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Smart Client Article Contest

Our very Economic Stimulus Package for developers.

Win respect, fame, and cash! Hurry: it's the last month to enter our Smart Client Article Contest

Got a cool “smart client” app or sample code that you created? Here’s your chance for some professional recognition—and maybe your own developer economic stimulus. Write an engaging article that describes your app or sample code and submit it to The Code Project by June 30, and you could win cash prizes—including the grand prize of $5000 USD.

Write a great article on The Code Project and make sure the accompanying app demonstrates some kind of "smart client" technology.

The app should run as a Windows client, and should take advantage of Windows-specific technologies like those found in Windows Vista and Windows 7.

See the Windows API Code Pack for the .NET Framework for some interesting tools.

You’ll need to tag your article with the key phrase "hybrid smart client."                                                         

To be considered in each month’s competition, articles must be submitted by 11:59:59 PM US Eastern Standard Time on the last day of that month. The entire contest ends on 30 June 2009.

Use the regular www.codeproject.com article guidelines and formats, and your article should include screen shots and code samples.

Developer Economic Stimulus: What you can win

The Code Project and the contest sponsor, Visual Studio, know nothing says "I’m an awesome developer" like public recognition and a personal cash payment.

Submitted articles will be posted on The Code Project, where viewers can rate them. The highest-rated articles, as determined by The Code Project community, will be considered for each month’s award. After June 30, when the contest ends, the overall highest-rated articles will be considered for the grand prize. The Code Project's panel of judges will make the final determination for each contest period as well as the grand prize. All decisions are final.

Only articles with a rating of 3 or higher will be eligible for monthly prizes. If there are no articles with a rating of 3 or above then the prize will not be awarded. (But your article will be so great that won’t be a problem, right?)

On the flip side, bonuses will be awarded to winning monthly articles with a rating of 4.5 or above. If the winning article is not rated 4.5 or above, that month’s bonus will be rolled over into the following month’s bonus.

If your article wins, you’ll be highlighted in The Code Project’s weekly newsletter and on the contest page.

Month Top-Ranked Article Prize (must have rating of 3 or above) Bonus if article ranked 4.5 or more; if none, rolls onto next month bonus
February 2009 $  500 USD $ 250 USD
March 2009 $  750 USD $ 250 USD
April 2009 $ 1000 USD $ 250 USD
May 2009 $ 1250 USD $ 250 USD
June 2009 $ 1500 USD $ 250 USD
Grand Prize $ 5000 USD N/A
 

June 2009 Bonus: Awards for Smart Client-related Blog Entries

If you're publishing your blog entries as articles on The Code Project (here's how), you're in luck. Any blog article submitted during the contest period (until June 30, 2009) is eligible for a special prize if it relates to smart client technology.

We'll take the two highest-rated blog entries about smart-client related technologies and award them each a $1000 USD prize.

All of the contest rules apply to this special category. Blog Articles are not eligible for the Grand Prize.


Some Excellent Examples

If you've got a great idea for a Windows client article, you should enter this article contest. We've already gotten some great articles entered in the contest -- you might want to review these examples as models. And don't miss the list below of "Latest Articles."


Contest Rules and Entry Requirements

  1. Qualifying articles must focus on Microsoft-specific technologies. The article and accompanying app must demonstrate "hybrid smart client" architecture: the app itself should run as a Windows client, preferably taking advantage of Windows-specific technology in Windows Vista or Windows 7. The app/client should consume some kind of web-based data feed.
  2. You’ll need to include in your article with the phrase “hybrid smart client” to have a valid entry.
  3. Be sure to put your article in the "Smart Client" section under "Desktop Development" to help us find it.
  4. The contest will begin on February 5 and end on June 30, 2009 at 11:59:59 PM US Eastern Standard Time. All entries must be submitted during this period in order to qualify.
  5. No cheating, lying, stealing code, mixing stripes/plaids, or biting.
  6. Our judges' decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.
  7. Only those who live in jurisdictions in which this contest is legal may enter.
  8. Any breach of the rules will result in the prize being awarded to another entrant.
  9. By entering the contest you agree to the rules, conditions of entry, and agree that your name, member profile information, and article can be used for promotional purposes by The Code Project and Microsoft.
  10. Entries shall be deemed to be submitted by the authorized account holder of the e-mail address submitted at the time of entry unless clearly indicated otherwise. "Authorized account holder" is defined as the natural person who is assigned to an e-mail address by an internet access provider, on-line service provider, or other organization (e.g. business, educational institution, etc.) that is responsible for assigning e-mail addresses for the domain associated with the submitted e-mail address.
  11. The Code Project reserves the right to add on to this contest.

