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Windows 7 Programming Finalists Vie for $17,777 Grand Prize
Microsoft on Monday will announce seven finalists in its its Code7 Contest, which features applications designed for the just-released Windows 7 operating system.
Contest entries range from fun, consumer-oriented applications such as a Touch Rubik Cube game to development-oriented apps such as a Source Code Library Manager and a Dotnet Solution Manager – along with potential enterprise-oriented programs such as a Windows 7 SharePoint Integrator.
The grand prize winner, to be announced at Microsoft’s Professional Developers Conference next month in Los Angeles, will receive $17,777 in cash and numerous other prizes and perks.
Finalists in the contest, which started July 13 and ended Oct. 10, will be chosen from seven geographical regions around the world. Contestants were instructed to take advantage of five Windows 7 technologies, such as Windows Touch, Shell Integration and the Sensor and Location Platform. The entries address six different “scenarios,” including Gaming, Work from Anywhere and Applications for a Better Tomorrow.
The Code7 Contest page features a gallery of dozens of submissions with short developer-produced videos describing the programs.
The apps mentioned above that might be of special interest to developers include:
Source Code Library Manager
Developer: fallafab
Geographical region: Japan, Korea, Australia, Antarctica, and New Zealand
Description: “The source code library manager helps developers to group their code inside a new library. It provides extra preview handlers to quickly look inside a source file without opening it and give quick access to the search via an icon in the notification area. Although this application is for source code, it is also great for other types of libraries.”
Dotnet Solution Manager
Developer: weiliang
Geographical region: China
Description (edited for clarity): “As a result of daily work that involves a large number of VS.NET coding efforts, which form very large number of solutions, looking for the history of a project or resource is very time consuming. This tool uses Windows 7’s library technology to integrate source code and unified management code libraries and uses the Windows search feature to find VS.NET solutions and content quickly.”
Examples of potential enterprise-oriented apps include:
Windows 7 SharePoint Integrator
Developer: brad.porter
Geographical region: North America
Description: “This application was designed to utilize Federated Search Connecters to find documents stored in SharePoint. Once a document is found it can be downloaded to a Windows 7 Library for modification and offline viewing. Once changes are complete the document can be sent back up to SharePoint and found via the federated search connector.”
WhiteboardFlow
Developer: kmarshall
Geographical region: North America
Description: “WhiteboardFlow is a multi-touch, multi-user prototyping application similar to SketchFlow. Whiteboard flow uses gesture recognition to identify shapes and convert to XAML. Users can simply draw controls on a giant whiteboard to generate an application. The shapes can be resized or moved using the multi-touch capabilities of Windows 7.”
ZBuget C/S
Developer: zcs
Geographical region: Europe and United Kingdom
Description: “ZBuget C/S is a client server software application and represents the perfect solution for the simplification of employees’ work in the budget-accounting departments.”
In addition to the $17,777 in cash, the grand prize winner will get to discuss the winning app with Microsoft executives at PDC09 and will receive an invitation to visit with members of the Windows 7 development team at the Microsoft campus in Redmond. The winner’s video will be featured on MSDN Channel 9.
The runner-up will receive $7,777 in cash.
About the Author
David Ramel is an editor and writer at Converge 360.