NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. PLEASE NOTE: It is your sole responsibility to review and understand your employer’s policies regarding your eligibility to participate in trade promotions such as this one. If you are participating in violation of your employer’s policies, you may be disqualified from entering or receiving prizes. Microsoft disclaims any and all liability or responsibility for disputes arising between an employee and their employer related to this matter, and prizes will only be awarded in compliance with the employer’s policies. GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES: Microsoft is committed to complying with government gift and ethics rules and therefore government employees are not eligible for this offer. Common Terms Used in these Rules: These are the official rules that govern how the Think Like a Developer & Designer Series Promotion will operate. This Promotion will be simply referred to as the “Promotion” throughout the rest of these rules. In these rules, “we”, “our” and “us” refer to Microsoft Corporation, the sponsor of the Promotion. “You” refers to an eligible Promotion entrant.
Overview: This Promotion consists of two (2) parts: a free gift offer and a sweepstakes as defined below.
Eligibility: Open only to legal residents of the 50 United States (includes District of Columbia) 18 years of age or older who are employed in the field of software development and are profiled users (new and existing) of www.msdev.com.  Employees of Microsoft, their affiliates, subsidiaries, and any person working on the product, project, or Promotion, advertising and promotional agencies and the immediate family members (parent, sibling, spouse, child) or household member of each are not eligible. This Promotion is void outside the geographic area described above and wherever else prohibited by law.
Entry Period: This Promotion starts at 12:01 AM Pacific Time (PT) on August 6, 2010 and ends at 11:59 PM PT on September 30, 2010 (“Entry Period”). Entries must be received within the Entry Period to be eligible.
How to Enter:
Free Gift Offer: You can qualify for the Free Gift Offer if you are one of the first 20 entrants to sign into your “my msdev profile”, register, attend, and rate eight (8) out of fifteen (15) Think Like a online courses (“Eligible Training Courses”) during the entry period (“Free Gift Offer Requirements”). The full list of qualifying web seminars is linked above under “Eligible Training Courses”. The free gift offer has been exhausted after the first 20 entrants qualify.
Sweepstakes: To receive one (1) entry for the grand prize drawing, you must sign into your “my msdev profile”, register, attend, and rate eight (8) out of fifteen (15) of the Eligible Training Courses during the entry period (“Sweepstakes Entry Requirements”). By completing the Sweepstakes Entry Requirements you will receive one (1) entry into the sweepstakes drawing. We will only accept one (1) entry per entrant and email address. We are not responsible for entries that we do not receive for any reason, or for entries that we receive but are not decipherable for any reason.
Prizes:
Free Gift Offer: Twenty (20) Prizes. One (1) $20 Shell Gas Gift Card. The approximate retail value (ARV) is: US $20.00. Limit one (1) prize per person. If for any reason an advertised prize is unavailable, we reserve the right to substitute a prize of equal or greater value as permitted. If you are selected as a potential winner of this offer: • You may not exchange your prize for cash or any other merchandise or services; and • You may not designate someone else as the winner. If you are unable or unwilling to accept your prize, we will award it to an alternate potential winner; and • If you accept a prize, you will be solely responsible for all applicable taxes related to accepting the prize; and • If you are a minor in your place of residence, we may award the prize to your parent/legal guardian on your behalf; and • Unless otherwise noted, all prizes are subject to their manufacturer’s warranty and / or terms and conditions.
Sweepstakes: One (1) Grand Prize. One (1) 16GB HD Zune. Approximate Retail Value (ARV) $170.00. Limit one (1) prize per person. If for any reason an advertised prize is unavailable, we reserve the right to substitute a prize of equal or greater value as permitted. If you are selected as a potential winner of this Sweepstakes: • You may not exchange your prize for cash or any other merchandise or services; and • You may not designate someone else as the winner. If you are unable or unwilling to accept your prize, we will award it to an alternate potential winner; and • If you accept a prize, you will be solely responsible for all applicable taxes related to accepting the prize; and • If you are a minor in your place of residence, we may award the prize to your parent/legal guardian on your behalf; and • Unless otherwise noted, all prizes are subject to their manufacturer’s warranty and / or terms and conditions.
Winner Selection/Notification:
Free Gift Offer: On or around October 8, 2010, we or a company acting under our authorization will select the first twenty (20) entrants that completed the Free Gift Offer Requirements listed above. Sweepstakes: On or around October 8, 2010, we, or a company acting under our authorization, will select one (1) potential winner in a random drawing from all eligible entrants that completed the Sweepstakes Entry Requirements listed above.
What are your odds of Winning? The odds of winning a prize depend on the number of eligible entries received. If you are a potential winner, we will notify you by sending a message to the e-mail address, the phone number, or mailing address (if any) listed on your entry within fourteen (14) days following the random drawing. If the notification that we send is returned as undeliverable, or you are otherwise unreachable for any reason, we may award the prize to an alternate randomly selected winner. If there is a dispute as to who is the potential winner, we will consider the potential winner to be the authorized account holder of the e-mail address used to enter the Promotion, or the person residing at the mailing address listed on your mail-in entry. If you are a potential winner, we may require you to sign an affidavit of eligibility, liability/publicity release and W-9 tax form. If you are a potential winner and you are a minor in your place of legal residence, we may require your parent or legal guardian to sign all required forms on your behalf. If you do not complete the required forms as instructed and/or return the required forms within the time period listed on the winner notification message, we may disqualify you and select an alternate winner.
Other Conditions: By entering this Promotion you agree: • To abide by these Official Rules; and • To release and hold harmless Microsoft, their respective parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, employees and agents from any and all liability or any injury, loss or damage of any kind arising from or in connection with this Promotion or any prize won; and • That Microsoft’s decisions will be final and binding on all matters related to this Promotion; and • That by accepting a prize, Microsoft may use of your proper name and state of residence online and in print, or in any other media, in connection with this Promotion, without payment or compensation to you, except where prohibited by law. This Promotion will be governed by the laws of the State of Washington, and you consent to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of the courts of the State of Washington for any disputes arising out of this Promotion. If cheating, a virus, bug, catastrophic event, or any other unforeseen or unexpected event that cannot be reasonably anticipated or controlled, (also referred to as force majeure) affects the fairness and / or integrity of this Promotion, we reserve the right to cancel, change or suspend this Promotion. This right is reserved whether the event is due to human or technical error. If a solution cannot be found to restore the integrity of the Promotion, we reserve the right to select winners from among all eligible entries received before we had to cancel, change or suspend the Promotion. If you attempt to compromise the integrity or the legitimate operation of this Promotion by hacking or by cheating or committing fraud in ANY way, we may seek damages from you to the fullest extent permitted by law. Further, we may ban you from participating in any of our future Promotion, so please play fairly. Winners List: If you send an e-mail to usisv@microsoft.com on or before October 31, 2010, we will provide you with a list of winners that received a major prize.
Sponsor: This Promotion is sponsored by Microsoft Corporation, One Microsoft Way, Redmond, WA 98052.

View the rebate program page on Microsoft.com »