CHICAGO - March 19, 1998 - Judges have selected 27 finalists from over 100 entries in the Windows^® World Open software development competition, an annual contest that showcases the talents of developers worldwide using the Microsoft^® Windows operating system development platforms, including Windows 3.x, Windows 95, Windows NT^® and Windows CE. Each application in nine categories was developed to meet a specific challenge for a particular business or organization. Each was judged on its business and technical merits, receiving points for the importance of the business solution, financial benefits, effectiveness of technical design, user interface design and how well the application leveraged installed or existing technology.

Windows World Open finalists will demonstrate their winning applications at WINDOWS WORLD (co-located with COMDEX/Spring '98 and EXPO COMM USA; for more information, please visit (http://www.comdex.com/), in Chicago, April 20-23. Winners in each category are scheduled to be announced April 20 by Microsoft Chairman and CEO Bill Gates at WINDOWS WORLD. For more information about the finalists, visit the Windows World Open Web site at (http://www.wwopen.com/).

The judging panel consists of 20 high-level executives from corporations and government agencies in four countries selected because of their extensive knowledge about IS and Windows-based development.

"We're thrilled to have been chosen as a finalist in the Windows World Open contest," said Bill Merriam, information systems manager at Someday Isle Inc., a toy store in Brattleboro, Vt. "The availability of a wide range of powerful programs running under Windows 95 allowed us to quickly integrate all of the functions needed to tie our legacy DOS point-of-sale application to our Web store. The contest has given us the opportunity to show that a small group of motivated people can do big things with the right tools."

"To achieve our quality initiative for real-time process controls, workflow management, statistical process controls and total quality management in a consolidated system, our Manufacturing Control System needed a flexible and powerful operating environment," said Weldon Boyd, director of SMT at Packard Bell NEC Inc. and co-author of the Manufacturing Control System application, a Windows World Open finalist. "The open architecture of Windows and the associated development tools enabled us to focus our project on our manufacturing expertise and limit the application development process."

• Electronic Data Systems, Plano, Texas, TechLore. The company describes TechLore as a "virtual technology-centric community accessed by community members through a Web browser" that integrates company-specific information across an intranet.
• RR Systems Inc., Brookfield, Wis., Corporate Project, Time and Billing Management System. This intranet application is used to enter and track employee time and materials billed to specific projects.
• BankBoston Corp., Boston, Electronic Customer File. This application provides a secure electronic solution for the storage and retrieval of credit-related documents for BankBoston's corporate customers.

• Southern New England Telecommunications Corp., New Haven, Conn., Repair Answer Point System (RAPS). RAPS provides a user-friendly interface and enhanced testing capabilities to support agents answering customer repair calls.
• ARCADIA S.R.L., Santa Fe, Argentina, LT Broadcast System (LTBS). This system allows radio stations to be operated either manually or automatically, with local or remote control.
• DigitalXpress, Tukwila, Wash., DigitalXpress Broadcast and Receive Studio. This application provides transmission scheduling, monitoring, management and reception of satellite broadcast services for on-demand digital video, audio and data.

• Hughes Supply Inc., Orlando, Fla., QuoteIT!. QuoteIt! automates the authoring of quotes for construction materials.
• First Chicago/Mercantile Services LLC, Chicago, EFTPS Customer Service. This system provides taxpayers with information about the Internal Revenue Service's Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS).
• Experimental Aircraft Association, Oshkosh, Wis., Event Management and Support System. This system records association memberships and manages ticket sales for the nearly 1 million attendees at the annual EAA Fly-in convention.

• Chevron Production Co., Houston, VISA - Your Passport to Data. This is a common geographical desktop application for all disciplines (including earth scientists, engineers, technicians and financial analysts) to view data from the "virtual corporate data warehouse."
• Tennessee Valley Authority, Chattanooga, Tenn., Fossil Unit Monitoring and Evaluation System (FUMES). FUMES provides a graphical user interface for viewing TVA power plant process parameters such as flows, pressures, levels and voltages.
• Transneft Oil Transportation Joint Stock Co., Moscow, Russian Oil Pipeline Supervisory Dispatch and Control System. This dispatch and control application allows data collection and operation of entire pipelines from 20 districts, 10 regional dispatch offices and the central dispatch office in Moscow.

• Prudential Investments, Newark, N.J., Prudential Investments Common Front End (CFE). CFE unites multiple recordkeeping and administration back-end systems with a single customer service workstation based on the Visual Basic^® development system.
• Insure One, Bedford Park, Ill., Lead Electronic Automated Distribution System (LEADS). This application provides online, real-time auto, home and life insurance quotes for Internet users. It forwards quote information back to the user and the Insure One sales department for potential sales close.
• MetLife, Clarks Summit, Pa., MetLife Corporate Billing System (CBS). CBS provides a single-image payroll deduction process for multiple insurance products and services to external client companies.

