Sir Isaac Newton saw an apple drop from a tree, and started contemplating gravity. Albert Einstein was riding in a street car, and Bern’s clock tower inspired the key to special relativity. Larry Page woke up in the middle of the night to scribble down a plan to download the Web, and Google was born. These “Eureka!” moments get the most fanfare, but Thomas Edison reminds us that “Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration.”

The same can be said about new businesses and software applications: Even the best ideas require time, diligence, resources and a whole lot of work to succeed. If you’re a small business owner, you probably won’t make it very far by spending an hour a week executing your business plan. If you’re a developer, you won’t be able to code and test “the next Google” on an old Pentium II desktop in your closet.

While we can’t provide the inspiration, diligence or “whole lot of work” pieces of the puzzle, our new Sand Castle program can give you the resources and time you need to jumpstart your vision:

• A Dual Xeon server
• An Enterprise-class data center
• An Industry-leading network
• FREE for 12 Months.

The costs of rolling out new business plans and testing software can be prohibitive, especially in uncertain economic times. So think of Sand Castle as an economic stimulus for entrepreneurs and developers. We’re providing an online environment to help launch the next big Internet success.

The initial Sand Castle deployment includes up to 500 servers, and The Planet’s Chairman and CEO Doug Erwin looks at it like this: “With eight data centers, we’re in a position to offer a single server to 500 individuals who want to start their own businesses. These 500 servers could create 500 jobs, and then we’ll have taken one small step to pay it forward and be part of the solution.”

FREE Server Configurations

We consulted with many developers, and with their feedback, we set minimum server specs for this program:

• Dual Xeon 2.4, 2.8 or 3.2
• 1GB RAM
• 146 GB of HDD space
• 10Mbps Unmetered Bandwidth
• Operating System: CentOS 5

Eligibility

Are you a developer? Do you have a vision for a new application or service? Do you need help turning that vision into reality? If so, you’re perfect for the Sand Castle program.

Fill out the one-page signup form with your contact information and vision for a Sand Castle server. We expect demand to exceed our initial supply, so quantities may be limited, and not every application will be accepted. Take time to detail your plans and provide any applicable examples to give yourself the best chance.

If you’ve got the inspiration, it’s time for some perspiration. Visit the Sand Castle page to learn more and apply!

-Kevin

P.S. If you know of any friends who may be interested in the program, be sure to Tweet this, Digg it, email it or smoke-signal it.