College students at accredited schools across the country are being encouraged to enter the third annual AT&T Big Mobile on Campus Challenge to design the next killer mobile app, or application for mobile phones, for cash, cachet and national recognition.

Those of us of a certain age will recognize the ancient BMOC acronym which stood for “;big man on campus,”; a concept with which these kids today are likely unfamiliar, it having gone the way of saddle shoes and D.A. haircuts.

The company will select five finalists and then select three overall winners.

The grand prize is a $10,000 scholarship to be presented at the EduCause Annual Conference in Anaheim, Calif., on Oct. 12-15. AT&T will spring for airfare and accommodations.

The two runners-up will each receive a $5,000 scholarship and all winners get a mobile device of choice — think phone, not laptop.

Schools whose students rank in the top five finalists will receive complimentary lifetime membership to the AT&T Developer Program, valued at $750 a year.

The challenge is to create an application to enhance the educational process that should demonstrate usability, quality, innovation, utility and marketability.

“;Between class, jobs, and extracurricular activities, college students lead hectic lives, and we recognize the need for mobility and immediate access to information,”; said Chris Hill, vice president of Mobility Product Management, in a statement. “;AT&T is committed to delivering innovative solutions that cultivate a better educational experience and improve student productivity.”;

Let's see, there's already an app to pop bubble-wrap, and it sounds like apps on the best rationalizations for not turning in a paper on time or hangover cure recipes that will enhance morning-after class attendance would be unlikely to win.

The contest opened this month and the entry deadline is Sept. 15.

Schools with top-five finishers that will receive membership in the AT&T Developer Program will be notified Sept. 27. If a Hawaii school receives such notification, please let your columnist know. Thank you.

Submissions can be entered by individuals or teams of no more than four members. All entrants must be at least 18 years old and legal residents of the United States. Multiple submissions can be entered, but entrants can only win one prize.

All the pertinent details and disclaimers can be found online.

B2B repeat customer

The company that developed restaurant promoting site MyAlohaVibe.com for the Hawaii Restaurant Association and its members has now revamped the HRA site with bells and whistles it never had before.

The new site launched in time for HRA's annual meeting Wednesday.

The URL change was recommended by site designer storymanager.com, because hawaiirestaurants.org was long and because an alleged squatter had reserved the dot-com version of the URL, the new site explains.

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Erika Engle is a reporter with the Star-Bulletin. Reach her by e-mail at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).