A lot of people here are whining about getting paid.
If there are 200 developers who are willing to participate in such a tournament, then its most likely that they are either jobless, or looking for a better position or find this kind of tournament fair game.
Regarding getting paid for your code, I just want to ask do you get paid for writing/designing programs or solving problems when you go give a regular interview. Of course not. Apart from perhaps from a free lunch at the onsite facility and the travel tickets, do you ever expect to be paid your average hourly rate when you go to give interviews at companies like Google or Apple. I don't think so.
If someone whines about getting paid, then you need to assume that the person has either made it or is not jobless. A lot of jobless people would go great distances to land a job - sitting in a AC room for a day writing programs is surely not that unpleasant a demand.
I am sure that a lot of folks here would have a very different opinion if they were jobless/homeless or looking desperately for a job.
Could it be that this is all a figment of your imagination?
Think about it. Can you prove that your current CTO is getting kickbacks? If not, then is it fair for you to talk aloud without having any evidence for your case?
Imagine what would happen if you start this kind of Gossip in your office. May degrade the culture that you value so much.
Now, the CTO seems to be doing what he is supposed to do. I am sure if you were the CTO, you would have wanted your favorite stack to be adopted by as many people under you as possible. Or it could be just that in the grand plan, eventually everyone in your company would have to move on to a single stack.
Maybe your reluctance to MS Stack comes from lack of sufficient knowledge of the stack and the resulting fear of unknown if you are forced onto the stack.
My simple advice to you my friend is this : Don't spread rumors in your workplace based on biases or prejudices and if you don't like the way in which company is headed, you should look elsewhere for places where you will feel better in line with company's vision and its policies.
Well ... you'll be amazed at the R&D we did to make it work. It took us almost five years to get to where we are today.
We'll be releasing detailed documentation of the manufacturing process/In-Lab testing. Our team wanted to open-source the whole design, but we're not there yet. Maybe in a few month's time after the launch.
We are trying to launch a similar product here in my country. The negative publicity that Soylent has generated for itself, hasn't helped our nerves one bit as we come closer to the launch.
Unlike US, Bars and drinks are not in fashion here. We have decided to launch in form of Lollipops. Our team is having a hard time coming up with a motto, but we'll get over it.
Any advice from the wise HN folks on how to handle the first batches of users ( we'll be giving out the first few hundred lollipops for free on condition that users click a selfie with the lollipop every day and tag us on FB/Twitter ), in case things go wrong!!
My Personal experience tells me that Money alone doesn't bring you happiness.
Around two years ago, I was working at a middle tier SW outsourcing company, which payed me a respectable salary. Nothing great but it was quite enough for me.
Then I landed a job at a hot startup, which had already raised its first round. They offered me nearly double the salary that I was getting then. I didn't think twice and accepted the offer.
Two years have gone by and all the extra money that I have made in that time has not brought much change in me or my life. I have started spending more freely, but that doesn't make me much happier than I previously was. Maybe it's just me, but money doesn't seem to do it for me!