ZDNet India and Macromedia have announced a RIA application and Flash design contest with prices worth Rs.3,40,000. This includes 6 copies of Studio MX2004 valued at (6 x Rs.50,000 = )Rs. 3,00,000, for the top 3 winners of each category. So, the actual monetary benefit is only Rs. 40000 split unequally 16 ways :P While I am happy to see positive steps being taken to encourage creativity in the Indian Flash community, a little poking about had me curious as to the true nature of this li'l exercise - is this just another weed hunting mission?
A read of their terms and conditions dug up the following caveats:
- The participant can join the Contest as an individual or as a team.
- Applications can be rejected if the participant submits his/her application on behalf of any company, organization or society.
- The organisers of this contest, reserve the right to amend the contest terms and conditions without prior notification.
- Your participation in the contest will also allow ZDNet India and/or Macromedia to send you future email promotions and offers.
Standard T&C stuff, except you can enter as a team, but not as a company - i.e. all company employees can form a team as long as they don't say that they are Company XYZ, although they can call their team XYZ if they like :S - confusing stuff eh?; You are also giving MM and ZDNet permission to spam you at will.
- ZDNet India reserves the right to reject any application or submission, if participants do not use and provide legal Macromedia software serial numbers within their application form.
- On submission of your Flash application to ZDNet India as an entry to this contest, the developer acknowledges and agrees unconditionally to transfer and relinquish all rights of ownership to the Flash design inclusive of any related technical source code to ZDNet India for its subsequent exploitation, with or without commercial value, and in whatever forms or format.
So the idea is that you use your licensed copy of MX2004 to possibly win another copy of the same poorly written software? Or is this some new-fangled idea to weed out pirated copies of MM software? If that's not the case, hardly any individuals will care to afford (at Rs.32000 and counting..). Besides the fact that companies are not allowed to enter, they won't exactly care to allow their emplyees to use their licensed software to pursue their personal agenda, especailly considering the fact that they won't have access to the product either. It is just baffling how shortsighted some people can get. Essentially, MM and ZDNet are forking out Rs.40000, so that they can obtain possibly 500 quality entries, which they can commercially exploit and recoup their costs, while making a nice tidy profit (500 entries x Rs.5000 per entry on average = Rs. 25,00,000) as well :S
Maybe I should start a li'l contest on quillem.com as well. Pay Rs.40000 and get 2.5 million rupees worth of software. Unbelievable.
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