Win $15,000 via Windows Embedded Standard 7 'Media Explosion' Contest

Microsoft is offering developers building solutions on top of devices powered by Windows Embedded the chance to win no less than $15,000 in a contest focused on Windows Embedded Standard 7. The embeddedSPARK 2010 Summer Challenge has already kicked off since April 27, but there is still plenty of time for devs to submit their projects. Round 1 of the embeddedSPARK 2010 Summer Challenge doesn’t end until June 8th, and, by then, developers looking to participate in the contest only need to put together and submit a 1-3-page paper illustrating an embedded project designed to approach media in a new and innovative way, according to Microsoft.

The embeddedSPARK competition has been around for a while now, but, this year, especially with the launch of Windows Embedded Standard 2010, the contest comes with a twist. “This competition has, since its beginning, been targeting Windows Embedded CE. This summer we wanted to try out with Windows Embedded Standard 7. I am sure participants will be really excited about getting to play with WES 7 and building some crazy Embedded project. The embeddedSPARK 2010 Sumer Challenge was officially launched. The theme for this contest is ‘Media Explosion’,” Olivier Bloch, Microsoft Embedded technical evangelist, revealed.

Via the video embedded at the bottom of this article, you will be able to get more specific information on what exactly the Redmond company is looking for. Devs should make sure to submit their projects until June 8. Come June 15th, the software giant will select no less than 75 participants who will access the second round of the contest.

“All 75 round one winners will receive a free embeddedSPARK Kit, based on an embeddedSPARK platform device. Build a working prototype of your idea and submit a 4-8-page paper that describes your solution. You’ll also need to create a 3-minute video that summarizes your project,” the company stated.

Only three finalists will be selected and announced on September 7th, 2010, each will be flown to ESC Boston, where they will get the chance to showcase their projects during the Microsoft Industry Address on September 21, 2010. “The 1st prize winner will be announced at the event, and will receive a cash prize of $15,000. Second prize winner will receive a cash prize of $5,000. Third prize winner will receive a cash prize of $1,000,” the software giant added.

32-bit (x86) Windows Embedded Standard 7 RTM, 64-bit (x64) Windows Embedded Standard 7 RTM and the Windows Embedded Standard 7 Evaluation toolkit are available for download here.