Microsoft's Worldwide Hackathon for Windows in November

Microsoft's two-day "hackathon" will produce new Windows 8 apps for the Windows Store. Clever.

Microsoft released a short announcement on Wednesday alerting developers and students that the time is near to help stock up Windows Store with fresh new Windows 8 apps. Called WOWZAPP 2012, the event will take place on November 9 to November 11 in more than 30 locations worldwide.

"At the events, students will be provided with the resources they need to build their apps, such as Visual Studio 2012 Express for Windows 8 and a free Windows Store registration code, both available through DreamSpark," the company said. "In addition, students will be able to test their apps, and developer experts and trainers will be available to answer questions and help participants submit their apps to the Windows Store."

Students and other types of developers across countries such as India, Pakistan, Malaysia, Vietnam, Turkey, Finland, Chile and Greece will work in teams to develop apps that will be published and available for download in the Windows Store, the company said.

News of the November "hackathon" arrives after BusinessWeek wrote a report about Microsoft's New England Research & Development Center back in September. For the past two summers, Microsoft has recruited college students to write apps that will help fill the Windows Store prior to Windows 8's launch. The first batch were mere prototypes, but the recent 2012 batch actually made it into Microsoft's virtual storefront.

"Microsoft is definitely playing catch-up with respect to the global app marketplace," said David Hilal, an analyst at FBR Capital Markets, in an interview. "Their challenge is a chicken-and-egg problem. They need to get more users for their apps to entice developers, but they need better apps to attract more users."

So far Microsoft is only listing 13 North American locations for its "hackathon" event next month including Columbus (OH), Denver (CO), Edina (MN), Irvine (CA), Irving (TX), Los Angeles (CA), Malvern (PA), Redmond (WA), San Diego (CA), San Francisco (CA), St. Petersburg (FL), Sunnyvale (CA) and Tempe (AZ).

For more information about WOWZAPP 2012, head here.

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