read this thread that I decided to go ahead and mail in my personal information. I will be sure and keep you up to date on what I receive. I will also check back here to see if people actually start receiving their prizes.

Thanks again!

Link to comment
https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/533857-prizes/page/24/#findComment-588477740
Share on other sites

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Posts

    • Same, never saw it on Android or iOS. Guess only some people got it *shrugs*
    • Anthropic pulls Fable 5 and Mythos 5 after US export control order by Pradeep Viswanathan In April this year, Anthropic launched the Claude Mythos Preview frontier model with state-of-the-art cyber and coding capabilities for a select set of companies around the world. After preparing appropriate guardrails, early this week, Anthropic launched Claude Fable 5 and Mythos 5, its most capable AI models. Claude Fable 5 is for general users and comes with strict safeguards, while Mythos 5 is designed with fewer safeguards for cybersecurity and biology use cases. Today, Anthropic abruptly suspended access to its Fable 5 and Mythos 5 AI models for all customers after receiving an export control directive from the US government. The company received the directive from the government today at 5:21 p.m. ET, and the received letter did not provide any details regarding the national security concern. Anthropic understands that the government became aware of a method to bypass, or “jailbreak,” Fable 5, which might be the reason behind the directive. The order was issued under national security authorities and requires the company to suspend all access to Fable 5 and Mythos 5 by any foreign national, whether they are inside or outside the United States. The restriction also applies to foreign national employees working at Anthropic. As a result, the company has disabled both models for all customers to ensure compliance. Access to previous Anthropic models like Opus and Sonnet is not affected by this government order. The company highlighted that it had developed strong safeguards to reduce the possibility that Fable is misused for tasks related to cybersecurity. In fact, many developers are complaining that the safeguards are going overboard. Additionally, the company worked with the US government, the UK AISI, multiple private third-party organizations, and internal teams to red-team Fable’s safeguards for thousands of hours. Finally, Anthropic noted that no testers have yet been able to find a universal jailbreak on Fable 5. As expected, Anthropic disagrees that a narrow potential jailbreak should lead to the recall of a commercial model used by hundreds of millions of people. It warned that applying this standard across the AI industry could effectively halt new frontier model deployments. Anthropic concluded by mentioning that it is working to restore access to Fable 5 and Mythos 5 as soon as possible and plans to share more details within the next 24 hours.
    • Brave Browser 1.91.172 is out.
    • Any Video Converter Free 9.2.3 by Razvan Serea Any Video Converter is an All-in-One video converting tool with an easy-to-use graphical interface, fast converting speed and excellent video quality. Any Video Converter supports all popular video formats and converts your videos to different video formats including MP4, MOV, MKV, M2TS, M4V, MPEG, AVI, WMV, ASF, OGV, WEBM, and more. It supports converting videos to customized percent (50%, 100%, 200%, and more) or resolution (480p, 720p, 1080p, 4K, and more); It supports encoding videos into x264, x265, h263p, xvid, mpeg, wmv, and more. Any Video Converter Free key features: Compatible with Windows 11/10/8.1/8/7 (32-64bit) User interface are available in 14 languages Convert all kinds of video formats including high-definition videos Extract audio from any videos and save as MP3/WMA for your mp3 player Take snapshot from any videos and build your own picture collection Support high-definition for both input and output Batch add videos from hard drive and batch convert Customize output parameters completely as you like Manage your output videos files by group or output profile Merge several video files into a single and long one Clip a video into segments Free Audio Filter: Adjust audio volume and add audio effects Crop frame size to remove black bars and retain what you want only Adjust the brightness, contrast, saturation Rotate or flip or add noise/sharpen effects Produce output video with subtitles of your own dialogue and much, much more... Any Video Converter Free 9.2.3 changelog: Fixed video download engine auto-update failures. Added custom speed control support in the speed change tool. Added support for downloading YouTube AI-generated subtitles. Added support for preserving original audio stream in the format convert tool (e.g., Dolby Atmos, DTS:X). Fixed other bugs and improved overall performance. Download: Any Video Converter Free 9.2.3 | 7.6 MB (Freeware) View: Any Video Converter Free Home Page | Screenshot Get alerted to all of our Software updates on Twitter at @NeowinSoftware
    • Not sure what country you’re in but in many countries you can absolutely jail the sellers behind businesses… in fact I’d say in most countries you can do that
  • Recent Achievements

    • Contributor
      MarkHughes4096 went up a rank
      Contributor
    • Dedicated
      jordanspringer earned a badge
      Dedicated
    • Rookie
      Rimplesnort went up a rank
      Rookie
    • One Year In
      Markus94287 earned a badge
      One Year In
    • One Month Later
      Markus94287 earned a badge
      One Month Later
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      507
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      176
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      149
    4. 4
      ATLien_0
      92
    5. 5
      Steven P.
      79
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!