Microsoft and ADVISOR Publications Announce Winners Of the Visual FoxPro Excellence Awards
ORLANDO, Fla., May 21, 1998 — Microsoft Corp. and ADVISOR Publications Inc. today announced the winners of the Visual FoxPro® Excellence Awards recognizing the unique talents of the 500,000 developers using the Microsoft® Visual FoxPro database development system. The six winners were chosen from more than 200 entries for their outstanding achievements in developing innovative database solutions that solve significant business problems.
Winners were announced at the Visual FoxPro Developers Conference in Orlando, Fla. More than 1,600 developers were in attendance to learn the latest techniques for database development and see the first public glimpse of Visual FoxPro 6.0, the leading-edge development tool for data-centric client/server and Web applications.
And the Winners Are. .
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Best Desktop/Network Solution – Visual CAD, Open Software Solutions Inc.
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Best Web Site Solution – VisualGA, Centerstone Insurance and Financial Services
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Best Client/Server Solution – The ARIS System, Automated Regional Information Systems Inc.
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Best Philanthropic Solution – HU-Team, Howard University
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Best Migration to Visual FoxPro – SBT Pro Series, SBT Accounting Systems
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Best Packaged Application – Wind2 Financial Management System, Wind2 Software Inc.
Visual FoxPro Creates Leading-Edge Solutions
Many developers consider their applications to be mission-critical, but few can call the application life-critical. Visual CAD (computer-aided dispatching) from Open Software tracks emergency calls to 911 centers and dispatches the appropriate response teams. Visual CAD identifies the caller’s phone number and location, determines which emergency units are available to respond and matches the appropriate unit with the incident based on equipment needed, location and response time. Open Software used Visual FoxPro to build Visual CAD because life-threatening emergencies demand an application that can manage data quickly, and Visual FoxPro provides the fastest data access and performance. Visual FoxPro also enabled Open Software to design Visual CAD so that software updates could take place without any downtime.
Centerstone Insurance and Financial Services, a rapidly growing employee benefits insurance agency serving customers throughout the United States, needed a way to manage large quantities of information about plans, benefits and costs and be able to produce proposals quickly and easily. Centerstone officials knew the Web was the only way to get information to brokers and customers fast enough. Using Visual FoxPro, Centerstone built VisualGA, an application that lets customers, brokers and potential customers access data, file reports and request proposals quickly and effectively over the Web, saving both the user and Centerstone significant time and money.
Visual FoxPro 6.0
Also at the Visual FoxPro Developers Conference, Microsoft announced that Visual FoxPro 6.0 adds support for Microsoft Transaction Server to build scalable data, distributed Internet and client/server applications. Visual FoxPro 6.0 also contains enhancements designed to help developers build applications faster and jump-start their development though application frameworks, builders and wizards. Visual FoxPro 6.0 is scheduled to ship in the second half of this year; it is also scheduled to be available as a standalone product and to be included in the Visual Studio
™
6.0 development system, Microsoft’s comprehensive developer tools suite.
Sponsors, Judges and Finalists of the Excellence Awards
Microsoft and ADVISOR Publications thank the following sponsors: AccountMate Software Corp., Application Developers Training Co., db technologies inc., Flash Creative Management Inc., MicroEndeavors Inc., FoxTalk and Pinter Consulting.
Judges for the competition were Chick Bornheim, MicroMega Systems; Toni Feltman, F1 Technologies; Dan Freeman, The Information Group; Susan Graham, Microsoft Corp.; Robert Green, Microsoft Corp.; Y. Alan Griver, Flash Creative Management Inc.; Doug Henning, Stonefield Systems Group Inc.; Della Martin, Systems Development Institute, University of Tennessee; Val Matison, Matison Consulting Group; Barbara Peisch, GE Capital Consulting; and Brent Vollrath, MicroEndeavors Inc.
These are the finalists in each of the categories:
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Best Desktop/Network Solution – The Skyline Program, Boeing Commercial Airplane Group; Unit Environmental Compliance System, Dash Point Software Inc. and Environmental Management Systems Inc.; WILMA, Geographic Solutions Inc.
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Best Web Site Solution – ARIES, State University of New York at Buffalo; Exit 42: Fantasy Sports Server, Menendez Consulting
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Best Client/Server Solution – VisualGA, Centerstone Insurance and Financial Services; WILMA, Geographic Solutions Inc.
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Best Philanthropic Solution – CATS, State University of New York at Buffalo, School of Dental Medicine; ForFUND/NP Accounting, Mirasoft Inc.
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Best Migration to Visual FoxPro – ARIS, Automated Regional Systems Inc.; Visual LandPro 98, LandPro Corp.
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Best Packaged Application – CHAMP, HCIA Inc.; SAM, RiverSoft Inc.; Visual LandPro 98, LandPro Corp.
Founded in 1983, ADVISOR is a pioneer in providing independent technical guidance to IT professionals through magazines, conferences, CDs, video, and online services. FOXPRO ADVISOR is the magazine devoted to developing database and Web solutions with Microsoft Visual FoxPro. For free issues of ADVISOR magazines, visit http://www.advisor.com/ or send e-mail to [email protected].
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“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 computing every day.
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