Eligibility

This competition is open to software development professionals & enthusiasts who are of the age of majority in their jurisdiction of residence; however, residents of Quebec and of the following countries are ineligible to participate due to legal constraints: Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Sudan, and Syria. Employees (or a member of their immediate family) of The Code Project or of Microsoft or any of their affiliates, subsidiaries, advertising or promotional agencies are also ineligible to participate. Void where prohibited by law.

Determination of Winner

Qualifying articles must focus on Microsoft-specific technologies. The article and accompanying app must demonstrate "hybrid smart client" architecture: the app itself should run as a Windows client, preferably taking advantage of Windows-specific technology in Windows Vista or Windows 7. The app/client should consume some kind of web-based data feed.  You’ll need to tag your article with the key phrase "hybrid smart client" to have a valid entry. All entries will be reviewed and rated by members of The Code Project community, as well as undergo the review of judges appointed by The Code Project. A winner will be determined by The Code Project's selected judges, after taking into consideration the comments and ranking of entries by members of The Code Project community, on the basis of which entry best meets the judging criteria set forth.

Judging criteria includes

  • Article rank and popularity on The Code Project
  • How tightly an entry adheres to the conditions of entry, including article focus and scope
  • Broad applicability to a wide variety of developers
  • Overall article quality, coherence and structure
  • Amount of discussion an entry generates in its forum area

Prizes

The highest-rated articles -- as rated by The Code Project community -- will be considered for each month’s award. The highest-rated articles at the end of the entire contest period will be considered for the Grand Prize. The Code Project's panel of judges will make the final determination for each contest period, including the Grand Prize. All decisions are final.

Each month, The Code Project will judge the top-ranked article. The winning article each month must have a rating of 3 or above or the prize will not be awarded. (But your article will be so great that won’t be a problem, right?)

If the winning article for each month has a rating of 4.5 or above, an additional ”bonus” amount will be added to the monthly prize total. If the winning article is not ranked 4.5 or above, that month’s bonus amount will be rolled forward into the following month’s bonus pool.

Month Top-Ranked Article Prize (must have rating of 3 or above) Bonus if article ranked 4.5 or more; if none, rolls onto next month bonus
February 2009 $  500 USD $ 250 USD
March 2009 $  750 USD $ 250 USD
April 2009 $ 1000 USD $ 250 USD
May 2009 $ 1250 USD $ 250 USD
June 2009 $ 1500 USD $ 250 USD
Grand Prize $ 5000 USD N/A

Only one monthly prize per member. Monthly winners are of course eligible for the grand prize. All decisions are final.

Should you win you agree to cover all income taxes, Customs duties, taxes and excise that you may incur or may be charged on delivery of your prize. The Code Project will not be held liable for any costs once the prize has been sent. If you are not willing to accept any imposed charges then the prize will be reclaimed and awarded to another contestant. Prize(s) must be accepted as awarded. The Prize(s) may not be sold, transferred and is/are not convertible to cash. The Code Project reserves the right to substitute the Prize(s) in whole or in part in the event that all or any component of the Prize(s) is/are unavailable.

How To Enter         

Entry is by the normal article submission process or as described above. Please read the submission guidelines before submitting your entry.

Lost, late, misdirected, or illegible entries will be disqualified. Any entry containing content that The Code Project deems objectionable for any reason will be disqualified. All decisions of The Code Project with respect to any aspect of the competition, including, without limitation, the eligibility of entries, are final and binding on all entrants in all matters as they relate to this competition. The Code Project reserves its right to modify the Rules.

All entries become the property of The Code Project who assumes no responsibility for lost, late, delayed, destroyed or misdirected mail, voice messages, e-mail or any computer errors or malfunctions. No correspondence will be entered into with entrants.

