NEW YORK, Dec. 11, 1996 — Microsoft Corp. and CMP Media Inc.’s TechWeb® today announced they will co-sponsor the first ActiveX
™
Control Creation Contest. Microsoft and TechWeb hope the contest will provide a challenging forum for developing
“best of breed” ActiveX controls with the Microsoft® Visual Basic® programming system version 5.0, Control Creation Edition. Visual Basic, Control Creation Edition, which was unveiled in October at Microsoft’s Site Builder Conference, is a new edition of Visual Basic designed specifically for creating ActiveX Controls.
“The contest is an ideal vehicle to show the entire industry how easy, functional and cool ActiveX Controls can be,”
said Jon Roskill, director of Visual Basic marketing at Microsoft.
“Because Visual Basic 5.0, Control Creation Edition is so accessible, millions of Internet site builders, developers and corporate developers now have the capacity to build controls, allowing contestants to tap into the creative element of control creation rather than grapple with difficult technologies.”
“We’re going to set our readers loose on this and see what they come up with,”
said Jeff Pundyk, TechWeb’s editor in chief.
“This should be a lot of fun. Bragging rights are at stake.”
Developers and ISVs alike are clamoring for Visual Basic 5.0, Control Creation Edition because it is the easy way to package functionality as a reusable component. ActiveX Controls are fast, compact and reusable software components that can be used in a large range of products, including Internet browsers, productivity suites such as Microsoft Office 97, and development tools such as Visual Basic, Microsoft Access, PowerBuilder and Delphi. ActiveX Controls can also be hosted in products that license Visual Basic 5.0, Applications Edition, including future versions of Autodesk AutoCad, Adobe Photoshop and dozens of other soon-to-be-released software applications.
Contestants can submit their control entries, created with Microsoft Visual Basic 5.0, Control Creation Edition, directly at TechWeb’s ActiveXpress site for ActiveX users and developers at (http://www.techweb.com/activexpress/contest/challenge.html) . The contest will run from Jan. 1 through Feb. 12, 1997. Prizes will be awarded in several categories, including best business component, best vertical market component, best game, best Internet component and best Office 97 component. Judging will be based on criteria that include creativity, usefulness, technical implementation, ease of use and innovation.
Grand Prize Winner to Present Entry at Microsoft Developer Days
The grand prize winner will receive round-trip travel and accommodations for Microsoft Developer Days conference in Redmond, Wash., where he or she will present the control to more than 30,000 developers. At Developer Days, the winner will also meet Microsoft Chairman and CEO Bill Gates, who will present the grand prize award. Other winning entries will receive Microsoft products, such as a universal subscription to the Microsoft Developer Network and the soon-to-be-released Visual Basic 5.0, Enterprise Edition. All winning entries will be featured on CMP’s TechWeb and Microsoft’s Web site.
CMP Media Inc., now in its 25th year of uninterrupted growth, is the only provider of publishing, marketing and information services to reach the entire spectrum of the high-technology market – the builders, sellers and users of technology. All of CMP’s publications and a series of innovative news and interactive services are available on the World Wide Web through CMP’s TechWeb, (http://www.techweb.com/) , the industry’s first free daily technology news and interactive services super site, since 1994. CMP Media is also the creator of NetGuide Live ( (http://www.netguide.com/) ), the first comprehensive daily online guide to the Net, and First-TV ( (http://www.first-tv.com/) ), the Internet’s first 24-hour TV/video network.
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, ActiveX and Visual Basic are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.
TechWeb is a registered trademark of CMP Media Inc.
Other product and company names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.
Note to editors: If you are interested in viewing additional information on Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft Web page at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/ on Microsoft’s corporate information pages.
