BOSTON, September 23 /PRNewswire/ --

- Windows Embedded re-brands successful Sparks will Fly developer 
competition to encourage creativity, innovation and 'Fun and Games' among
embedded hobbyist and academic communities globally.

During an industry address yesterday at the Embedded Systems Conference
(ESC) Boston, Microsoft Corp. launched the embeddedSPARK 2010 Challenge, a
new competition designed to foster creativity and innovation among the
embedded hobbyist and academic communities globally. Based on the successful
Sparks will Fly competition, the embeddedSPARK 2010 Challenge encourages
contestants to demonstrate innovative thinking within the theme of "Fun and
Games." The program rewards those who are pioneering the next generation of
specialized devices, letting them use the embeddedSPARK Challenge as a forum
to showcase their skills on the Windows Embedded CE 6.0 R2 platform.

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"Windows Embedded is excited to emphasize our commitment to the embedded
market by introducing the embeddedSPARK 2010 Challenge and rewarding the
innovation of the global academic, hobbyist and developer communities," said
Scott Davis, senior marketing manager for Windows Embedded at Microsoft.
"Windows Embedded is committed to driving the specialized devices of the
future, and the embeddedSPARK 2010 Challenge provides an excellent
opportunity for embedded developers to showcase their skills. We are
enthusiastic to see the innovation that will result from this contest."

How the Contest Works

The embeddedSPARK 2010 Challenge is a three-round competition offering
more than $20,000 (U.S.) in prizes. The contest officially began yesterday,
Sept. 22, 2009, and will culminate in spring 2010 at ESC Silicon Valley
(April 26-29), where the three finalists will receive an all-expense-paid
trip to present their devices onstage during Microsoft's industry address.
Conference attendees will have the opportunity to vote for the winner and
award the three finalists US$15,000, US$5,000 and US$1,000 respectively in
prize money.

In Round 1, contestants will submit a one- to three-page entry at
http://www.embeddedspark.com that details their original idea for the "Fun
and Games" theme, which includes games, home entertainment and other fresh
ideas for specialized devices that grab attention and bring smiles to the
faces of users. The first round will close on Jan. 9, 2010, and the 75
contestants selected for Round 2 will be announced on Jan. 15. All Round 2
participants will receive a target development board, Windows Embedded CE 6.0
R2 and Visual Studio Professional Edition 2005 at no cost to help them
develop their devices. Round 2 will close on April 2, and the three finalists
will be announced on April 9.

Additional Details

The embeddedSPARK 2010 Challenge is open to people in all countries
eligible to participate according to U.S. laws. The contest is open from noon
EDT on Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2009, to 8 p.m. EDT on April 2, 2010. More details
and full official rules can be found by visiting
http://www.sparkcontest.com/Default.aspx.

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