crack the code and win $4000.00
I’ve got an email today from Christian Beauclair (Microsoft Canada), thanking me for my participation at the Heroes Happen {Here} event, in Montreal. The event was held on the same date my birth date is… no laptop gift from Microsoft this time. Still, I managed to get a Windows Vista Ultimate license and (most important) a copy of Visual Studio 2008 Standard edition.
Even without the software giveaway, it was worth attending due to many interesting developer features and improvements present into the new software. Microsoft was also trying to show the world that developers are just simple human beings, with their normal life, kids and family. That was a nice touch, since it is true.
In the email, Christian also sent an invitation to solve four puzzles, part of the Crack The Code contest. I was a little disappointed, Microsoft made it really easy. It took me less then 1 minute to solve all puzzles. That means a huge number of users will participate in the $4,000.00 FutureShop draw. See the puzzle details, below.
The rules are simple:
The contest is open to Canadians only. This is a miracle, because you usually click on the contest link and realize you cannot participate if you don’t live in States. Use your “wily developer skills” to solve the first puzzle and click submit to find out if you have the right answer. If you do, you score extra ballots that can bump up your chances of winning, and you will be given a code to unlock the next puzzle. Solve the next puzzle then get more ballots and go on to the next code.
Puzzle no. 1
Logic time to complete: 1 second
You are dealing with an encoded string. If you are lazy like myself, simply copy the string and paste it into Google search box, to get the answer.
Puzzle no. 2
Logic time to complete: 5 seconds
This is similar to first puzzle. By looking at the HTML code you realize instantly that there is an ASCII art hidden there. All you have to do is open the page into a browser and the answer will pop in front of your eyes.
Puzzle no. 3
Logic time to complete: 10 seconds
You are dealing with basic math operations, mixed with operators. If X is not 1 and X is bigger then 3, but smaller or equal to 4… give me the answer.
Puzzle no. 4
Logic time to complete: 5 seconds
Another child type piece of code. I do not understand why Microsoft want me to download 3GB of data (Visual Studio 2008 Trial) for something that simple. It is a basic function that returns the sum of 3 variables. The answer is not 2300.
There, you have it. If you blog about it, I would appreciate if you post a linkback to this entry. I will contact Christian and see if he could comment on the test complexity, while giving us more input on Microsoft’s objectives related to this contest. Also, if you win 4 grands… send me $100.00, just to make me feel better. I never win anything in those contests.
April 23rd, 2008 at 3:19 pm
Thank you for your participation. We are looking at new and different ways to generate awareness of our solutions and connect with our audience in meaningful and fun ways. We understand that this contest was a bit simplistic but we are promoting this to a wide audience and want to drive maximum participation. We will definitely take our learning’s from this campaign and your suggestion for more challenging contests in the future.
April 25th, 2008 at 12:10 pm
Thanks for the info, Chris. Looking forward to attend one of your new developer seminars, in Montreal.