Press Release DGX Finals

September 5, 2001

For Immediate Release

Kuala Lumpur: Fifteen teams, comprising 18 individuals, of the Developer Generation-X Developer Code Competition (DGX-DCC) 2001 Final held yesterday September 4, will know their ‘”fate” today at the Prize Presentation ceremony. Yang Berhormat, Datuk Tan Chai Ho, Deputy Minister of Energy, Telecommunications and Multimedia and Sanjay Mirchandani, South Asia Regional Director of Microsoft Corporation will be present to give away the prizes.

The 15 teams namely Team Shoxzck, Zybler MarketPlace, VaporWare, GBLIM, Kernel32.dll, Crispin, Darrell Chua, One Step Ahead, Spitz Programmer Group, Cykast, Si2Networks, VirtualSystems, JunHaan, NMRTech and The CIO have come from all over Malaysia to present their software applications to a distinguished panel of judges comprising various professionals in the IT industry. These 15 teams were chosen after having successfully completing a rigorous 65-question multiple-choice test in the Preliminary Round on June 8, 2001.

Daniel Tsen of the DGX Secretariat, who is also Vice-President of i2Media Sdn Bhd, a media solutions and software development company, said the Preliminary Round test was a “rake and raid” exercise in which the DGX organising committee used to sift through the participants to seek out budding developers.

The 15 finalists are all guaranteed of a minimum of RM1,800 in prize money. The first prize winner will receive RM9,000. In their run up to September 4, the 15 finalists developed a software application of their choice. According to Salwana Ali, Manager of Microsoft Knowledge Capital Center (MKCC) , the projects submitted by the finalists will be judged based on the participants’ creativity in problem-solving, the functionality or “user friendliness” of the application and the overall quality of project documentation.

The projects submitted for DGX-DCC 2001 ranges from a simple electronic diary to a stress detector. “It would be interesting indeed to see how this particular participant’s software will detect changes in human behaviour relating to PC usage such as stress and eye movement,” Salwana said. Also in the pipeline for the judges on September 4 are 2-D role playing games (RPGs), a scientific calculator, an e-organiser and scheduler (something similar to Microsoft Outlook, but will also incorporate ICQ features, a toolkit for teachers to manage the development of their students and a software to monitor the performance of an operating system.

“One of the participants has developed an auction engine similar to the auction engines used in the many auction sites worldwide,” Salwana pointed out. “We are anxious to see the quality of these developments so that we would be able to decide where to place these developers as they progress further in their skills. It is critical to identify these talents early in order that the right and proper guidance can be administered to facilitate further skills development. These talents are like diamonds. They need to be cut correctly to realise their true value.”

Also submitted for the competition are: software related to computer-based training, software to conduct tutorials for students and a software using artificial intelligence to convert text into instructions from specially encoded web pages or scripts.

“Considering that this is the first time we are holding this competition, we are happy with the quality of the submissions,” Salwana said. “And we are looking forward to the Finals to see who will ultimately emerge as the Grand Prize winner. We are actually very encouraged by the fact that there is indeed a great talent pool of potential software developers right here in our own backyard. And we are happy that DGX has served as a stepping stone for these budding developers to progress further.”

DGX’s Developer Code Competition 2001 is a joint-venture effort between MKCC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of software giant Microsoft Corporation, i2Media Sdn Bhd, a media solutions and software development company and the Ministry of Education Malaysia. MKCC is a resource centre providing end-to-end services for software developers, independent software vendors (ISVs), and Malaysian businesses.

“It is the objective of DGX to groom budding local talents into Microsoft certified professionals of world class standing,” Salwana pointed out. “This is in line with Malaysia’s aspirations to create a community of IT innovators to support the country in the fast emerging knowledge economy where the human capital will play more than a significant role in determining the success of any company. It is also the desire of DGX to create a community of software developers as opposed to a community of software users.”

“This program endeavours to seek and uncover hidden talents among young Malaysians who are keen in pursuing their professional careers in the IT industry," Salwana added. “Today, wealth creation and jobs in the emerging digital marketplace will come from industries with a high knowledge, research and information content. Even traditional brick-and mortar businesses and public sector organisations will need to enhance the knowledge content of their products, services and processes, if they wish to succeed.

“DGX-DCC will provide a platform to identify young Malaysians to ensure that they receive the necessary support and direction to enable them to contribute significantly to the country. This competition is a part of Microsoft's on-going effort to ensure that Malaysia will have IT professionals and knowledge workers to meet the challenging economic scenario in future. Apart from this competition, Microsoft has implemented various programs, such as seminars and workshops through MKCC to transfer and build necessary skills and knowledge to people who are interested in building a career in IT and multimedia industry”, Salwana said.

About Microsoft Knowledge Capital Centre

Microsoft Knowledge Capital Centre Sdn Bhd (MKCC), a wholly owned subsidiary of Microsoft Corporation, is a resource centre providing end-to-end services for software developers, independent software vendors (ISVs), and Malaysian businesses. The MKCC comprises three main functions -- Developer Programs, Technology Deployment and Business Application Scenarios.

About Microsoft

Microsoft (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd is a subsidiary of Microsoft Corporation and was incorporated on July 8, 1992.

Microsoft and its worldwide enterprise partners deliver a total solution: integrated platforms, powerful business applications and comprehensive global services that drive the success of its enterprise customers. Large organisations can work directly with Microsoft or choose among the many highly qualified Microsoft enterprise partners to implement solutions based on Microsoft enterprise products.

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Released on behalf of DGX by i2Media Sdn Bhd. For more information, please contact Daniel Tsen at +60-3-7726 8912 or e-mail at daniel@i2media.com.my.