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Microsoft is committed to protecting your privacy. This privacy statement explains data collection and use practices of the Next-Generation Windows® OS PC Design Competition Site (the "Site") hosted for Microsoft by Saltmine, Inc.; it does not apply to other online or offline Microsoft sites, products or services. By accessing the Site, you are consenting to the information collection and use practices described in this privacy statement.
Collecting Your Personal Information
We will ask you when we need information that personally identifies you, i.e., personal information or allows us to contact you to provide a service or carry out a transaction that you have requested, such as requesting information about Microsoft products and services, entering a contest, ordering e-mail newsletters, joining a limited-access premium site, signing up for an event or training, or when purchasing and/or registering Microsoft products. The personal information we collect includes your name, title, company or organization name, work e-mail, work phone, work or home address, information about your job function, information about your company, and credit card information.
The Site may collect certain anonymous information about your visit, such as the name of the Internet service provider and the Internet Protocol (IP) address through which you access the Internet; the date and time you access the Site; the pages that you access while at the Site and the Internet address of the Web site from which you linked directly to our site. This information is used to help improve the Site, analyze trends, and administer the Site.
Use of Your Personal Information
The personal information collected on this Site will be used to operate the
Site and to provide the service(s) or carry out the transaction(s) you have
requested or authorized. In support of these uses, Microsoft may use personal
information to provide you with more effective customer service, to improve the
Site and any related Microsoft products or services, and to make the Site
easier to use by eliminating the need for you to repeatedly enter the same
information or by customizing the Site to your particular preference or
interests. We may use your personal information to provide you with important
information about the product or service that you are using, including critical
updates and notifications. Additionally, with your permission, we may send you
information about other Microsoft products and services, and/or share
information with Microsoft partners so they may send you information about
their products and services.
Microsoft occasionally hires other companies to provide limited services on our
behalf, such as Web site hosting, packaging, mailing and delivering prizes,
answering customer questions about products and services, and sending
information about our products, special offers, and other new services. We will
only provide those companies the personal information they need to deliver the
service. They are required to maintain the confidentiality of the information
and are prohibited from using that information for any other purpose.
Microsoft may disclose personal information if required to do so by law or in
the good faith belief that such action is necessary to (a) conform to the
edicts of the law or comply with legal process served on Microsoft or the Site;
(b) protect and defend the rights or property of Microsoft and our family of
Web sites; or (c) act in urgent circumstances to protect the personal safety of
Microsoft employees or agents, users of Microsoft products or services, or
members of the public.
Personal information collected on the Site may be stored and processed in the
United States or any other country in which Microsoft or its affiliates,
subsidiaries or agents maintain facilities, and by using the Site, you consent
to any such transfer of information outside of your country. Microsoft abides
by the safe harbor framework as set forth by the U.S. Department of Commerce
regarding the collection, use, and retention of data from the European Union.
Control of Your Personal Information
Except as otherwise described in this statement, personal information you
provide on the Site will not be shared outside of Microsoft and its controlled
subsidiaries and affiliates without your permission.
Please be aware that this privacy statement and any choices you make on the
Site will not necessarily apply to personal information you may have provided
to Microsoft in the context of other, separately operated, Microsoft products
or services.
Access to Your Personal Information
You can review and edit the personal information and contact preferences you
provided at this Site by visiting the My Entries page once submissions begin on
or about May 18, 2005. You will be asked to enter your Microsoft® Passport Network and
password before viewing your personal information.
At the My Entries Page you can:
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View and edit personal information you have already given us at the Site
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Choose whether you want third parties to contact you at the end of the
competition
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Update project contact information
Certain customer information specific to competition entries is collected by
Saltmine Inc., a Microsoft vendor. It is stored on a Microsoft-owned server
operated by Saltmine Inc., plus sent back to Microsoft and/or the IDSA
(Industrial Design Society of America) for processing of submissions.
Security of Your Personal Information
Microsoft is committed to protecting the security of your personal information.
We use a variety of security technologies and procedures to help protect your
personal information from unauthorized access, use, or disclosure. For example,
we store the personal information you provide on computer servers with limited
access and these are located in controlled facilities. Additionally, when we
transmit sensitive personal information (such as a credit card number) over the
Internet, we protect it through the use of encryption, such as the Secure
Socket Layer (SSL) protocol.
Protection of Children's Personal Information
The Site is a general audience site and does not knowingly collect any personal
information from children.
Use of Cookies
We use cookies on this Site to ensure the integrity of the registration process
and to personalize the Site. A cookie is a small text file that is placed on
your hard disk by a Web page server. Cookies cannot be used to run programs or
deliver viruses to your computer. Cookies are uniquely assigned to you, and can
only be read by a Web server in the domain that issued the cookie to you.
One of the primary purposes of cookies is to act as a convenience feature to
save you time. For example, if you personalize a web page, or navigate within a
site, a cookie helps the site to recall your specific information on subsequent
visits. This simplifies the process of delivering relevant content, eases site
navigation, and so on. When you return to the web site, the information you
previously provided can be retrieved, so you can easily use the site's features
as you have customized them.
You have the ability to accept or decline cookies. Most web browsers
automatically accept cookies, but you can usually modify your browser setting
to decline cookies if you prefer. If you choose to decline cookies, you may not
be able to fully experience the interactive features of this or other web sites
you visit.
Use of Web Beacons
The Site Web pages may contain electronic images known as Web beacons-sometimes
called single-pixel gifs-that allow Microsoft to count users who have visited
those pages. Microsoft prohibits Web beacons from being used to collect or
access your personal information.
Use of Microsoft® Passport Network
This Site uses Microsoft® Passport Network to provide sign-in and registration services. In
order to sign in to this Site using Microsoft® Passport Network, you will be asked to type
your e-mail address and a password. This same Microsoft® Passport Network sign-in allows you to
access many other Passport participating sites and services. If you create a
Microsoft® Passport Network at this site, you are simultaneously registering with
Microsoft.com and opening a Microsoft® Passport Network account. To learn more about the
Microsoft® Passport Network service, the information stored in the Passport profile, and how
Microsoft® Passport Network uses and helps to protect your personal information, please read the
Microsoft® Passport Network privacy statement
http://www.passport.net/Consumer/PrivacyPolicy.asp?PPlcid=1033.
Changes to this Statement
We may occasionally update this privacy statement. When we do, we will also
revise the "last updated" date at the top of the privacy statement. For
material changes to this privacy statement, we will notify you either by
placing a prominent notice on the home page of our web site or by directly
sending you a notification. We encourage you to periodically review this
privacy statement to stay informed about how we are helping to protect the
personal information we collect. Your continued use of the service constitutes
your agreement to this privacy statement and any updates.
Contact Information
Microsoft welcomes your comments regarding this privacy statement. If you
believe that Microsoft has not adhered to this privacy statement, please
contact us by e-mail at ngenpc@[nospam]microsoft.com (removing the [nospam]) or via postal mail at the address
provided below, and we will use commercially reasonable efforts to promptly
determine and remedy the problem.
Next-Generation Windows® OS PC Design Competition Privacy
Microsoft Corporation
One Microsoft Way
Redmond, Washington 98052-6399
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