[This article was contributed by the SQL Azure team.]

The Code Project is hosting a contest asking developers to build an innovative cloud application on the Windows Azure Platform utilizing DataMarket datasets.  Contestants can win one of eight Intel Core i7 laptops plus the chance to win the Grand Prize of an Xbox 360 with Kinect.

 

Windows Azure Marketplace allows you to share, buy and sell building block components, training, premium data sets plus finished services and applications.  DataMarket provides a one-stop shop for trusted public domain and premium datasets from leading data providers in the industry.  DataMarket has various free datasets from providers like the United Nations, Data.gov, World Bank, Weather Bug, Weather Central, Alteryx, STATS, and Wolfram Alpha etc.

 

To make it easier to get started, all USA Code Project members also get a FREE Windows Azure platform 30-day pass, so you can put Windows Azure and SQL Azure through their paces. No credit card required: enter promo code: CP001.

 

The contest is a rolling contest running from January 3, 2011 thru March 31, 2011. 

 

• January Contest Period:       3 Toshiba – Core i7 Satellite Laptops
• February Contest Period:     3 Toshiba – Core i7 Satellite Laptops
• March Contest Period:          2 Toshiba – Core i7 Satellite Laptops
• March Grand Prize:               Xbox 360 with Kinect

 

The Rules:

 

1. Submit application URL to contest@codeproject.com
2. Monthly finalists will be determined by The Code Project
3. The grand prize winner will be selected by The Code Project at the contest completion on March 31st, 2011

 

Prizes are awarded based on how tightly an entry* adhered to the conditions of entry, including: Focus and scope, overall quality, coherence, and structure.  Learn more about the contest here.

 

 

* 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.

 

** Prizes are awarded based on how tightly an entry adhered to the conditions of entry, such as: focus and scope, overall quality, coherence, and structure.