The Code Project does not assume any responsibility for incorrect or inaccurate capture of entry information, technical malfunctions, human or technical error, lost, delayed or garbled data or transmissions, omission, interruption, deletion, defect or failures of any telephone or computer line or network, computer equipment, software or any combination thereof. Entry materials/data that have been tampered with or altered are void. If for any reason, in the opinion of The Code Project in its sole discretion, the competition is not capable of running as originally planned, or if the administration, security, fairness, integrity or the proper conduct of the competition is corrupted or adversely affected, including by reason of infection by computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures or any other causes beyond its control, The Code Project reserves its right to cancel, terminate, modify, amend, extend or suspend the competition including cancelling any method of entry, and select a winner from previously received eligible entries. The Code Project reserves its right in its sole discretion to disqualify any individual it finds to be tampering with the entry process or the operation of the competition or to be acting in violation of the Rules or otherwise in a disruptive manner. The Code Project reserves its right to seek remedies and damages to the fullest extent of the law for any attempts to deliberately damage the competition web site or to undermine the legitimate operation of this competition. The Code Project shall not be held responsible for any errors or negligence that may arise or occur in connection with the competition including any damage to an entrant's computer equipment, system, software or any combination thereof, as a result of their participation in this competition or from downloading any material from the competition website where applicable.

Intellectual Property

It is a condition of entry that you grant to The Code Project a royalty-free, non-exclusive, transferable, irrevocable, perpetual, worldwide license to reproduce, and otherwise use and publicly display your entry (in part or in its entirety) in any and all media for any purpose. All entries submitted and judged as winners may appear on The Code Project Web site(s). Entries will not be returned. All articles submitted by you will retain your copyright and will be attributed to you.

Your warranties

It is a condition of entry that you confirm that your entry: is original; has not been previously published, released, distributed or submitted or used for study or work-related purposes; has been created by you; and is owned exclusively by you, or where you enter as part of a group, by the individual members of that group; is virus-free; and complies with Canadian law.

Liability

It is a condition of entry that you agree that to the extent permitted by law that The Code Project, its retailers, suppliers, associated companies and agencies will not be liable for any direct, indirect or consequential loss or damage whatsoever, including personal injury, which is suffered as a result, or arising from, any person participating in the competition or on connection with winning any prize.

Before being awarded a Prize, a potential winner may be required to sign and return within the time stipulated by The Code Project, a full release and indemnity form stating that he/she has read and understood these official rules and regulations ("Rules"), grants all consents required, authorizes The Code Project to broadcast, publish and disseminate his/her name, city of residence, photograph, likeness, sobriquet and voice, in connection with any promotion or publicity, and/or for general news, entertainment and information purposes at no additional compensation to the potential winner, beyond the awarding of or participation in the Prize, accepts the Prize as offered and releases The Code Project from any and all liability of any kind arising out of the potential winner's participation in the competition and receipt and use of the Prize.

In the event that the potential winner does not comply with all the provisions as contemplated in these Rules, The Code Project shall have the right to disqualify the potential winner and award the prize to an alternative winner and The Code Project shall be fully and completely released and discharged from any liability or responsibility in this regard.

Notification of prize winners

The Code Project will make reasonable efforts to notify a prize winner, however The Code Project may disqualify your entry and select an alternative winner if your prize or prize notification is returned to The Code Project as undeliverable.

Privacy

It is a condition of entry and of receiving the benefit of the prize that prize winners agree to the use of their images, names, article in any publicity desired by The Code Project, without compensation. By entering this competition, each entrant consents to the collection, use and distribution of his/her personal information (information that identifies an entrant as an individual, such as home telephone number, age and home address) by The Code Project for the purposes of implementing, administering and fulfilling this competition. The Code Project will not sell or transmit this information to third parties except for the purposes of administering this competition. Any inquiry concerning the personal information held by The Code Project should be addressed to The Code Project at 250 Ferrand Drive, Suite 503, Toronto, Ontario, M3C 3G8, Canada.

No relationship with The Code Project

Participating in the competition does not constitute any form of employment or contractor relationship between you and The Code Project.

Governing law

The competition is governed by the laws of Ontario, Canada and the applicable federal laws of Canada. The competition is subject to all applicable federal, provincial, state and municipal laws and regulations. This competition is void where prohibited by law.

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This contest has ended.
16 Feb - 30 Jun 2009