Fishing for Ideas

FyreWyr writes "Whether Microsoft is searching for new ideas, or supporting inventors outright is up for grabs, but they're stabbing at it with $300,000 for 12 spanking ideas (that's $25k each). But as with everything Microsoft, the devil's in the details, or rather, the fine print. At first, you'd swear it was "Brought to you by VISA" - the logo is ubiquitous - but the very last statement in the contest rules reads: "The sponsor...is Microsoft ... VISA...have not sponsored or offered this contest in any way". They also retain a spectrum of rights, and responsibily suggest that you go out and patent really good ideas first. Okay, how much does that cost again? (see end of this article)."

Comments

Development costs

[rf0]

I think MS is being quite clever here (can't believe I just wrote that). The way I'm seeing it is that they are basically doing product development on 12 new products for $300,000. If you actually look at the amount of time/development that goes on in big coporation you will find that 90% of the things reasearched never come to fruition. Going from what MS is offering is that if they can just get one of these ideas of the ground then they might have a killer product for very little investment.

As for the rules well that is another discussion totally

Rus

A patent won't help you

[Anonymous Coward]

Somebody wrote "Patent your idea or Microsoft will steal it." Actually NOTHING will stop Microsoft from "stealing" it, not even a patent. Microsoft recommends a patent so that OTHER people who view the site won't steal it, but Microsoft also explicitly states that by submitting your idea:

By entering, each entrant forfeits to Sponsor all rights to content of his/her entry (including the essay) and the concepts embodied therein. Entrant unconditionally assigns and transfers to Sponsor all rights, title, interest and claim, which it now has or may in the future have to the entries or any element(s) thereafter including, without limitation, the copyright therein. Sponsor shall have right to use, alter, assign or dispose of such entries however it sees fit without approval of entrants.

In other words, it doesn't matter what kind of rights and title (including patents or copyright) you have (actually "had") on your entry. You forfeit all of it when you submit -- basically you would be transferring your patent to Microsoft.

Re:At least they're honest.

[Black Copter Control]

patent your idea, or they'll steal it from you.

Not so sure about that... The assignment in the legal section could be taken to mean that you're also assigning any patent rights to them as well (along with the explicitly mentioned copyright). If I was being truly paranoid (and submitting anyways), I'd be inclined to have one person patent the idea, and another submit it to Microsoft -- that way they couldn't claim that you assigned them something you don't own.

Have you seen these ideas?

[NitsujTPU]

These aren't ideas for new programs and stuff of that nature. I haven't seen a single idea on the site yet that deals with software.

Perhaps it's not what their aiming for, that they're getting, but then again, with catagories like "self-expression, community, and entrepreneur," I doubt that they are looking to do R&D like this.

Also, look at the ideas, "Go on a mission trip, open a medical practice, pay my bills," I don't know, but if they're getting something that they can sell out of this, I haven't seen it yet.

Not only that, but users on the site get to vote for ideas that they like and don't like. Then again, hiding all of the "long range wireless gigabit ethernet," behind "saving baby sea lions from brutal dinosaurs," might be a good way to keep stealing ideas under the radar... or perhaps I'm too slashdotted.

Are they honest or just desperate?

[Dukeofshadows]

It seems a far cry from the days of Q-DOS in 1981 when Gates and Co were trying to sell an operating system they didn't technically own at the time to IBM. They were a much more nimble company in those days and had plenty of ideas and developments to go scour and steal. Lately, however, the Standard Oil of the Computer industry is encounrtering the same problems as its turn-of-the-previous century counterpart: government is on its back, the "innovation" that got it where it is seems to have disappeared (Rockefeller consolidating oil pipelines and refineries together), and the public at large is disgruntled but left with few alternatives.

