:-) "Those who try will be "prosecuted.""

Tres Mafioso. Bravo Microsoft.

Time to reconfigure that little nifty add-on ;)

i have done some basic maths and the maximum number of points you can get before it is canceled is only 5300 while the top prize needs 5500 points.

this is also the only reasonable prize you can get.

do they think we are all idiots.

There is a reason why Live is so far behind: it is no good. Asking Live search about anything is like asking a baby about the law of conservation of mass. Both are not going to be able to give you anything worthwhile. I tried Live, it just plain sucks. (Paris, because she has more of a clue than Live.)

We have bot nets, we have ID theft, we have phishing and someone is getting rich. Many people do not think, all they see are shiny things and they reach for them. Therefore I conclude the average Internet user is an idiot. OK idiot could be to strong a word, perhaps ill informed, ignorant or lacking imagination are better descriptions. Whatever the case, ms are going to win a few hits with this promotion, at least until its over and those who fell for the con go back to a search engine they can rely upon.

is always gambling. Just ask the LSE.

(PS I know this is unfair, I have no idea whether their toasterification of the LSE computer system had anything to do with it spontaneously freezing, just like my WinXP laptop does every now and then.)

This whole thing along with their other schemes via live search strike me as a desperation move on the part of M$.

Or there will be...Trouble.

I wonder now that Microsoft is running a gambling outfit they will have their domains seized.

Maybe their marketing department had "Shomeshing to shmoke".

However I'm guessing that the odds of winning are suitably stacked against you. It be interesting to see what the actual odds are.

Google is good at what is does and has been consistently good at what it does.

My thinking is that if they work really really hard they might at best equal Google, so why bother even giving them a chance.

They would have to come up with something innovative that would make me want to try it.

"If useful search results don't work, then money or prices probably will." Certainly worth a try for anything is possible when probable.

Is the Maverick Wall Street Thinking that Good Gamblers are Worth Rewarding with Bigger Rewards Guaranteeing Huge Wins? Reverse Engineering that Sentence would Open up a Can of Worms when Transparently Shielded and Fielded as Losses..

MS Live is so good they have to bribe you to use it.

"When you search with Google, through Luckysearch.nl or MSN.nl". That's a bit unfair - even with the promotion you're still thinking of Google!

Every things a gamble with Microsoft & you can never win...

Is this even open to the UK? Most of these Microsoft LIVE pushing things seem to be pretty limited. The games where you win points and claim prizes was limited to the US. The LIVE search/ebay discount is limited again to the US only.

I'll just use Google thanks ;)

Funny this should come up. I was at VMWorld '08 and ask anyone there... MS was handing out 1USD chips to try to encourage us to use their virtualization product.

I never played the chip, and still have it. It was so amusing at the time to say "see? MS tried to bribe me." Now it's not as funny, it's just sad...

Thanks guys, you ruined my fun :(