24 hours of programming with a chance to win $US100,000. Doesn’t sound too bad if you think you have the skills to compete. This is the core of BattleHack, a global marathon coding competition run by PayPal where teams or individuals come up with interesting uses for the payment provider’s various online services. Melbourne’s event is just about to wrap up — what have we managed to cook up?
TechAU’s Jason Cartwright (who also happens to be a judge for the event) has put together a run-down of all the projects. Some are more interesting than others; here are a few that caught my attention:
BEER IT FORWARD
Beer it Forward is an app/website that gives you access to free beers around the city. When you register you get a couple of free beers to consume in some pubs. Then you pay forward a beer from the menu of a Pub, and unlock two free beers in any other Pub in your area.
BITCOIN BUSKERS
Overview: Empowering street performers with Bitcoin to live work and travel.
HUMAN ATM
Overview: Out of Cash? ATM too far? Use the Human ATM! An app to find someone with cash and reimburse them with a commission via paypal.
As mentioned, the prize at the end if $US100,000, though you have to make it to the grand finals for an opportunity to score this. The second and third place rewards are rather meek in comparison — an Xbox One and an Adafruit V1.3 respectively. Probably the most important point is that competitors retain ownership over their creations, unlike a certain other Australian hack-a-thon from 2013.
[TechAU]