Microsoft is not run by idiots. They realize that if they are to compete against systems like Linux they need to innovate before Linux develops a truly AOL level interface that even Joe Schmoe can use...for free. Bad press and a worse reputation have finally gotten their attention, so their asking for ideas to investigate. It would seem that their age range (based on the prize offered) is 16-25, just the right age when people are thinking way outside the box and are not limited by knowledge of what should not be possible. These (maverick?) thinkers tend to give the most innovative ideas but also the ones that need the most work to come to fruition. If Microsoft can cull this source of innovation while reaping the profits from it, they could set themselves up as a potential warehouse for new tech ideas. A wiser plan would have been to offer 5-10% of all profits made from the idea in addition to the $25k since that would get more cynical programmers and worldly people interested, but the young and nieve seem to be the most easily exploited by definition. I have to wonder if this is not a sign of desperation by the Microsoft management though since they did drag in these same sorts of innovative thinkers by the truckload even 3 years ago. Even now they tend to snap up the best of the best offered by MIT and other major tech schools, but why would they need this sort of competition when they already have the best minds? Do those folks just have really good grades but an inability to think outside the box? Again, I have to wonder if this is not desperation for truly radical ideas as much as a desire to see what talent is out there.

Here's a Sampling of "Ideas" from the Site...

[telstar]

• I would open up my own 70's dance club and have my best friend be my partner.
• Give the money to his parents for their love and support
• Create a giant pudding mold of Bill Gates or the MSN Butterfly with $25,000 worth of pudding to be displayed in San Francisco (or Seattle) on a cold summer's day in mid May. After being displayed for one hour, the pudding will be dispensed in biodegradable cups to the eagerly waiting public and the busloads of children driven in from local schools.
• Travel (listed by 4 people)
• Pay for her mom's house repairs
• Give some to his parents, use some for travel, and use some to raise his jeep higher off the ground
• Create a shampoo with built in sunscreen for bald men
• Fix the emotional issues of African Americans

Don't get me wrong ... it's great to have ideas and wishes and goals... but most of these aren't ideas ... they're things people want. Second of all ... I don't think $25,000 is going to be enough to design a shampoo, open a dance club, or somehow "fix the emotional issues" of an entire race. I won't even get into the entry about the pudding...

Re:Anybody look at the site?

[the_pooh_experience]

You may also want to read the fine print. According to the "pitch button":

Accepted entries will be posted at ideasHappen.com, where users can view pitches and weigh in. (NOTE: Users' opinions at this time are used only to determine our ongoing Top 10 List, and have no bearing on the selection process.)

So if you search for some of the non "cure cancer", "help 'mental youths'" (what exactly is a mental youth?), you get to the "Email, Inc", "Jazz Club", or my favorite "Slum Lord" (see this page for what are admittedly sucky ideas).

Yeah, but the bastards gave me the high hat...

[crazyphilman]

I went to the site, wasted a bunch of time there, and got to the instructions/post an idea page, where they gleefully informed me that those over 29 years old need not apply. Oh, really? Well, fuck them too.

I'll keep my ideas to myself, thanks.

Re:Anybody look at the site?

[error0x100]

Hmm .. I also wondered about those "mental youths" .. in some English-speaking parts of the world (not sure about the US), "mental" is used as an adjective to refer to a mentally ill person. Perhaps that was what was meant? However, it is more typically used as an insult to non-mentally-ill people, and never (to my knowledge) used to refer to actual mentally ill people.

(Hmm .. "Hope for Africa" .. nice sentiment, but terribly naive.. :/ .. still, I hope she reaches her goals and learns something about Africa in the process..)

Interesting in light of MS's recent comment of...

[afflatus_com]

...that they were were seeing Google as more and more of a competitor and you will recall that Google had a similar contest to solicit ideas.

I suppose one could comment on such a drought of new ideas at Redmond that they have to start using ideas from competitors on how to get ideas.

Re:Tablet prog contest has same prob (+how to fix

[oever]

However, win or lose, if you entered, you guaranteed that you had full rights to the software, and transferred all said rights to M$ for nothing.

That's absolutely no problem. Just publish you software on sourceforge under a copy left license before you submit your code. In that way, you can continue working on the free code.

If you publish under the revised BSD license, you can even make a closed version again of which you control all rights.