You know what is better than getting a brand new Toshiba Qosmio X305 gaming laptop this holiday? How about getting one for free? Yes, that definitely would be the way to go; but there is one small catch: You have to earn it by designing your vision of the ultimate gaming laptop of the future.

Just send a presentable looking mockup of your design with specs and other info to “contests @ gizmodo.com” (remove spaces and quote marks) with the subject “X305 Contest.” Hurry though, all entries must be received by December 1st to be considered. Visit the site to learn more.

On February 27, 2009 innovators, entrepreneurs, visionaries, and designers will return to New York City to discuss the future of sustainability for the consumer electronics industry.

Topics will include: emerging energy technology, e-waste and recycling, new inventions in energy generation and efficiency, and future forward recyclable gadgetry.

Join this group of thought leaders and reserve your place at the conference today. Greener Gadgets 2009 will take place at the McGraw Hill Conference Center in NYC on February 27th, 2009. Visit the site to learn more.

The AIA Committee on Design (COD) invites architects, students, and allied design professionals to submit sketches to the international 2009 COD Ideas Competition, titled “Listening to the Past, Looking to the Future: A House for Today.” In this unique sketch competition, submitters are asked to explore the legacy of modernist design through a concept design problem.

Winners will receive funding to attend the COD Spring Design Conference in Boston and have their work exhibited at the 2009 AIA National Convention in San Francisco. Selected entries will be displayed on the AIA Web site.

Submissions will be made in the form of two Powerpoint slides containing the information and images you choose to present your vision for the new house. In order for the judging to be blind, you must not include any identifying information on the slides. Please be sure to name your project and ensure that that name is on both your slides and the registration form.

To register for the competition please email Allison Fax to request the Powerpoint template and a registration form. Payment can be made with check or credit card (Visa, Mastercard or American Express). Payment by check must be postmarked no later than February 13, 2009. For background details, jury information and templates, please visit the site.

EXHIBITOR Magazine’s Exhibit Design Awards honor the world’s best trade show exhibit designs. The most coveted design award in the industry, the competition draws domestic and international entrants from countries such as Turkey, Switzerland, Israel, Australia, and the Netherlands.

Trade show exhibit designs debuting between Dec. 1, 2006, and Dec. 1, 2008, are eligible for the 2009 competition. Final deadline is 12 December 2008. Visit the site to learn more.

MyToons.com, the world’s first and only online animation community to offer HD animation, today announced the launch of its ground-breaking Digital Portfolio System. Using the Digital Portfolio System, artists and animators can easily customize a variety of pre-designed layouts or build their own portfolios from scratch. MyToons.com also reinforces the efforts of the artist by supporting each portfolio with an engaged community, trustworthy technology, and dynamic marketing efforts. The MyToons.com Digital Portfolio System will allow animators and artists throughout the world to present their portfolios online while maintaining their unique brand identity.

“An animator’s portfolio represents his or her brand identity, and we believe that the creator should have absolute control over how that identity is managed and presented to the world,” said Paul Ford, co-founder and president of MyToons.com. “We are honored to be able to offer animators a powerful, yet easy-to-use tool that provides such broad creative freedom and complete command of their online portfolio. With this robust system we aim to empower artists and animators with the ability to present their portfolios to a global audience with control, creativity, and confidence.”

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Calling all web designers and web developers - it’s time to show how much you <3 Your Web, and MIX09 is the place to do it! At MIX, you’ll get access to the tools, knowledge, and vision to create the next generation of UX, applications, and web design. You’ll also have an opportunity to exchange ideas with fellow designers and developers (representing some of the world’s top sites and interactive agencies) and network with Microsoft’s thought-leaders in the web space.

Join the conversation, help to influence the future of the Web, take your skills to the next level and compete, vote and win a trip to MIX09 by competing in the MIX 10K Challenge.

The Challenge asks: What could you create for the Web if you only had 10 kilobytes of code? It’s time to exercise your minimalist creativity and get back to basics – back to optimizing every little byte like your life depended on it. One winner will receive a pass to MIX09, hotel accommodations and a Visa gift card. Other great prizes are to be announced. Official entry requirements, procedures, rules and restrictions coming in November, so you might want to bookmark this page.

Pre-Event Workshops will be held March 17, 2009 and the conference is on March 18 - 20, 2009. Both events will be held at The Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. Visit the site to learn more and to register.

Artec Snowboards is proud to announce the launch of the 2009 Artec Snowboards Design Contest. They are teaming up with the generous folks at Sony Playstation again this year, and the stakes are as high as ever for the 5th edition of this innovative competition.

Here’s the deal: they’re looking for artistic souls to take on their creative challenge and design a snowboard topsheet graphic that ties in with their progressive design philosophy and technology. History tells us the winning entry will need to be truly inspired and original, so be creative and unleash your imagination.

Download a blueprint design template and get to work. After finish the design you simply upload it online with your personal data. Carefully read the blueprint design guidelines to ensure you meet their specifications. There are no limits to how many graphics you can upload.

The deadline for all graphic submissions is midnight on 5 January 2009. Visit the site to learn more.

The Art Institutes Passion for Fashion Competition offers high school students interested in Fashion Design or Fashion Marketing & Merchandising or Retail Management an opportunity to win a full tuition scholarship to study at one of The Art Institutes schools.

Open to high school seniors across North America, The Art Institutes Passion for Fashion Competition was created to encourage and reward young fashion design and fashion marketing, merchandising and retail management talent at the high school level.

The competition consists of two categories: Fashion Design and Fashion Marketing; Merchandising and Retail Management. The grand prize in each category includes a full tuition scholarship to The Art Institutes school location with a fashion program at which the student entered the competition.

In addition to a full tuition scholarship, each grand prize winning student receives an all-expense-paid trip to New York City for Fashion Week in February 2009 and a “meet and greet” at Seventeen magazine’s offices.

Deadline for entries into the competition is 21 November 2008, so hurry! Visit the site to learn more.

Metro (Portland, Oregon) is accepting grant applications for projects that connect citizens to their watershed through hands-on restoration activities and environmental education. Metro’s restoration and enhancement grants support individual, non-profit and government sponsored restoration, enhancement and education and efforts in regional watersheds. These grassroots, community-minded projects create new connections and improvements to neighborhoods, natural areas, backyards and beyond.

To date, Metro has awarded $1.23 million to support 42 nonprofit community groups, schools, businesses and local government agencies responsible for 64 projects in the region. Because some recipients were required to have matching funds, the total value of the grants awarded thus far is $4.6 million and counting. This program engages citizens of all ages and backgrounds in the restoration and enhancement of their natural surroundings and helps keep nature in all our communities for this generation and those to come.

Deadline for pre-application is 7 January, 2009. Visit the site to learn more.

BOM is here to help by bringing you the Design Not Drama Contest where you can show the world how you keep the drama on the down low in your relationships! Express how you dial down the drama by designing a t-shirt that reflects the BOM = Boss of Me themes. Use the Entry Editor or download a t-shirt template, create your Design Not Drama statement either as a slogan or picture and submit to win a $1000 Apple Gift Card, 20 t-shirt copies of your design plus have your entry posted on BOM411.com.

This contest is open to California residents aged 15-19. The grand prize winner, based on most creative, best slogan and best reflection of theme, will receive a $1,000 Apple® Gift Card, 20 copies of his or her t-shirt and the design featured on the BOM411.com website. Prizes will also be given away for the runner-up and 4 most viral winners.

Deadline is 5 December 2008. Visit the site to learn more.