BOSTON — Oct. 28, 2008
   Today at the Embedded Systems Conference (ESC) Boston, Microsoft Windows Embedded announced SPARKs Will Fly, a new contest based on the successful Microsoft Windows Embedded SPARK Your Imagination community-focused program launched in April 2008. SPARKs Will Fly, the largest Windows Embedded contest outside the Imagine Cup, is designed to foster creativity and innovation among the hobbyist and academic community. The contest will reward those with a passion for building devices on Windows Embedded CE 6.0 R2 and will create a forum for enthusiasts to showcase their development skills.

The theme of the contest is “home of the future,” offering contestants a broad platform to demonstrate fresh thinking around smart, connected devices of the future.

“Windows Embedded is excited to bring SPARKs Will Fly, the premier contest for hobbyists, academics and general developer enthusiasts, to the developer community,” said Ilya Bukshteyn, senior director of Windows Embedded Marketing at Microsoft Corp. “Windows Embedded is committed to fostering creativity and innovation in the embedded technology market. This is a great chance for the embedded developer to have an impact on the innovation we will see in the future. We are eager to see the forward thinking that will shape the home of the future.”

How the Contest Works
   SPARKs Will Fly is a three-round competition with more than $50,000 (U.S.) in prizes. The contest begins today and will wrap up in spring of 2009 at ESC Silicon Valley. In round one, contestants will submit a one- to three-page entry at http://www.sparkcontest.com detailing their idea for the home of the future. The first round will close on Jan. 7, 2009. On Jan. 9, Windows Embedded will announce 50 contestants chosen to participate in round two. These contestants will be provided with a free-of-charge SPARK Your Imagination kit based on the VIA ARTiGO Pico-ITX board to build a working prototype of their idea. The 50 chosen contestants will also be required to submit a four- to eight-page paper describing their solution along with a three-minute video by March 11, 2009. On March 13, the top three finalists will be announced. These three finalists will present at ESC Silicon Valley, where the winner of the contest will be chosen.

Prizes
   Each of the three finalists will receive an all-inclusive trip to attend ESC Silicon Valley and will be awarded $1,000 (U.S.). The winner will be awarded $15,000 (U.S.) and receive an all-inclusive trip to participate in the 2009 Microsoft TechEd Developers Conference in Los Angeles.

Additional Details
   SPARKs Will Fly is open to people in all countries eligible to participate according to U.S. laws. The contest will start at noon PDT on Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2008, and will end at 3 p.m. PST on March 9, 2009. More details and full official rules can be found at the SPARKs Will Fly Web site at http://www.sparkcontest.com.

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

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For more information, press only:

In the U.S.:

Rebecca Beyer, Weber Shandwick,
+1 (212) 445-8463,
rbeyer@webershandwick.com

In Europe:

Doris Loesel, Weber Shandwick,
+49-89-38-01-79-53,
doris.loesel@webershandwick.com

Beth Meszaros, Weber Shandwick,
+44 307 067 0518,
bmeszaros@webershandwick.com

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