Interested in the Cloud? There is a great developer contest going on right now – Rock, Paper, Azure

Your local cloud specialists  (Jim O’Neil, Peter Laudati, and Brian Hitney) are running an interesting developer contest right now and you could win an X-Box with Kinect. 

Azure Toolkit for WP7

There has never been a better time to check out Azure, especially with the recently announced Windows Phone 7 Azure Toolkit.

Here are the details…

There can be only 1!

Take the Rock, Paper, Azure Challenge and You Could Win a Free Kinect and Xbox 360!

Do you remember how to play the childhood game, Rock, Paper, Scissors? Are you a Windows Azure developer or want to get started? If so, then be sure to check out the Rock, Paper, Azure Challenge for your chance at prizes and bragging rights. In this online game, based on Rock Paper Scissors, developers code their own player “Bot”, host it in Windows Azure, and battle other competitors for weekly prizes. Here’s how it works:

· Get Your Windows Azure Account - You'll need a Windows Azure account to host your Bot Lab. Get a free Windows Azure platform 30-day pass now. Just enter the promo code: PLAYRPA

· Build and Test your Bot  - Download the bits and start building your bot.  And be sure to check out weekly webcasts every Tuesday for tricks and tips to make your bot unbeatable.

· Play the Game – Enter your bot in a weekly contest to battle other bots online. Check out the Leaderboard Friday afternoons to see how your bot ranks against the competition.

The Rock Paper Azure Challenge will award three new prizes each week throughout the six-week contest which runs from April 5 through May 13, 2011. The top weekly player receives a Kinect and an Xbox 360, second place takes home a Kinect, and third place scores a $50 Best Buy gift certificate. All players will receive the official Rock Paper Azure t-shirt. Bragging rights are free for the taking.

For more information, read the FAQ and official rules.