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Alan Meckler's Blog

As Microsoft began to shift its focus to Windows XP and the .Net initiative, acceptance of the new operating system relied on its adoption by application developers - the people who would write the software to run on XP. Microsoft asked DevX, the leading resource for developers, to create a community resource for them: the Windows XP Developer Center. In just eight months, DevX established new, and deep, relationships between Microsoft and over 30,000 application developers.

Background	Microsoft Windows XP, the new operating system scheduled for release in October 2001, sits at the center of Microsoft's emerging .NET platform, enabling the PC to consume and process XML-based Web services. Developer acceptance and adoption of Windows XP is crucial to the long-term success of the initiative because their support of the platform will speed widespread adoption in corporate America.
Challenge	To build interest in Windows XP, and to promote the concept of Web services among beta testers and the general developer population, Microsoft wanted to create an online information resource that would promote two-way communication and provide the hands-on information necessary to start building Web services. Although technical information about XP would also appear on Microsoft's developer site, MSDN, Microsoft strove to reach a wider audience of developers by establishing an independent source of comprehensive information about the new operating system.
Solution	DevX Vendor Development Portals put the world's top technology companies in touch with theInformation hungry audience of DevX's category-leading resource site for developers, devx.com. For Microsoft, DevX created a customized portal, the Windows XP Developer Center (http://windowsxp.devx.com/), which launched in November 2000. XP Portal features include: Expert technical content culled from top IT publications Hands-on techniques for using XP's new features Targeted newsletters A downloadable Application Compatibility Toolkit· Access to the DevX community, the largest audited audience of application developers Original content from DevX's editorial staff Downloadable video clips and product guides Focused discussion groups An interactive, educational game, Prisoner's Dilemma, focused on the .Net framework and designed to teach developers about building and deploying Web services
Results	A thriving developer community surrounding Windows XP and relationships with a broader audience of developers. Warmly embraced by developers, the Windows XP Developer Center has attracted a steady stream of increasing traffic from its launch to the present. Registration numbers far exceeded the target of 30,000 slated for August, surpassing that number in early June. Indications of an active and engaged audience were also clear from the site's launch as developers took advantage of free downloads, newsletters and discussion boards. The figures below represent site data from November 2000 through July 2001. Unique member registrations: 35,000+ Newsletter registrants: 26,537 Unique video clip downloads: 50,000+ Discussion board participants: 39,429 Application compatibility postings: 7,524 Prisoner's Dilemma matches: 1 million+

For more information on our Vendor Development Portals, please contact please contact Darlene Townsend, Vice President, Partnership Marketing, at dtownsend@devx.com

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