• National Reference Library, Singapore, Midas. The Midas application allows a single point of access to different library services, including CD-ROMs, TeleText, Internet browsing and more.
• Farm Services Agency, United States Department of Agriculture, Kansas City, Mo., Electronic Bid Entry System (EBES). This application is designed to support the USDA's procurement of commodities exported under Foreign Food Aid for Humanitarian Assistance Programs.
• U.S. Navy Airborne Early Warning Wing, Pacific Fleet, San Diego, Calif., JTIDS Moving Map Tactical Information Display System (JMMTIDS). JMMTIDS processes and displays tactical situation data in real time from a legacy military wireless data communications link aboard the U.S. Navy's carrier-based E-2C Hawkeye Airborne Early Warning aircraft.

• Quantitative Medical Systems, Emeryville, Calif., Focus 2000. Focus 2000 addresses the issues of dialysis billing and provides detailed analyses that establish the cost-effectiveness of treatment.
• New York Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center (630/151), New York, VA Pedorthic CAD/CAM System. This computer-aided design and manufacturing application is used for quantifying and automating the design and manufacture of custom orthopedic footwear for veterans and other patients.
• Trinity Hospital Emergency Physician Group, Mount Prospect, Ill., EDWRITE. EDWRITE generates medical records documents for emergency room physicians.

• Packard Bell NEC Inc., Sacramento, Calif., Manufacturing Control System (MCS). This next-generation shop floor control system combines the traditional aspects of real-time process controls, workflow management, statistical process controls, total quality management and online documentation in one consolidated system.
• Hunter Engineering Co., Bridgeton, Mo., PicEdit. PicEdit is an image processing and translation tool.
• Termo, Skofja Loka, Slovenia. The Mineral Wool Production Supervisory Computer Vision System monitors and provides automatic control and regulation of key parameters in the production of mineral wool and regulates the melting process of rock in the furnace.

• Acenet Inc., Alpharetta, Ga. AceNet can provide unattended remote delivery, operation and management of multimedia components and content to multiple locations, and handles all communication tasks between the host server and all client remote locations.
• Someday Isle Inc., Brattleboro, Vt., SomedayIsle.com Internet Toy Store Manager. This application creates a complete online Internet shopping site.
• ICET Arte Murano C.A., Caracas, Venezuela, ARENA. ARENA includes several modules that include functions for point of sale, purchase orders, historical data, production issues, inventory control and a handheld PC system.

About Windows World Open

Windows World Open, founded in 1991, honors developers who write leading-edge custom applications that take advantage of the full spectrum of the Windows operating system to improve efficiency and solve real-world business problems. For the first time, the competition includes custom applications written for Windows CE-based handheld devices, as well as applications for the Windows 3.x, Windows 95 and Windows NT operating systems.

Windows World Open showcases the versatility, openness and power of the Microsoft Windows operating system. Last year's finalists used more than 100 third-party tools to create applications for Windows, demonstrating the wide range of tools available for developers on the Windows platform. These applications, in turn, were used by more than 130,000 people, allowing them to do their jobs more efficiently and effectively. Six of the finalists used the Internet as a component of their solutions, reflecting the growing interest of custom application developers in the Internet.

The 1998 Windows World Open is limited to custom applications only. The applications must have been developed to meet a specific challenge for a particular business or organization, and they may not be available for resale. The application can incorporate legacy systems or off-the-shelf applications to create a completely new custom application. The application must also have been developed for Microsoft Windows 3.1, Microsoft Windows for Workgroups 3.11, Microsoft Windows 95, Microsoft Windows NT or Microsoft Windows CE. In addition, the application must have been deployed and in use in the organization for which it was created before the entry deadline of Jan. 23, 1998.

Windows World Open Sponsors

Computerworld, the leading weekly newspaper for information technology leaders, provides timely news and analysis on all aspects of the computer industry. Recognized three times by the Computer Press Association as the No. 1 computer newspaper, the publication has 152,033 paid subscribers (ABC June 1997 Publisher's Statement) and an average issue audience of 1,039,700 IT business influencers (IntelliQuest CIMS v4.0, September 1997). @Computerworld is the Web version of the print edition, with unique content and features, and is located at (http://www.computerworld.com/). Computerworld is headquartered at 500 Old Connecticut Path, Framingham, MA 01701.

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