LAS VEGAS —
, Nov. 18, 1996 — To coincide with the opening of the world’s largest computer trade show, Microsoft Corp. today announced that SOFTBANK COMDEX has created and is managing the official COMDEX Show Daily Web site with Microsoft® FrontPage
™
, the industry’s leading Web authoring and management tool.
Microsoft FrontPage Web authoring software enables SOFTBANK COMDEX to execute the important strategy of making news from the COMDEX/Fall trade show immediately accessible to a worldwide audience. The combination of a complete set of Web authoring and management tools and freedom from having to know HTML programming makes FrontPage the perfect solution for SOFTBANK COMDEX staffers to quickly and easily design, build and manage the COMDEX Show Daily Web site. For the first time in COMDEX/Fall history, Internet users around the world and more than 200,000 show attendees can view a dynamic online Show Daily to get concise recaps of speeches and sessions, breaking news stories, new product releases, event locations and times, and a special guide of things to do and see in Las Vegas.
Web surfers around the world unable to attend the show can tap into the action by browsing to (http://www.comdex.com) . In addition, the COMDEX Show Daily Web site is accessible to showgoers in kiosks at the Las Vegas Convention Center, Sands Expo and Convention Center and the Las Vegas Hilton.
In the few weeks that the sneak preview of the COMDEX Show Daily Web site was posted, it averaged more than a million hits a week as interest in COMDEX/Fall continued to escalate. The use of FrontPage Web authoring software has directly resulted in measurable resource savings for SOFTBANK COMDEX, saving the company from the need to bring in an outside webmaster and saving hours in training costs for staff because their existing knowledge of Microsoft Office allowed them to get the site up and running quickly.
“Microsoft FrontPage has proved invaluable in the creation of the COMDEX Show Daily Web site,”
said Vic Farmer, senior director of show publications and Web products for SOFTBANK COMDEX.
“By providing both Web site authoring and management capabilities, FrontPage enabled us to concentrate on editorial content needs rather than on time-consuming HTML coding.”
“We are very pleased that FrontPage enables SOFTBANK COMDEX, the world’s premier trade show organization, to extend its reach to Internet audiences otherwise unable to attend the show,”
said George Meng, group product manager of FrontPage at Microsoft.
“The versatility and ease of use of FrontPage proved well-suited for the needs of SOFTBANK COMDEX. It is a complete Web suite that provides all the tools needed to quickly create, update and manage a professional-quality Web site.”
Microsoft FrontPage: The Cutting-Edge Advantage
Vic Farmer is familiar with the challenges of publishing enormous amounts of print and online content. According to Farmer, the best solution for posting the COMDEX Show Daily Web site content online had to be easy, straightforward and fast.
“Because of the speed at which we operate, the easy-to-use WYSIWYG Editor and intelligent site manager in FrontPage made executing time-consuming tasks such as creating and editing image maps nearly automatic,”
Farmer explained.
Microsoft FrontPage Web authoring software also allows Farmer and his staff to create dynamic Web pages without programming using innovative features such as WebBot
™
components, WYSIWYG table support and HTML frames support.
By taking advantage of the ability in FrontPage to create templates easily, the COMDEX Show Daily Web site team could complete 60 percent of the site development before the start of the show, reducing the daily workload from 144 pages to fewer than 58 pages. And, because FrontPage can automatically convert a wide array of existing content including Microsoft Word documents and Aldus PageMaker files to HTML, the staff can easily insert daily content on the fly. Once content is added to the site, FrontPage makes it easy for the team to edit type size and color, move copy, and position photography and graphics anywhere in the site, including within easy-to-use tables.
Integral to Farmer’s team is the collaborative management of the Web site that FrontPage also made possible. The team administers the COMDEX Show Daily Web site through the FrontPage Explorer, which provides a simple and straightforward WYSIWYG interface for verifying and repairing internal and external hyperlinks, recalculating links, and assigning tasks with a shared To-Do list. This ability to keep track of the input from multiple contributors is another reason that Microsoft FrontPage proved to be the right tool for SOFTBANK COMDEX.
Unprecedented Industry Support for FrontPage
The use of FrontPage Web authoring software by SOFTBANK COMDEX is the latest in a series of milestones for the product. The current shipping version, Microsoft FrontPage 1.1, has proved to be the world’s best-selling Web authoring and management tool, and the introduction of the beta version of Microsoft FrontPage 97 with Bonus Pack (Oct. 7, 1996) has attracted more than 350,000 users to download it from the World Wide Web. In addition, FrontPage has won numerous industry awards, including PC Computing’s Best Award, an Editor’s Choice Award from Computer Reseller News, and PC Magazine’s Editors Choice Award. Further building on this industrywide momentum, Microsoft FrontPage is the preferred choice of Internet service providers (ISPs) worldwide. Today, more than 125 ISPs support the FrontPage server extensions, including AT & T Corp., BBN Planet, The EarthLink Network, NETCOM Online Communications Service Inc., PSINet Inc. and UUNET Technologies Inc.
The final version of Microsoft FrontPage 97 with Bonus Pack is scheduled to ship by the end of the year. The user may license one of the following six languages available for download from the same CD-ROM: English, French, German, Italian, Japanese or Spanish. Computer users worldwide can obtain information on Microsoft FrontPage, download the FrontPage 97 with Bonus Pack beta version at no charge, or order a CD-ROM of the beta software for a nominal shipping and handling charge at http://www.microsoft.com/frontpage/ . Users can also place orders for beta software on CD-ROM by calling (800) 423-0604 or sending a fax to (800) 437-2544.Since the introduction of the first COMDEX event in 1979, SOFTBANK COMDEX has continued to meet the growing needs of the global information technology marketplace. With an expansive program of more than 30 trade shows and conferences worldwide and COMDEX events throughout North America, South America, Europe and Asia, SOFTBANK COMDEX provides the premier showcase and most comprehensive educational platform for new and emerging computer and communications technologies.
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (NASDAQ
“MSFT”
) is the worldwide leader in software for personal computers. The company offers a wide range of products and services for business and personal use, each designed with the mission of making it easier and more enjoyable for people to take advantage of the full power of personal computing every day.
Microsoft, FrontPage and WebBot are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.
Other product and company names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.
For online product information:
Microsoft FrontPage Web site: http://www.microsoft.com/frontpage/
Note to editors: If you are interested in viewing additional information about Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft Web page at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/ on Microsoft’s corporate information pages.
