Microsoft Next Generation PC Design Competition

Amateur, student or professional industrial designers can enter the second annual Next Generation PC Design Competition and help design the PC computer of the future.

Introducing the second contest, a Microsoft press release says

“Microsoft will begin accepting entries on Aug. 15 for the second annual installment of the competition. In addition to offering more categories of awards and prizes than last year, Microsoft will spotlight the competition at next week’s Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC), where prototypes and models of last year’s winners will be on display. The competition will also be showcased at the 2006 national conference of the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA) in October.”

Microsoft will accept online entries from Aug. 15 through Dec. 18. Winners will be announced in April 2007. The contest is open to amateur, student and professional industrial designers who are 14 years or older at the time of entry. The designs will be judged based on Innovation, user experience, interaction, aesthetics, technology integration/enhancements and environmental responsibility. And there are prizes worth thousands of dollars to be won.

Microsoft introduced the competition in 2005 in collaboration with the IDSA, an organization that promotes the quality and positive impact of design, and two PC manufacturers, Dell and HP, to help commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Microsoft Windows operating system.

Are you upto the Challenge to rethink the Windows-based PC experience today and the role it plays in people’s lives. Join the Microsoft Next Generation PC Design Competition.